Nursing was at one time, an honored and desirable profession. It is so discouraging to watch patients suffer because there are not enough nurses to provide appropriate and adequate nursing care. When the ratio of nurses to patients are insufficient (too many patients for one nurse to provide efficient care), patient care is decreased causing a hazard to patients and nurses risk losing their license. Not because they don\'t care or are incompetent, but because we are forced to take shortcuts to give care to each patient, and nursing is no longer able to do the basics that we are taught to help our patients recover quicker and feel better about the care they recieve. Employers cut back on nursing staff to accomodate medical costs. Nurses have been underpaid and overworked for a long time, and it is becoming increasingly worse. Nurses are leaving the field to seek out other professions. The experienced nurses are so burned out and not just that, but nurses suffer physically because of the stress. It is a known fact that stress kills. Yet no one seems to care that nurses have illnesses induced by stress. When a nurse is out due to an illness, we are reprimanded at times. How can one say you must be physically able to do the job, but then create an environment that proves to be physically and mentally overwhelming How can we be good healthcare providers if we ourselves suffer, and it is mainly because we do care!!!!! Not just about us, but about our patients. We deserve a more comparable nurse to staff ratio. And our patients deserve the best care possible. Our senators, legislation and government need to pass a law for hospitals that require an adequate nurse to patient ratio, and not just look at numbers, but acuity and the mistakes that are or can be made. Let\'s restore nursing to what it was meant to be. Nurses do alot, and at times we are the unsong heroes of the medical professions. By the year 2003, let\'s all get together and stand as advocates for our patients,as well as for our profession.