Safety fears as UK hospitals use nurses to cover for doctors due to shortage of medics
(www.theguardian.com)
Yeah. I'd argue nurses are often underappreciated and likely underpaid for the work they do. Often they also notice a lot of illnesses or changes in condition earlier than doctors, and that can be fairly accurate from medical experience or studying.
That said there is a reason doctor and nurse are different names and separate jobs. Maybe we should be looking more at why there is a lack of them rather than trying to find substitutes.