Under-staffing of nurses by hospitals leads to an increase in patient mortality

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel publishes front-page articles on the work of nurses and the nursing shortage

February 25, 2003 -- After spending three days following nurses, journalist Joel Dresang wrote two well-done articles on nursing that appeared on consecutive days on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Feb 23 article, Looking for a shot in the arm: Programs aim to make nursing more fulfilling, efficient, depicted a day in the life of a nurse and the Feb 22 article, A critical shortage: With nurses' ranks thin, scramble to fill shifts intensifies, addressed the nursing shortage and how nurses are coping with it.

Please take a moment to send Joel Dresang a note of thanks for making the effort to learn about what nurses really do and writing articles that help the public understand the nursing profession. See our letter of thanks to the Editor, which was printed on March 5, for printing the articles so prominently.