I have been in this profession for over 25 years. It was a mid-life career change, much more rewarding than the miserable dead-end desk job that I had prior to this. That said, I hear, and have experienced, much of what the OP talks about. It is one big reason that I got out of hospital nursing years ago, and I have no intention of ever going back.
The first hospital that I worked for fresh out of school was owned by the community where I lived. It was sold to a corporation, because the city decided that they could no longer afford the investment that it would take to keep the hospital competitive from a technology and equipment standpoint. The new company immediately dismissed everyone in management except for the head of human resources, and all of us had to reapply for the jobs that we already had. Some were not rehired.
After relocating, I worked for a stand-alone mental health facility that was part of a large national chain. After flying someone in from corporate to lie to us and tell us that we weren't closing, two weeks later I discharged the last patient from the facility and I was unemployed. I found out near the end that we could have remained open because we were for sale and we had a buyer, but corporate killed the deal by insisting that the buyer assume liability for any pending lawsuits as part of the sale.
I worked for a branch of a major rehabilitation hospital chain. The CEO apparently did everything but walk on water because his photo, and quotes from him, were plastered all over the building - until he was convicted in federal court of multiple counts of fraud, then they magically disappeared.
The last hospital that I worked in, geriatric psychiatry unit. I worked night shift going into the day when the facility changed ownership, so I was on duty when the change occurred. They had an employee whose sole duty it was to find every employee on duty, and to stick a small strip of paper onto our ID cards that covered up the name of the old owner and bore the name of the new. Great set of priorities.
Over the years, I have found that hospital managers love to throw around the phrase "quality care" when making a sales pitch to the public, while behind the scenes they do everything that they can to make it impossible for us to deliver it. They understaff, underpay and undertrain. When you gain experience, rather than seeing the value in that and locking you up long term, they dump you because you are costing them too much money. You are then replaced by someone with far less experience who will work for less money. As the OP says, when something goes wrong, blame the nurse. To them, we are disposable and interchangeable, and we don't generate revenue. Physicians, on the other hand, can make mistakes all over the place, but they bring in cash. Got to protect them.
I don't regret going into the profession, because it has given me a good living, and my current job is secure. I am glad that I left hospital nursing, however. I still can, and frequently do, get sued (when you work around inmates it's an occupational hazard), but the Attorney General represents me.
