Careers in nursing are cyclic, at least around the Cleveland area.
We have 2 major hospital systems which are involved in the \ufffdHighlander syndrome\ufffd (in the end there can be only one\ufffd.)
They do the major corporation routine of cutting costs by staffing a wing with 2 RNs, a couple LPNs, and a couple aides. They might bump up the head count during the day to accommodate the doctors and to make a slightly better impression on visitors. Mostly for the doctors\ufffd if you are in a position to complain, you shouldn\ufffdt be there.
The nurses get to the point where they won\ufffdt take the abuse and quit en mass, causing a shortage. The hospitals then compete to hire the available nurses offering better wages, hours, and staffing. Nursing becomes a good looking career and the colleges crank them out in quantity again. In a while, the hospital administration notes that with as many nurses around, they can become more efficient in their operation by reducing staff and cutting costs\ufffd
I spent about 6 years in the medical dodge at the end of the 70\ufffds. I dropped out to go to engineering school (Bio-medical Engineering) and on graduation, couldn\ufffdt bring myself to stay in the environment. I haven\ufffdt been back since, but I still have a number of friends who are still in the racket. It appears that the cycles are continuing.

My .02

Hugh who is still scared silly to be in hospital on the wrong side of the ID badge...