Is it just my idealistic view of what a nurse should be or does this bother other nurses? I have heard several times lately and have read articles of people who are going to nursing school, not because they want to be a nurse but because they want the paycheck and a stable job. My sister in law is one of these people. She said to me, " I really don't want to be a nurse but I figure that I can work as a nurse while I go back to school." I find that mentality very frustrating. I worked very hard to become a nurse. I worked as a nursing assistant before I became a nurse so I could make sure that I knew what I was getting myself into, I shadowed nurses when I was in high school. I really feel that this is what I was put on this earth to do and to hear people talk like this who have absolutely no concept of what they are getting themselves into and who have no respect for the profession just boils my blood. I feel like these people, who have no intention of staying in nursing for an extended period of time just make it harder for the nursing student who actually wants to make a career of nursing because they take up spaces on the wait list for getting into nursing school.
Maybe some of these people will be excellent nurses and will contribute well to the profession but I personally would not want a nurse to take care of me who only got into the field because they wanted a stable paycheck.
Don't you agree that to do well in nursing you have to have some desire to be here in the first place? These are people's health and lives that we are dealing with. This field isn't just about a paycheck!!!
I know I'm probably being naieve and idealistic when I say this but I really feel that nursing is a calling, not a JOB!!! I've been doing this type of work for going on 10 years now and I have felt that way about it from day 1.
What do you think? Does it bother you that people are getting into nursing who have no desire to actually be a nurse? Just wanting to hear other people's perspectives on the issue.
... and most all of us do what we do for the paycheck.
It really yanks my chain when people accuse others of "doing it only for the money"; like that makes a person some kind of heathen.
Nonsense!
I love it when "holier-than-thou" people ask me "why don't you ever volunteer at the homeless shelter, the animal shelter, the food drive, the 'Big-Popular-Disease of the Year Awareness Run', the church...blah blah blah..."
Being the crass person I can be, when annoyed, I say, "Listen, my job is like all that. Everyday, I come in... I wipe myself out helping people, giving myself to people... in ways most 'charitable' hypocrites wouldn't touch with a 50 foot pole. I literally feel, at times, that the work I do is atoning for my sins. I swear... and I do all that for my patients... but I get PAID for it!!!"
... and most all of us do what we do for the paycheck.
It really yanks my chain when people accuse others of "doing it only for the money"; like that makes a person some kind of heathen.
Nonsense!
I love it when "holier-than-thou" people ask me "why don't you ever volunteer at the homeless shelter, the animal shelter, the food drive, the 'Big-Popular-Disease of the Year Awareness Run', the church...blah blah blah..."
Being the crass person I can be, when annoyed, I say, "Listen, my job is like all that. Everyday, I come in... I wipe myself out helping people, giving myself to people... in ways most 'charitable' hypocrites wouldn't touch with a 50 foot pole. I literally feel, at times, that the work I do is atoning for my sins. I swear... and I do all that for my patients... but I get PAID for it!!!"
Heck, "good works" + "money" = "sweet deal".
My thoughts:
Who cares if they came into nursing for the money as long as they provide excellent care to their patients. Live and let live.
Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
OMG KittyKat. That is just too funny. "I'd pay her to leave."
I liked it so much, if you take up donations to help the process along, I'll pledge $5.
Cool!
I'm not trying to imply that nursing is a vocation like being a priest (though others have a differing opinion which I respect), but in this work one gets real up close and personal with the consumer. It makes one heck of a better day for everyone if the attitude is right and the professionalism is there.
Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.
I give up! I confess! I went into nursing just for the paycheck. I decided it was a great way to be able to watch my soaps and eat bon-bons and get enough pay to buy my second yacht too! Wow, it's worked that way. Patients? I'm supposed to take care of patients? Well...they will just have to be patient awhile longer, til the next shift comes on, because I am too busy !! ahem :wink2:
I did not read all the posts, so I apologize if this has been said, but why is it that no one criticizes doctors for going into medicine for the money, but we as nurses are expected to be 100% selfless and to be in it purely "to help people". This is why nurses get burnt out so quickly, we are expected to put ourselves last and the entire world before us.
There is nothing wrong with going into nursing because it pays relatively well and is an in-demand career. If someone goes into it for those reasons and then is a cold, uncaring nurse, then that would be wrong. But someone can go into nursing with pure intentions and still become a bad nurse, so who cares why you get into it, it is what you do with it that counts.
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
I do believe that for me nursing was a calling. I could not decide on a major for college after two years. I finally went to the college counseling service and they administered a battery of tests that were to assess your area of interest. When we discussed the result, nursing had come out number 1 on the score. When the counselor told me this, I had this supreme moment of clarity and knew that this was it for my career choice. I know it sounds stupid, but I just got this overwhelming feeling of "thats it". I have never regretted my decision.
For those who say nurses don't make much, it is one of the few jobs around here where one can make $50,000/year with a two year degree, right out of college. That's good money around here. Now, I agree, I earn every single penny I make. Nursing is hard work and not for the faint of heart. But if someone told me that they got into nursing for the paycheck, so long as they provide good patient care, it doesn't bother me. Everybody's gotta make a living, and nursing sure beats flipping burgers (although on some nights, I feel I'd prefer flipping burgers ).
What bothers me are nurses that provide substandard care, and I don't care what their reasons are for doing so. Maybe they're burnt out. Maybe they're just not that bright to begin with. Maybe they're lazy. Maybe they're just there for the paycheck. What does it matter what their reason is for doing a s****y job?
Again, I don't bother myself with others' motivations for becoming a nurse. What matters to me is that they do a good job. Part of doing a good job as a nurse is the touchy-feely softer stuff, like therapeutic communication and showing kindness to people in the face of adversity. You don't have to have gone into nursing for purely altruistic reasons to be capable of those things.
Me personally i dont agree with it but now that this country is in a recession many people are looking for recession-proof jobs and nursing is one of the top, but can u blame people who want stability in their lives?
).
Hygiene Queen
2,232 Posts
The reason for doing something is not always what matters in the end.
The end result is what matters.
People (who you think will be horrible nurses) will sometime shock you and turn out really really great.
People (who you think will be awesome nurses) will sometimes sadly disappoint you.
Doesn't always matter why... as long as it works out in the end.