there's been nursing shortage for my whole life, what the hell is wrong with people? why can't we take care of each other
There's a nursing shortage because the work is brutal, under appreciated, and under compensated aside from travel nursing gigs, for those who can maintain that sort of lifestyle. Nurses are a cost center, so management is constantly running floors understaffed. It's to the point that they receive bonuses for running the floor as thin as possible, despite the worsening of patient outcomes and nurses' sanity.
Don't get me wrong, there are some good gigs for sure, but there are lots of terrible ones.