Israel has 4.97 nurses per 1000 population while the average for the 40 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries including Israel is 8.4 nurses per 1000. Israel was one of only two OECD countries to experience an average annual negative growth rate in nurses between 2000 and 2009. Also noteworthy, but not often mentioned in the context of the nursing shortage, Israel has a ratio of only 1.3 nurses to each doctor in comparison to the OECD average of 2.8 nurses per doctor, and the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of 3-4 nurses per doctor in developed countries [12]. Israel is overproducing doctors relative to its supply of nurses, even though the physician to population ratio has been declining in Israel both in absolute terms and relative to the OECD average. While the roles of doctors and nurses overlap, and nurses have safely assumed some roles provided previously by doctors, there are few examples of qualified doctors providing needed nursing care; nor is this desirable since doctors and nurses have different education, knowledge, and expertise. Thus having an imbalance in the ratio of nurses to doctors is not useful in addressing nursing shortages, and may exacerbate the nurse shortage by diminishing the potential applicant pool for nursing. If there is a perceived shortage of primary care physicians, using the opportunity to expand opportunities for nurses might stimulate more interest in nursing as a career choice.