Administrators of long-term care facilities often wish to increase their ratio of professional nursing staff. In some geriatric care settings, an all-RN staff 6 viewed as one of nursing's most signifcant goals. In addition to being unrealistic, the author feels that this aspiration can have signifcant negative impacts on health care costs, nurse recruitment and nurse retention. She feels that gerontological nursing should focus on improving nursing home care within the current staffing and fiscal constraints.