Is the current nursing shortage different?

The public has always relied on nurses to be on the front lines in the health care system. But now through technology and the media, the public has become more aware of the impending nursing shortage. Local and federal governments have become involved in discussions related to the nursing shortage, as have agencies such as the Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org/PublicPolicy/nurse_staffing.htm
the Institute of Medicine, and the Department of Health and Human Services http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/nursing.htm
Historically, nursing shortages have been short lived and cyclical, but the current shortage is different and is expected to grow larger into the next decade and beyond.