Investigating an Urgent Healthcare Problem

by: NOW, t r u t h o u t | Programming Note

A shortage of nurses across the country has created a strain on US healthcare standards. (Artwork: David Stroud / Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Investigating an urgent healthcare problem - a critical shortage of nurses.

By the year 2020, a nationwide shortage of up to one million trained nurses could mean that hundreds of thousands of patients will receive less attention and substandard treatment. Just as alarming, fewer nurses are choosing to teach the next generation of professionals, resulting in tens of thousands of applicants being turned away from the nation's nursing schools. NOW on PBS takes a hard look at the strains this crisis is placing on the entire medical system, as well as innovative efforts to reverse the trend.

See the entire show RIGHT NOW at: www.pbs.org/now/shows/442/index.html

The NOW on PBS web site at www.pbs.org/now includes personal stories from the front lines of the nursing profession and a map of top hospitals in your area, according to the American Nurses Association.

»