By Jesse Russell

New York City nurses are protesting in and out of hospitals - seeking better working conditions and a solution to chronic understaffing. Last week nurses protested during their break time, standing outside of the cities public hospitals. But over the past two years, more than 3,700 "protests of assignment" have been filed in city hospitals.

Nancy Webber, spokesperson for the New York States Nurses Association explains:

[Webber]: If they feel they've been given an assignment that's unsafe for patients - for whatever reason - they fill out a form that says 'I will complete this assignment or carry it out, but only under protest, because I don't believe it’s safe."

The Association recently released a study that documents the shortages of registered nurses in hospitals run by New York City's Health and Hospital Corporation. The findings suggest that because of low salaries and poor working conditions - many nurses leave shortly after starting. That has led to a shortage of more than 1,000 nurses.

[Webber]: When there aren't enough nurses patients are more likely to develop complications, infections. One study out of the University of Pennsylvania even indicated that patients are more likely to die.

The nurses are currently in negotiations over their contract. They have been operating under a contract that expired in December 2002.