That may very well be involved. The issue is not confined to China; it is international in scope, and the U.S. is not immune. The entire world is facing a shortage of Registered Nurses to provide care, and one of the reasons is the manner in which nurses may be treated in the workplace. Even with the U.S. not being immune, conditions here are measurably better than many countries, including not only this but pay rates. So many nurses from other countries come here to work, which only exacerbates the nursing shortage in their homelands.

Nursing as a profession is learning how to cope with the major changes in gender-related role expectations (women who work can be either teachers or nurses, to women can do anything {which results in fewer women entering the previously major professions open to them and thus fewer nurses}...). Violence against nurses is not the only problem. It is one of the biggest ones.