We need to aim younger, and not just at the media.

I work as an educator at a small, rural hospital in Michigan and teach part time in the local college. I try to share with my students the good news about nursing. I give them reasons to pursue nursing careers and education. But most are just satisfied to earn more than minimum wage and have no intention of making nursing a career. It's merely a means to a financial end.

As parents, we aren't instilling in our children the idea that a career is something worth working for.

Peg O'Dean, MSN, NP, RN