Nursing shortage or nursing famine: looking beyond numbers?

There are numerous references in the nursing literature and in the popular press that offer description and commentary on the history, evolution, and future of the global nursing shortage. Authors express concerns about declining nursing numbers, nursing layoffs, diminishing student enrollments, faculty retirements, the aging workforce, and global recruitments. But what is missing in these articles and news alerts is a questioning about the substantive knowledge of nursing and what role this knowledge, or lack of, has in light of shrinking nursing resources. Of interest in this column are the meanings and messages that the nursing shortage has for nurses and for decision makers who will shape the direction of the nursing discipline. Issues connected with the global nursing shortage, or is it better thought of as a famine, are examined here in order to elucidate some points that may prove helpful for decisions of tomorrow.