Nurses, it appears, cannot live on insincere government praise and fresh air alone, and are increasingly having recourse to second jobs. Assuming they don't leave the profession altogether that is.
On top of that, their pay continues to languish at the bottom end of the salary scale and their hours are creeping ever upwards, including in unpaid overtime.
The RCN Scotland told the Voice that "we are reaching a recruitment crisis" with pay and workload cited as "the key issues".
In a week that saw Scottish hospital consultants, who must somehow scratch by on a basic salary of £63,000, vote in favour of paid overtime on top of a 10-15 per cent pay rise, a survey for the Royal College of Nursing has revealed that almost two thirds of nurses are working an average of seven extra hours a week, a quarter of which time is unpaid.
The survey of 5000 nurses, whose salary scale starts at £16,000 and rises to around £20,000, found that nearly a third take on second jobs to make ends meet.
Poor beleaguered consultants, however, have no such option, as the new contracts restrict the potential for private practice.
But then, there isn't much to be had in Scotland. In England, however, where private practice is a serious growth industry, the consultants found Alan Milburn's little pay sweetener easier to resist.
The RCN are pinning their hopes on the Pay Review Body to recommend an acceleration of the year-on-year salary increases for nurses.
"Only by improving morale through improved pay can the problems of nurse recruitment and retention be tackled," said RCN general secretary Dr Beverly Malone.
Telling them they're angels and doing a jolly good job just doesn't wash anymore.