A calling to help others but give me a good paycheck

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

I have the want to help my patients, and I respect their dignity. I don't like not having a raise in two years, and I don't like the shrinking bottom line of money. I have heard chatter of well I am not in this for the money, and I am only hear to help others.....

I call these statements drivel. Everyone needs to eat, pay mortgage, have gas money to get to work....so please don't devalue what you do by saying I don't need a good paycheck....

Decent pay for a day's work

We have yearly evaluations at our hospital that determines a pay raise. It's some asinine scale based on arbitrary measures that can earn an employee a whopping maximum 3% pay increase. I got a whole $0.30/h raise this year. :yawn:

I've often told people who say they're just in it to help people: "That's great and all. I'm here to help too. But working based solely on my good intentions doesn't keep food in my belly and a roof over my head."

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Specializes in Emergency.

Nothing from an employer says thank you more than a fistful of cash.

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Specializes in Emergency.

I can tell one thing...union hospital. ..guaranteed wage increases and at least a modicum of worker protection. ..all the complaining about no raises is the reality in capitalism 101...of course your expendable-of course you will be worked to your breaking point without just compensation. ..wake up-open your eyes..."we" have shot ourselves in the foot for so many years...do you expect it not to hurt?

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Specializes in hospice.

^^^^And a chunk of your paycheck stolen and given away against your will to political interests to whom you'd never donate. No thanks.

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Specializes in Emergency.
duskyjewel said:
^^^^And a chunk of your paycheck stolen and given away against your will to political interests to whom you'd never donate. No thanks.

If your using that analogy toward "dues" you should probably extrapolate to taxes as well...don't you think?

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Specializes in Emergency Department/Radiology.

MariposaLPN, again you have misunderstood. I am not upset, you have as much right to your idealistic views as anyone else, and I have the right to my experience and loss of idealism, after years of banging my head against the wall thinking I could change things and make the world a better place. But, what I learned is first you have to realize that the world....mostly doesnt care to change, that greed runs many businesses including unfortunately these days hospitals, and to use the reason that you are helping people in a sort of altruistic fashion is how some of above stated "greedy bastards" get you to buy into why it isnt necessary to compensate nurses for the agonizingly, difficult, self sacrificing work we do by patting us on the head and saying "but you are doing it for the good of the sick and injured". THAT was my point. So, I admire you for wanting to defend your idealism, at one time so would I, but I grew up and got a reality check. Nurses (in my opinion) have for too long failed to demand pay for the difficult and often soul draining job we do. We not support each other enough, for where else would it come from. Do good work, but dont sell out to some archaic notion of an "angel of mercy", that title doesnt pay too well.

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Specializes in Telemetry, IMCU.
Radnurse54 said:
MariposaLPN, again you have misunderstood. I am not upset, you have as much right to your idealistic views as anyone else, and I have the right to my experience and loss of idealism, after years of banging my head against the wall thinking I could change things and make the world a better place. But, what I learned is first you have to realize that the world....mostly doesnt care to change, that greed runs many businesses including unfortunately these days hospitals, and to use the reason that you are helping people in a sort of altruistic fashion is how some of above stated "greedy bastards" get you to buy into why it isnt necessary to compensate nurses for the agonizingly, difficult, self sacrificing work we do by patting us on the head and saying "but you are doing it for the good of the sick and injured". THAT was my point. So, I admire you for wanting to defend your idealism, at one time so would I, but I grew up and got a reality check. Nurses (in my opinion) have for too long failed to demand pay for the difficult and often soul draining job we do. We not support each other enough, for where else would it come from. Do good work, but dont sell out to some archaic notion of an "angel of mercy", that title doesnt pay too well.

I understand.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I just read in Money magazine that a survey of corporate firms only 43% were increasing wages as of July 2014! This a high point from a low of only 16% in October 2013! I think that is a pretty sad commentary on working in America! Even now a majority of businesses are not giving raises. How is the economy supposed to get better if no one has any money to spend. It explains why wages have been stagnant and dropping!

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Specializes in hospice.

Yes, but if they give raises they can't afford, they'll go out of business and all their employees will be unemployed.

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I'm with you. It's challenging work that not everybody can do, so we should be paid accordingly.

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For those that feel that nursing is a calling, that they were 'called'......who called you?

People feel 'called' to become members of the clergy, or religious orders in general, by what they feel is a higher power. The 'call' comes as an urge from a diety.

I chose nursing because I thought I'd be good at it, that the type of work was something I was well-suited for, and I liked the concept of flexible scheduling for work (oftentimes, in my nursing hx, more 'concept' than reality!).

I honestly am puzzled at the idea of a 'calling' to nursing, as to me that just invokes the idea that if someone really wants to be a nurse, they must be 'called' to it, some kind of Heavenly Directive they felt they had no power to disobey. No....I just really wanted to do it. No supernatural oversight, IMHO.

Why can't people just say "I really wanted to be a nurse, I knew it was something I wanted to do" rather than insist they 'heard a calling'?

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Specializes in hospice.

As a person who is currently being shoved along the nursing path by the good Lord, I can understand why some might feel it as a calling. Personally, I feel much about it as you do, but never expected to enter nursing. It wasn't a path I ever considered, but during a long stretch when I was miserable as a CNA, casting around for any other job, and constantly praying for guidance, I kept being directed to stay where I am and move up. Over and over. When it came to applying for school, even then I was balking and unsure, but whenever I did something to work on that app, even when it cost me money I could ill afford, I felt at peace and like I was doing what I'm supposed to. As I wait, the desire for school grows, but I'm still not one of these people who will just die if I never become a nurse. I'm being pushed, and I have to trust that there is a reason.

It's difficult for a person of faith to explain this to a nonbeliever. God still reaches out, but people who refuse to be open and accept that will have a hard time understanding how powerful the influence can be for those of us who seek it. We have the gift of free will, so God doesn't force it, which means that those who don't hear or feel these promptings will have a hard time understanding. Heck, even those of us who do, who beg for guidance and want to be prompted, don't understand clearly a lot of the time.

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