Are you in Nursing for the Caring or the Cash?? Be Honest

Koalablue · Jun 11, 2004

neither mercenary or nun.

Heh. I like that! I'm pretty sure noone would ever accuse me of being a nun

As I said in the previous thread on this topic: I made a conscious choice to go back into nursing for the money. Not in the sense of making a whole bag load of cash, but in the sense of having a secure, reasonably well paid job (though I reckon we should be paid more!), that offers a variety of job choices/fields and will allow me to travel all over the world.

Thats not to say I don't care about people - if I didn't, I'd make a pretty shoddy nurse. My patients always seem happy and tell me how well cared for they feel when I have looked after them, so I must be doing something right. But that doesn't change the reasons why I decided to go back to school to become a nurse (for the second time around: maybe thats why I was able to leave `caring about people' off my list of reasons to go back to school. I knew exactly what I was getting into and I had no illusions about any of it!).

In the end I'm doing it because I want to. I'll let other people do it for whatever reasons *they* want. It's none of my business. If they're in it for the wrong reasons then they'll find out soon enough (and how!).

I *do* think it takes a special kind of person to be a nurse, but I'm not so special that I don't have bills to pay and a need to put food on the table

1styear · Jun 11, 2004

I am in nursing school because I want a good, steady job and I like interacting with the pts. I'm not a saint who longs to heal the sick. Nurses in NYC make a LOT of money. New grads at my school this year started at at 65k per year. The great thing about us who want to make a good living is we'll pick up a lot of extra shifts so that some nurses I know make 90k a year cause they work hard and they want to advance their lifestyle. Do nurses like us stay on the floors long? No, usually we get out as soon as possible, and give good nursing care in areas like plastic surgery, agency, MD offices etc. or possible legal nursing, forensic nursing. pharm rep.... I'm basing that off a lot of people I know at my school who dread even spending 1 year on med surg and so they will all pick the highest paying job that does not involve floor nursing most likely. These are not bad nurses, they just have different ambitions and want to pursue their career differently and with little back injury. Maybe that's wrong, maybe everyone should feel some sort of calling and just want to help people but THAT is not pursuing a career. I think nursing is a career and the hospital is a business, everyone else in the health care system is worried about their wallet and serves some nurses some good to do the same as long as it doesn't interfere will giving good care to the pts.

Nurse Ratched, RN · Jun 11, 2004

I specifically went to nursing school to have a career that would be stable and capable of supporting my husband and myself in the event he loses his job through layoffs.

I love my work, but if a person says he/she is in it just for the caring - if you weren't being paid, would you still go in? How about if your pay was half of what it is now?

I made $3.35/hr as a nurses' aide many moons ago - loved my work and the people, but I was going to college to better my situation so I could make more money. Nothing wrong with that. If being a nurse's aide paid what being a nurse does, I'd still be there.

Drysolong · Jun 20, 2004

Uh ... Cash. :chuckle
Actually, it would be nice to have a job where I wouldn't have to worry about getting laid off all the time.
And, I'm a member of the older generation (43 years old), which is why I'm going back to school to become a nurse. Pink slips get kinda old after awhile.

I am 53 years old and I've chosen Nursing as my next career for basically the same reason that you mentioned. However, I feel I am going to love nursing because I like working directly with people and helping them to feel better psychologically and physically.

movealong · Jun 20, 2004

Both. I went into nursing because I thought I could be good at it, and liked people and I have a caring attitude. But I was also very aware that nursing would allow me to be employable almost anywhere at any time.

I was raised with a very strong work ethic. I always felt I was a hard worker. As an independent woman, I wanted to be able to provide for myself. And nursing has allowed me to that.

nyydreamer · Jun 20, 2004

hello i am currently in nursing school and the weirdest thing is how future nurses talk about how they are going to be getting paid!! it's as if caring is not involved in their frame of mind, this type of mentality is not going to help the nursing shortage it's only going to aide it because as we know we do not get paid for our actual services, but this younger generation feel since it is a shortage this is the field to go and make some quick money, so i'm curious and please be honest what are you in it for, caring or cash?

it's a funny thing - i went into nursing for the job security and the money - it wasn't that i didn't have caring for the patients but caring for my kids was more important, i.e. supporing them - but then an even funnier thing happened along the way - the caring aspect kicked in and i can honestly say i have a deep caring and empathy for my patients, mostly poor, innercity people who turn to us as their "private doctory" and also as their last resort - i also do home health on the side and at an inservice yesterday, the owner refers to nursing as "a calling" and i think he's right - alot of people go into nursing but if that deeper calling isn't there, they'll only last a year or two - the rest of us hang on even through poor working conditions, salaries that definitely below what we deserve and sometimes uncaring managers - fortunately our current manager is awesome but that wasn't always the case - anyway, the whole point is this: nursing is a calling and people the world over should give thanks that some of us have heeded that calling.

mother/babyRN, RN · Jun 20, 2004

What cash??????If you are in nursing, you are definitely NOT in it for the cash.....A plumber makes more than experienced nurses. For the skill, time, patient load, knowledge, grief and time spent, even the high end of the pay scale is pittance compared to most professions. I am not ungrateful but simply honest...

mother/babyRN, RN · Jun 20, 2004

Ya know, a lot of docs and lawyers went into it for the money AND because they liked the field..Why can't a nurse want to do both just like any other profession? You can still care and collect money and sleep at night. I think the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive...

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Jun 20, 2004

It's a funny thing - I went into nursing for the job security and the money - it wasn't that I didn't have caring for the patients but caring for my kids was more important, i.e. supporing them - but then an even funnier thing happened along the way - the caring aspect kicked in...

Yes- I think it's being forgotten that this has happened to a lot of us. I know being a nurse has changed me as a person and has allowed me to grow. Being around others who have bigger problems than you can really put your own life into perspective, and one can learn a great deal about tolerance, caring, empathy, etc. in this field. Just because someone's initial reason for going into the field might be a decent paycheck, it doesn't mean they'll be impervious to these experiences once they're exposed to them.

nycegyrl · Jun 20, 2004

Quote:And, I'm a member of the older generation (43 years old), which is why I'm going back to school to become a nurse. Pink slips get kinda old after awhile. End quote

I hear ya. I too am 43 and tired of pink slip, yellow slips. You name it. I need something I can rely on. If I am going to throw myself into a job 100% I want to be able to make a living. :)

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Jun 20, 2004

When I first went into nursing some 34 + years ago, I couldn't believe how much fun it was! Now it's a J-O-B, not only because I am 34 years older....but also because the business of healthcare has become so cutthroat and impersonal, living and dying by the bottom line.

Sheri257 · Jun 20, 2004

Why do nurses often say it's bad if students are going into nursing for the money, when nurses are in it for the money too.

I don't care what they say, actions speak louder than words. Higher paying nursing positions are almost always filled more than lower paying positions. This has been widely reported in the news. Also, half the nurses in my area commute elsewhere (at great inconvenience, btw) for bigger paychecks, even though there are plenty of jobs close by.

When nurses complain about money, I don't see anyone telling them they're less compassionate or caring just because they want bigger paychecks. Why is this different for students? It's not.

I wonder how those nurses would feel if, every time they complained about salaries (and they do, a lot), we said they were less compassionate or less caring, just because they want more money.

Nurses need to give students a break on this issue. Because, really, they're hypocrites. Everybody, including nurses and students, wants more money. And there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean you are, or are going to be, a bad nurse.

:angryfire