“In 2020 we clapped from balconies. In 2023, they’re still wearing trash bags in some hospitals.”
— Wing


It’s May 2023. National Nurses Week again.

The hashtags are back. The HR newsletters. The “thank you” banners with softly lit group photos.

But if you talk to an actual nurse today—really talk to one—you’ll find something sharper beneath the surface: fatigue, anger, and the quiet ache of betrayal.


🏥 Flashback to 2020

Remember those first weeks?