Are these really the people that should be required to work so much? Isn’t their job about handling life and death daily? Wouldn’t we want exactly these people to come fully rested to work every single day and be fully staffed?
I don’t know if there are jobs with similar stakes that are so carelessly staffed and disgustingly paid.
Nurses can absolutely advance careers.
Either through more training to become a professional in a specific topic (or expanding to freelancing on the side) or going into a more administrative part of the hospital like schedules, ordering etc.
But medically speaking, you are right. Only as far as you can until you need to study humane medicine.