We won't get far with this problem . . .

Comparison:

We’re really putting a lot of money into building a pipeline for nursing, but if nurses are leaving after a year or two of getting into employment, the problem isn’t so much a pipeline problem as a leaking gas tank.

Karen Lasater, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, is quoted in Time as she attempts to counteract the common perception of a nursing shortage in the United States and the world. We frequently use a “pipeline“ as a stealth metaphor to describe or characterize the availability or anticipated availability of something we want or need (or the lack of same). The notions of fluid and supply joined together are interesting in this metaphor simply because we wouldn't typically go through the trouble and work of building a pipeline unless some resources was deemed deeply important. What other metaphoric frames are available to express delivery of a needed resource? Do tell.

Context:

Karen Lasater, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing: “We’re really putting a lot of money into building a pipeline for nursing, but if nurses are leaving after a year or two of getting into employment, the problem isn’t so much a pipeline problem as a leaking gas tank.”

Citation:

Semuels, Alana. "Stop Saying There's a Nursing Shortage." Time [digital], 30 July 2026. Web.

(Graphic image design by Lee Aigue base image courtesy of ChatGPT, Aug. 2026.)