Inside E Street

Guests

Polly Bednash

Polly Bednash

Executive Director, American Association of Colleges of Nursing

The organization Dr. Bednash leads represents more than 590 nursing schools. A scholar herself, she has researched and written about issues in nursing education, clinical practice, and legislative policy.

Sen. Durbin

Sen. Dick Durbin

D-Ill.

The chief sponsor of the 2009 NEED (Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development) Act, Dick Durbin has served in the U.S. Senate since 1997 and is the Majority Whip. 

Rep. Capps

Rep. Lois Capps

D-Calif.

A Registered Nurse and founder of the House Nursing Caucus, Rep. Lois Capps has sponsored several nursing-related bills in Congress. 

Ann Converso

Ann Converso, RN

President, United American Nurses, AFL-CIO

Ann Converso has more than 30 years of experience as a medical/surgical nurse in Buffalo, N.Y. She represents more than 100,000 nurses as president of the nursing union, United American Nurses, AFL-CIO.  

Additional Links

  • Read the fact sheet on the nursing shortage compiled by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, headed by our guest, Polly Bednash.
  • The American Organization of Nurse Executives, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association, supports bringing in nurses from overseas.  Read the association’s full legislative agenda here.
  • United American Nurses is a labor union representing more than 100,000 nurses.  It is headed by our guest, Ann Converso. Read the union’s history here.
  • Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow provides practical information for those interested in nursing.

'Inside E Street' Archives

E Street 233 Seg4 Nursing statistics

The Role of the Nursing School

In order to train more nurses, we need more nursing teachers. Polly Bednash of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing joins us to discuss the problems nursing faculty members face.

E Street 233 Seg1 nursing student Hershaw Davis

Segments

National Problem, National Solutions

There are not enough nursing students like Hershaw Davis. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) joins us to explain America’s nursing shortage and how government can help.

E Street 233 Seg 2 Rep. Lois Capps joins Sheilah

The Hospital

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), a nurse herself, joins Sheilah to discuss her proposal for improving nurse-patient ratios.

E Street 233 Seg3 Ann Converso, RN joins Sheilah

The Role of the Nurse

Ann Converso of United American Nurses joins us to discuss the vital roles nurses play in our health care system.

Resources

Sheila

The Host

Through most of her distinguished reporting career, Sheilah Kast has focused on the economy and workplace and how they affect people's lives. Well known to viewers of public television, ABC News, and CNN, she has covered the White House and Congress.

Kast also reported on the Washington aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Her stories included an investigation of anthrax in the mails and the struggles of bereaved Pentagon families to secure benefits.

At The Washington Star, in her first reporting job, Kast covered financial regulation, taxes, and energy. Her expertise in these important issues eventually led her to start a national public-television show, "This Week in Business," which she hosted in association with Business Week magazine.

Ms. Kast is a skilled interviewer. She has often hosted NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and has her own current-affairs interview show on public radio in Maryland.

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