It goes through cycles. Ten years ago we had an influx of nurses and now we have a huge need for them again. It may be because many nurses get burnt out. Also, because it's a predominately female profession, once we have families we tend to quit or go part-time to focus on our homes instead. There's more of camaraderie between physicians and nurses.
Nursing is respected more as a profession now.
I also think nurses are more prepared straight out of school, in all aspects. There are negative changes too. The ratio of nurses to patients has increased because they are cost-cutting across the country due to the HMO issue, and hospitals across the country are decreasing perks we used to get too. For those of us who have families, our kids sense when it's been a particularly hard day or a child has died because they get that extra squeeze and hug.