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To the Editor: Dr Aiken and colleagues¹ presented the effects of different levels of nurses' education on the outcomes for surgical patients. To put this in perspective, however, the Institute of Medicine reports that numerous studies have led to the conclusion that "the burden of harm conveyed by the collective impact of all our health care quality problems is staggering."^2-3

Nurses are major contributors to quality health care. The increased visibility of nursing's vital contribution to patients' well-being highlights the need for all health professionals to learn more about their colleagues and create and maximize effective health care teams. Health care settings and patient populations are extremely complex, and many quality problems exist because of system problems. There are no simple answers to the challenges faced in providing health care. Browbeating health professionals, including nurses, is not the answer.

The Institute of Medicine⁴ reported that clinical education across the disciplines . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Ruth D. Corcoran, EdD, RN
rcocor@nln.org

Joyce P. Murray, EdD, RN
National League for Nursing
New York, NY

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