Amen!
Reading the comments on this thread make me feel like I'm working in another world. I am in a small community hospital. We have hardly noticed the nursing shortage and receive pay comparable to other hospitals in the region. The docs are human beings, not raving abusive monsters and the nurses do not, with some exceptions ;o), "eat their own". Sheesh!
It's wonderful that you have a postive experience going in your small hospital. That's how it's supposed to be. Unfortunately, it isn't always the case and in 25+ years of nursing I have indeed seen nurses "eat their own". I've also seen out of control doctors on abusive ego trips. It's very ugly because that behavior usually eventually transfers itself down to the patient and patient's family level. It's those complaints that can sometimes lead to the rebuke of an abusive physician, but not often from staff complaints, in my observation.
In my years of administration, it was frustrating to hear the cries of "we need help!" (which was entirely the case) only to have subsequently seen new people I hired, isolated and ostracized simply because they were new. Very much a shoot yourself in the foot scenario and all the counseling I could do didn't change it much in the long run.
Acuity levels have played a large part in driving nurses away from the profession IMO. The patients are sicker than before, yet frequently without additional staffing appropriated by the hospital. Couple that with the other demands of the profession, hours, physical demands, pay scales etc. many very good nurses have decided it just isn't worth the stress.