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
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.