Nurse shortage or nursing shortage: Have we missed the real problem?

Rather than examine the breadth and depth of the nursing shortage, the authors explore the shortage of tools being employed to leverage today's nurse. The authors point out examples of technologies that are available in other industries, such as the restaurant business, that have not been applied to health care. In other instances, technologies exist to support every phase of the nursing process, but are not widely implemented. Examples of these technologies include point of care testing devices, fully integrated medical records, SMART cards, interactive reference tools, and automated medication systems. Wireless technology enables innumerable forms of intervention at the bedside, by telemedicine, and in home care. Albeit costly, the proliferation of technology offers a viable opportunity to bring significant support to a limited number of nurses.