If Nurses were paid $8.50 per hr, would you or would you not

Nurses General Nursing

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I have seen a couple of posts about the motives of students/career changers/people going into nursing . I thought of the question and I want to know.

If RN pay became regulated and new grads had to start at $8.50 and the cap was $17...

1. would you still go into nursing ?

2. would you quit nursing?

why and why not.

Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
Well, Mike- as one who is also 53, the strong back part is getting pretty iffy these days. . .:) I'll always keep the soft heart, though. :up:

Well, my back may not be quite as strong as it once was, either. What I notice, though, is that, while my head never was too soft, it seems to get harder with every passing year. So, I suppose by the time I'm my Dad's age, no one will be able to tell me anything, either. But I'm sorta okay with that.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
This is a silly question...no one would be a nurse for next to nothing unless they belonged to the group called the catholic Sisters. I did not receive a "calling from god" to be a nurse, nor most of the people I have met along the way. I am so glad this is not the reality...:uhoh3:

Agreed. I have always wondered if people would become nuns and priests if they got $8.50 an hour WITHOUT heavily subsidized room/board and a guarantee of never being destitute in retirement. It's no doubt a calling--I couldn't live that lifestyle--but it also doesn't have the self-care financial burdens that go with it.

As a pre-nursing student, I can emphatically say "Hell no!"

18 years ago, my mother struggled through LVN school as a single mother with a 3 year old (me). Since then, I've watched her rise through the ranks to where she is now as a CEN Charge RN. Through my time working in ER/OP Registration, I got just a small taste of what nurses deal with and are excepted to smile through, and that small taste was enough for me to realize how under-appreciated you guys are! Doesn't matter if it's ER, Med/Surg, ICU, a clinic, school nursing, allied health, there's already a lack of respect and recognition for what nurses do.

I wouldn't work for $8.50 an hour as a nurse. Not because of selfishness or over-inflated ego, but out of respect for those who came before. But still, I made more than that in Registration, not even including my shift diff, and some days I came home swearing I'd never set foot in that building again. I wouldn't expect ANYONE to work in ANY area of nursing for what amounts to minimum wage, at best.

Specializes in ER/ CTICU.

That must be in the boondocks.. i was a new grad starting at 40$ with additional night and weekend diffs in SF.. and free insurance with 2 raises a year!!!! Now I live in NYC and took a BIG paycut and work is much more grueling and less rewarding and more taxes... but i love NY so i am dealing with it...

Specializes in non-animals.

Id do it for 8.50 an hour....but theyd have to gave me a $50000 signing bonus a year as well

lol im a cna i wouldnt even work for 850!

It would depend on what my choices were.

If I could find a job that paid for food and rent, I would do that instead of one that couldn't pay rent. But I'd live in a junk yard car or a box and work for food instead of refusing to work because the job didn't cover rent too.

Or if I lived in a socialist society where I could count on the government to pay for food and rent whether I worked or not, then I'd work if there was some reason I liked it better than fishing.

It all depends on what my next best option is.

To avoid any misunderstanding, what I like or want to do is a factor but is not the only factor.... either for or against any particular choice.

I do not remember the Great Depression, but my grandparents told stories. I also read history (Ekraine, Cambodia, Argentina - all were vibrant, healthy economies which tanked abruptly)... I can see circumstances where I'd be glad to live in a box and work for food.

Specializes in Mental and Behavioral Health.

I wonder if the OP is an administrator fishing around for takers...uhh..suckers) :rolleyes:

Specializes in NICU.

Does it matter if that's the case? it's an interesting thought nonetheless.

Specializes in Med Surg-Geriatrics.

20 yrs ago I made less than that & no I didn't go into it for the big bucks,but unfortunately inflation and the cost of living keeps skyrocketing,and even though as a nurse I genuinely care about my patients my survival comes first and foremost..So Noooo I would not even crawl out of bed for that,CNA's make more than that,as a matter of fact I wouldn't do CNA work for less than $15.00 an hour (which would mean working agency)

No, because Nursing is not "just a job" it's a proffession and we are not "just a nurse" that are part of the bunch.:hpygrp:

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