Becoming a nurse for the money...

%63theend · Jun 10, 2009

I don't agree with becoming a nurse for the money. To me being a nurse is about being there for THE PEOPLE. That's my opinion though and I understand not everyone agrees with me. I do think it is really sad though that there are people who ONLY want to be nurses and desire it with every fiber of their being but may miss out on a spot that was gained by a person simply seeking the degree for the money. I have to agree though that as long as someone who does it for the money becomes a good nurse it doesn't make any difference. As long as that person can be a good comfort and healer that is what matters. So I wish you the best!

joeyww12000 · Jun 11, 2009

I am 31 and changing to the nursing field from being an electrician. My number one reason for changing is to do something I find challenging, interesting and rewarding........butttttt.....all things challenging, interesting and rewarding dont pay the bills like nursing can.....I have a family and a mortgage...the bottom line is I want to do something that doesnt require 8-10 hrs in the mud digging ditches, or standing on a ladder all day....

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jun 11, 2009

I do tend to disagree with your statement.
Ideally passion should be matched by academic excellence but if I can't have both I'll take brains over passion any day. If it's me lying on that stretcher I want a nurse who can figure out what is wrong with me over a nurse who is simply passionate. I have friends and family enough to care about me. What I want if I have to go to the hospital is to be able to come out ALIVE, with all of my parts, and with my health intact if possible.
Reminds me of a passionate nurse at my job who is always bragging about how she cares so much more than everyone else. Great you care a lot but uh try and not do things like make constant med errors, make residents wait more than one full hour for their prn pain relief that is due because YOU think they are drug seeking, and how about the time you called 911 and ran a full code on that DNR hospice patient? :selfbonk:

I totally agree about what you are saying. Nurses need to me competent. However, caring does go along way. Part of being a competent nurse is being caring. With a patient that is in pain... are you going to go off in a rant about how much they are a drug seeker because your intellect are telling this ? Or are you going to not judge the patient and care enough to know more about his pain whether you think its real or not ?

snharrism · Jun 11, 2009

i am a cna and i just started going to school to get my adn. i have been around nursing my entire life because my mother is an rn and always involved me in her work. i choose to follow in her path because she got to go to work everyday and make enough money to support her family and at the end of the day know she was making a difference in the world as well. when i started to think about what i wanted to do in life, i knew that i didn't want to have a job that didn't make a positive impact. i also knew that from a career standpoint that i was making a very smart decision. if someone is in it just for the money, then i don't think they should become a nurse, because you have to ultimatley truely care about your patients to be good at your job.

XYcsccSN · Jun 11, 2009

I don't think you need to have a divine calling to be a nurse. If someone is motivated by the money then so be it as long as they are a competent nurse. I have seen very bad incompetent nurses who thought they were so great because "they really care". Nursing today is much more than simply "caring" for a patient like it was 20+ years ago; intelligence will take you further than "caring". Just don't be a D#$^ to patients! I will say that unless you can find something that you really enjoy about nursing, then it may become a job that you dread, good money or not.

vanillavirtue · Jun 13, 2009

I don’t think you need to have a divine calling to be a nurse. If someone is motivated by the money then so be it as long as they are a competent nurse. I have seen very bad incompetent nurses who thought they were so great because “they really care”. Nursing today is much more than simply “caring” for a patient like it was 20+ years ago; intelligence will take you further than “caring”. Just don’t be a D#$^ to patients! I will say that unless you can find something that you really enjoy about nursing, then it may become a job that you dread, good money or not.

No you need to care for people. Yes, you need to be competent, but you need to actually care for people. Nursing is a "people" profession. Patients are sick, and they don't need someone mean spirited sending off negative vibes working on them. If you aren't a caring person, nursing is not for you, and you would be miserable in the job and make everyone else miserable around you. Also, I believe that nursing is a calling. People are called for different things. Some people are called to various jobs that will fit their personality and makeup better than others. That is why I stressed to the opener of this thread to find out what motivates him. Then he should line up his career choice in those areas. Not everyone's personality fits nursing. If you are the external type who wants to feel appreciated or get a pat on the back, then nursing is not for you. Doctor's get the external rewards, nurses do not. Nursing is a very humbling career and a person who is out for money choosing this profession, will have a rude awakening when they have to clean poop flowing out of someone's behind when the gloves only reach to the wrist. Or having to lift or turn an obese patient who has bed sores that stink. So yeah, there better be some other motivating factor besides money! RN's have to clean poop as well. Some people think that RN's don't have to do the scrub work, but they do. They do the same things CNA's do along with other duties.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 13, 2009

i do have to say i feel there is absolutely nothing wrong with factoring the pay into your career decision. i would be lying if that was not a reason i considered the healthcare field. i do know people that don't quite have my "omg i want to do nothing but be a nurse" attitude that are very competent and safe nurses. but i do feel that long-term, you'll be dissapointed and may get burnt out pretty quickly if you don't have a genuine interest in nursing. i mean, mri physicists make over 500,000/yr but i'm not exactly hopping on that train . just my .

just my two cents, but both my husband and i are nurses and have been for around 30 years. each. neither of us ever had the "omg, i want to be a nurse" feeling. while we've each experienced our episodes of burn-out from time to time, neither of us is either disappointed or burnt out. dh is in it for the money and job security, and i kind of fell into it by accident, but it is an interesting profession with job security, decent pay, flexible hours and the ability to change specialties, hospitals, shifts or locations any time burn-out threatens.

i hate to see nursing students making judgments about the motivation of other nursing students, or worse yet, of practicing nurses. just pay attention to your own motivations and make sure you're doing the right thing.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 13, 2009

what a disappointing post to read, honest, but disappointing. i will be starting ns in the fall and i dread having to deal with fellow students like this op - who sounds extremely arrogant and selfish. even more so, i feel so sorry for the patients this person may have . . whose nurse only has money on the brain. its so unfortunate. i always knew there were people like this, but to be so open about it?! i hope ns tears them apart . .

oh, honey, you have a lot to learn! one of the very first things i hope you learn in nursing school is not to be so judgmental. you will be the one nursing school tears apart.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 13, 2009

i don't think you need to have a divine calling to be a nurse. if someone is motivated by the money then so be it as long as they are a competent nurse. i have seen very bad incompetent nurses who thought they were so great because "they really care". nursing today is much more than simply "caring" for a patient like it was 20+ years ago; intelligence will take you further than "caring". just don't be a d#$^ to patients! i will say that unless you can find something that you really enjoy about nursing, then it may become a job that you dread, good money or not.

having been a nurse for over 30 years, i can tell you with some authority that nurses needed to be intelligent 20 years ago. i venture to say that they needed to be intelligent even in florence's day. "passion" and a "calling" may be a good reason to start looking into the career, but that and $2.95 will get you a cup of coffee these days. you also need to be able to master the academics, persevere when the going gets rough and have enough common sense not to make stupid/preventable mistakes.

in the end, i'd rather have (and be) a smart nurse than a nurse with a calling.

melmarie23, MSN, RN · Jun 14, 2009

I'd be lying if I said that the money wasnt an incentive for me to change careers. Nursing pays pretty well, especially in my neck of the woods.

That said, I had other reasons to go into it as well. I enjoy the medical profession, always loved the sciences and like people. Nursing is a good fit.

I have my reasons, the OP has theirs and in the end, we both are going to be RNs. All that matters is a having a desire one way or another to go into this field. All that matters is that we come out competent and able to do our job.

LMRN10 · Jun 14, 2009

My quick response...

Who cares what the reason may be, the only thing that really matters is that you care about your patients and take care of them the way you would want yourself or a family memeber taken care of...some people have that caring personality, others don't...if you don't, I think this is the wrong field to be in.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2009

To be honest I don't even know why I responds to these type threads anyway ( like I'm doing now), its not like the OP will ever admit to the patient that he only became a nurse for the money... so why does it matter ? I would just like to be a fly on the wall when he have about 5 patients, is overwhelmed, cleaning up patients, dealing with strong odors, the look of sputum, blood, vomit, drainage and etc. Hopefully he'll feel as though its all worth it for the mula ! Maybe or maybe not, only time will tell.