Nursing in the Pacific Basin: a crisis in health care

Nurses in the US-Associated Pacific island jurisdictions face a number of problems. Data were collected in 1992 from staffing analyses, unpublished documents, and discussions with nurse leaders to record the status of nursing. The political context of nursing practice, current nursing practice, the nursing workforce, development of nursing resources, and the commitment of local governments are reviewed. Specific recommendations to address the problems are listed.