Does it bother you when someone wants to be a nurse just for the money?

Nurses General Nursing

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I have an acquaintance that wants to be a CRNA. No mention of being an RN first or how long it would take her to do it, just wants to be a CRNA. She's mentioned not wanting to work as an RN in the middle to avoid bedside nursing and "butt wiping" and just wants to go and get her Master's. She thinks being a CRNA is easy.

As a nursing student in an ADN program, I value bedside nursing and no matter what my wage may be in the future, I would like to stay at bedside. I don't think this person really knows what nursing is and I think she just wants to be a CRNA because of the money. She never seemed like a caring person, is quick to throw tantrums and has no patience at home. I do wish her the best with whatever career she likes, but it feels like she is turning up her nose at the line of work that I want to do. Does it bother you when you meet people like this?

I don't have a problem with it. Why shouldn't one take into account practical considerations when choosing a field of work?

What bothers me more is the implied judgement in your post that monetary considerations are ignoble, and that one should enter the nursing field as one would enter a nunnery: pious, devout, and ascetic.

We all do what we do for a combination of enjoyment and compensation, and this pervasive idea in nursing that one must practically martyr oneself or hear the voice of god before entering the profession is, in part, a reason we are not taken seriously and do not stand up for the respect and compensation we deserve.

I don't blame your friend for wanting to eschew the bedside. She's chosen a path that requires much more schooling, time, and money, and will have a bigger pay-off along with a increased amount of respect. Why do you see this as a bad thing? There's nothing to be gained by the level of "nobility" of one's reasons for becoming a nurse. You don't get a special prize, and you certainly don't gain any professional respect.

I'd rather have a cold, intelligent nurse who chose nursing for practical reasons at my bedside who is able to critically think and keep me safe, than a dim-witted nurse who is really, really sweet and chose nursing so she can "save the world " and who will hold my hand and tear up at the profound sadness she feels as she looks at me in pity. (which, frankly, I'd find incredibly annoying if this scenario were actually played out.)

(Flame retardant: I'm suggesting that intelligence and compassion are mutually exclusive. I was being hyperbolic to illustrate a point.)

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I think there are many people in nursing school who start out thinking they want to be a CRNA. I'm currently in a bridge program and the first day of one of my classes, our teacher asked us to introduce ourselves and state what type of nursing we wanted to do. There are 12 of us in class--8 want to be a CRNA, 3 want to go to the NICU, and me who is going to stay in hospice. One of the guys asked me why. He says that's so sad, they are dying, don't you want to save lives? The difference is that I've been a hospice nurse >10 years and I know what I want to do. I enjoy my job. Many of them will probably change their minds many times as we go through the different clinical rotations. When I began LPN school, I thought I wanted to work with peds, but with each rotation I "fell in love" with the current rotation. When we got to the LTC, I KNEW that working with the elderly was for me. When I was working in LTC, I took a PRN hospice position and jumped at the first full-time position that opened up. I'm home and I love it!

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Not if they are a good nurse and being a good nurse matters to them, no. Money is a reality of life and villainizing the pursuit of it is a little strange.

I got into nursing school as a shiny happy person very much pursuing a "calling". I still feel that way on most days, but between my schooling and my externship, I am seeing there are definitely things about my new career that aren't going to be my favorite. And I am definitely not willing to look away from the desire to be well paid for what I do. I can be called to something and still care whether my cost/benefit ratio is tipped in my direction. I came into this believing I wanted to be an oncology/hospice nurse. I still want to. But I am looking at how to specialize that into an advanced practice that will let me and my family have a very comfortable life. One CAN be both a caring, professional, proficient nurse AND desire to make a good salary too.

I also believe it can be about the money for someone without the "calling" aspect and they can still be a competent, dare I say excellent, nurse. A good friend of mine got into it for what the better money could do for her family. She got the internship in a major med center's ER over everyone in her geographical area, which is very economically depressed and low on new grad jobs. She is a fabulous nurse now. Obviously her initial desire to make good money didn't affect how much dedication she put into learning nor her ability to present herself well to the profession.

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Specializes in ICU-CCRN, CVICU, SRNA.

In short Yes. Not because of the desire to make more money,but mainly because it just sounds little ignorant. You really need to be an ICU RN and interact a lot with anesthesia to see what it is and if it is "easy". In that respect it feels as if she is devaluing ICU nursing. On the other hand people are free to have ambitions and dreams otherwise we would never advance ourselves.

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Specializes in Cardiovascular/Thoracic Surgery Recovery.

I would love to see the look on her face when she realizes that CRNA's deal with a LOT grosser excrement than poop. And a previous poster was correct, you HAVE to have at least 1 year in an ICU setting. You can't go straight through to CRNA. And by the way, the CRNA's that make the big bucks make them because they EARN them. 10 hour surgeries and being on call at 2 am is NOT fun.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

As long as they are competent at their job, it doesn't bother me. A person's reasons for entering nursing are their business, and it's not my place to judge.

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Specializes in PP, Pediatrics, Home Health.

It does bother me yes.I had a friend who decided that working full time as an RN would give her the financial stability that she needed to make it in the world.She is not a compassionate person and bedside nursing is DEFINITELY not for her.

She then asked to look through my textbooks (I am only an RPN so they aren't as extensive as the RN textbooks) to see what nursing was like.She was shocked!She just wanted an "easy" program so she could get an "easy" job.Let's just say after what she learned through my textbooks, and what I did at clinicals she definitely changed her mind.

It bothers me that people only do it for the money, nursing is about COMPASSION for patients.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

It doesn't bother me; it confuses me.

I was the first person on either side of my family to graduate from college, and I also make more money than anyone. Not by much, though. I have a few cousins who are in the sanitation industry and they also make good money. Yet they didn't have to go through all of my schooling, or work holidays, or deal with all of the stresses of being a nurse.

So...I guess if I picked a career based on money, I wouldn't choose nursing, because I'm not rolling in dough and the money I make is EARNED.

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Specializes in ICU-CCRN, CVICU, SRNA.
I would love to see the look on her face when she realizes that CRNA's deal with a LOT grosser excrement than poop. And a previous poster was correct, you HAVE to have at least 1 year in an ICU setting. You can't go straight through to CRNA. And by the way, the CRNA's that make the big bucks make them because they EARN them. 10 hour surgeries and being on call at 2 am is NOT fun.

You are absolutely right and one year is not even enough, most schools take2-3 years as a minimum. Just curious though-whats grosser than poop?LMAO, cant think of anything grosser:)

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
You are absolutely right and one year is not even enough, most schools take2-3 years as a minimum. Just curious though-whats grosser than poop?LMAO, cant think of anything grosser:)

Orthopedic and ENT surgeries...bones breaking, cracking...

member surgery....

And some people have issues with all of the blood involved in several surgeries.

Give me a full bedpan!!!

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

I wouldn't worry about her...she will soon see that even the schooling for CRNAs are NO FREAKIN JOKE!!!! As for your comment " I'll work no matter the wages " LOL...I hope you stay true to it!!! Cause it will change when you have those once in a blue nasty NMs and those patients that drive you to drink and report you for everything! Then it's NO MORE "NICE NURSE"

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Specializes in LTC.

To be honest it does bother me. I think the passion for the career should come first. This is just my 2 cents so flamers please don't flame me.

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