A
Nursing schools cannot attract a greater number of able applicants than they currently do unless the problems of low wages and high-stress working conditions in the nursing profession are solved. If the pool of able applicants to nursing school does not increase beyond the current level, either the profession will have to lower its entrance standards, or there will soon be an acute shortage of nurses. It is not certain, however, that lowering entrance standards will avert a shortage. It is clear that with either a shortage of nurses or lowered entrance standards for the profession, the current high quality of health care cannot be maintained. Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?
A: The current high quality of health care will not be maintained if the problems of low wages and high-stress working conditions in the nursing profession are not solved.
B: If the nursing profession fails to solve the problems of low wages and high-stress working conditions, there will soon be an acute shortage of nurses.
C: The nursing profession will have to lower its entrance standards if the pool of able applicants to nursing school does not increase beyond the current level.
D: If the nursing profession solves the problems of low wages and high-stress working conditions, it will attract able applicants in greater numbers than it currently does.