Nurses are being overworked as there are enough nurses out there to do the work. One big reason is that educational programs can't accept all the people who apply due to already running above capacity. However, there is good news as states like California have enacted special laws to help the situation out.
This is important because there is a high threat of patients dying in hospitals due to not enough staff to take care of them. California has gone so far as to create a law that requires one nurse for every five patients on medical and surgical floors which are the most critical. It will be interesting to see how these laws take in effect.