Equal work for Equal Pay

I think "deserve" is the wrong word. I think I "deserve" a million dollars.

NP and MD are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT things.

You have to get over this comparing fixation.

Let's take it out of the healthcare arena. Say I want to build a house. Do I expect to pay more to an architect than I would a general contractor? Yes, I do.

Why? The architect does things the contractor can't do, has more years of school, and has more training. Does that make the architect any better than the general contractor? No.

But they are different roles and not interchangeable.

Pardon me if this has already been said. The idea of equal pay for equal work has a basis is two people with the exact same education, working the exact same job, with the exact same experience, getting paid equally. (This is usually based on the inequality between male and female employees.)

While you may be doing the same work in the clinic, you're not equal when it comes to education (and most likely experience) and therefor, you will not be paid like a physician. In many states, NPs work under a physician.

When working in a SNF, I worked along side a dozen LVNs who for the most part did the exact same job I did. My education and license guaranteed me a higher salary. I don't find that unfair.

Life isn't fair. Had a similar discussion a couple days ago with another nurse about equal work and pay. She was prying and trying to find out my hourly rate, said we should make the same because we do the same work. I disagreed. I have been a nurse double the amount of time she has with double the amount of experiences. I have worked in multiple settings she has not worked in. I possess more skill than her. I'm also BSN trained while she is not. No way should she make what I do.

To me, it's the same thing. Don't think you are doing the exact same job as a doctor. You are not medically trained, you are still a nurse. A well trained and highly skilled nurse, but none the less still a nurse deep down.

OP, what exactly is your agenda?

My guess is they're here just to stir the turd.

My guess is they're here just to stir the turd.

I like my turds shaken, not stirred.

Nurses VS Doctors=Pay?. Don't think so. Doctors spend more time in the academe and stays much longer time in residency though Nurses have more work that the Doctors. Study In UK | Education Agency | UK Study

Who says our results are better?

The degree and qualifications are irrelevant. I'm ok go equal work - equal pay. Of course I want to make more money. However. I cannot lawfully do all of the things physicians can do.

I cannot admit patients to a hospital, work "independently," prescribe Schedule II drugs, order emergency holds, declare deaths (unless working in hospice), or certify disability. Additionally, physicians, regardless of specialty generally have the statutory authority to do whatever they want medicaly. They may not be employable, reimbursable, or even ethical, but comparatively we NPs are excessively circumscribed to our respective niches. Although my med check is no different than a psychiatrist med check (or eval), they have a laundry list of other qualifications.

NPs don't go to medical school.

Psych guy says it well. Physicians have statuary authority to do everything medically and NP's are relegated to what our NP leaders and lobbyists have been able to get as our scope of practice and this varies state by state. My practice looks a lot like a psychiatrist and my outcomes are good. I have had very good experiences consulting with psychiatrists on difficult patients. I think this is where they are most valuable. I have worked some places where psychiatrist had responsibilities appropriate for the depth and intensity of their superior education. Other places they are doing the same job as me since patient contact is what is reimburse able. I think either our salaries will go up or theirs will come down. Also interesting to consider the future effect of the global economy. No one makes close to US physician salary.

Posts like these make me want to bang my ahead against the wall (I still respond, so that's my issue). Just this week a colleague was talking about how he wants to go to CRNA school since "they just mix chemicals." Never mind he's not a nurse and had ZERO idea how competitive it is to get into CRNA school, much less how difficult the school actually is. You don't just sign up for it. They do make a large salary. I think that's the only thing he was right about.

In an earlier post i think he didn't get into medical school, he seems to be having some disgruntled feelings towards docs now. Not quite sure how it will help his future but to each their own I guess.

Here is his earlier post. There are several more like it in other sections.

That is irrelevant and I do not appreciate the slighted jab at me. I am not bitter at not becoming a physician. I am proud to become a future NP after I graduate from my program and happy to be treating all of the patients that come to me with the utmost quality and care. And even if I do not fully understand a complicated case, I can easily use evidenced based medicine websites like uptodate or do my own research to learn about a disease and its symptoms. This is something that even physicians use all the time because no matter how much education you have, you forget stuff! I am a strong proponent of the NP movement and I hope to be a leader for that movement because I firmly believe that the future of healthcare lies in the hands of nurse practitioners. We are here to tear down the glass ceiling of an outdated system that has hampered medicine's full potential in the modern world.

I'm not the only one taking a stand. Others believe in this movement for equality and recognition as well.

Melissa DeCapua, DNP (@melissadecapua) on Twitter