Sue Painter, vice president of patient services at Thomas Hospital in South Charleston, gives a quick rundown of bedside nursing care.

Q. When you're admitted to the hospital, who are all of those people you see?

A. First, you touch base with the registration staff. Volunteers escort patients to their rooms. A nursing assistant orients you to the room, takes temperature and pulse. R.N.s or LPNs or physicians' assistants will take the "h&p" (history and physical exam). Med students, medical residents, radiology, transporters, lab staff ... the list of those you see is long.

Q. Why do we see so many people?

A. In the '90s, it was normal to have maybe an R.N. and a nursing assistant do everything. The nursing shortage is changing the way we give care, and so we use other people to do many of the tasks that nurses did in the past.

Q. Is the shortage everywhere?

A. We're comparable to other hospitals in our region as far as shortages. We're seeing more and more diversity, but it's still predominantly more women than men. Ideally, we would like to have one R.N. per five patients, but that's not always possible every day.

Q. What's the difference between different nursing degrees?

A. LPN (licensed practical nurse) is a graduate of a vocational/technical program. It's not a college degree. Registered nurses (R.N.) have either a two-year associate's degree or a four-year degree.

Q. What's being done to help the shortage?

A. There's a two-plus-two model that works well. The nurse comes to work after two years of college nursing courses, and they continue to pursue their bachelor's degree as they work.

Q. Do patients have a preference for male or female nurses?

A. Some women are uncomfortable with male nurses. But those poor men, they've always had to have women as their caregivers, haven't they?

Sue Painter, vice president of patient services at Thomas Hospital in South Charleston, gives a quick rundown of bedside nursing care.

Q. When you're admitted to the hospital, who are all of those people you see?

A. First, you touch base with the registration staff. Volunteers escort patients to their rooms. A nursing assistant orients you to the room, takes temperature and pulse. R.N.s or LPNs or physicians' assistants will take the "h&p" (history and physical exam). Med students, medical residents, radiology, transporters, lab staff ... the list of those you see is long.

Q. Why do we see so many people?

A. In the '90s, it was normal to have maybe an R.N. and a nursing assistant do everything. The nursing shortage is changing the way we give care, and so we use other people to do many of the tasks that nurses did in the past.

Q. Is the shortage everywhere?

A. We're comparable to other hospitals in our region as far as shortages. We're seeing more and more diversity, but it's still predominantly more women than men. Ideally, we would like to have one R.N. per five patients, but that's not always possible every day.

Q. What's the difference between different nursing degrees?

A. LPN (licensed practical nurse) is a graduate of a vocational/technical program. It's not a college degree. Registered nurses (R.N.) have either a two-year associate's degree or a four-year degree.

Q. What's being done to help the shortage?

A. There's a two-plus-two model that works well. The nurse comes to work after two years of college nursing courses, and they continue to pursue their bachelor's degree as they work.

Q. Do patients have a preference for male or female nurses?

A. Some women are uncomfortable with male nurses. But those poor men, they've always had to have women as their caregivers, haven't they?