At the beginning of the 21st century, public policy attention is being drawn to the profession of nursing by reports identifying demographic trends that are expected to lead to a significant shortage of nurses, given an aging population, a lengthening life span, and the increasing use of medical interventions to prevent or treat disease. This shortage is alleged to be more profound than the cyclic shortages experienced during the previous century, primarily for 2 reasons: (1) the nursing workforce is older, on average, than other professional groups, with more nurses entering practice at older ages with shorter expected work life, and (2) the capacity of the educational system to provide replacements for retiring nurses is inadequate due to a shortage of qualified faculty and limitations in clinical training sites.