DENVER -- This nursing crisis in Colorado was brought before state lawmakers Tuesday at a legislative hearing.

Several licensed nurses testified that problems in nursing have reached crisis levels.

Some nurses said the nurse shortage is a myth.

According to the Nurse Alliance of Colorado, there are 22,000 licensed nurses in Colorado who are not practicing for a number of reasons including low wages, lack of respect in the workplace and staffing shortages that result in longer shifts.

Denver's University Hospital and four others in Colorado are recognized in the top 3 percent nationally for excellence in nursing services by the American Nurse-Credentialing Center.

University Hospital typically attracts experienced nurses, but registered nurse Barb Hostrup said the same cannot be said for all Colorado hospitals.

"Why aren't they offering better benefits and wages and primarily, working conditions?" said Hostrup.

Hostrup and several others have testified before state lawmakers about the pulse of nursing in our state.

David Rodriguez said there is an abundance of nurses but they just won't work in Colorado.

"The new nurses come out, they stay up to five years and then they leave," said Rodriquez. "They go to another hospital or they go to another profession."

Lawmakers still refer to it as a "shortage" and have called on hospitals to do more in retaining a highly-trained, highly-skilled workforce. However, some believe the evaporating labor pool could get worse before it gets better.

"The hospital profit margin here in Denver is one of the highest in the country," said Hostrup.

Tuesday's legislative hearing was not the first on the nursing crisis and it likely will not be the last.

The Nurse Alliance of Colorado also called on lawmakers to pass whistleblower protection for health care workers so nurses can bring up problems without the fear of being fired.