Ethics: Does it bother you when people are in nursing to make money?

Nurses General Nursing

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I just wondered if others as I do feel there are some in our line of work who look at money, security of earnings first rather than having a passion for their patient's welfare or wanting to work at finding ways to improve their performance as a nurse.

Any thoughts? Comments? Rants?

Specializes in Telemetry, Oncology, Progressive Care.

Is it any worse when someone goes to school to become a teacher so they can have the summer off? Perhaps they don't have a real interest in helping the kids and are just looking forward to the summer off but yet they still have to collect a paycheck.

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Specializes in Med-Tele, Internal Med PCU.
Is it any worse when someone goes to school to become a teacher so they can have the summer off? Perhaps they don't have a real interest in helping the kids and are just looking forward to the summer off but yet they still have to collect a paycheck.

Or perhaps they don't even like kids.

This was exactly one of my points earlier. Teachers, accountants, engineers, whatever you do if you don't carry some passion for your profession it will eat you up. You won't be proficient, nor successful. Teaching is a great example, a young person goes to college to be a teacher "for summers off", they get their degree and certifications and are out of the profession, "burned out"(hate the term), in 5-7 years. They didn't consider the administrative burdens, the disrespectful children and parents, the time it takes to lesson plan, and so on. For them the negatives no longer out weigh the positives, and isn't that the end point? Getting satisfaction in what you do, being able to put up with the parts you don't enjoy because of what you do enjoy. I would hope that in Nursing it is the same, when you get to your threshold of dis-satisfaction you move on, whether that is to another dept, another hospital, home health ... or another field.

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I just wondered if other as I do feel there are some in our line of work who look at money, security of earnings first rather than having a passion for their patient's welfare or wanting to work at finding ways to improve their performance as a nurse.

Any thoughts? Comments? Rants?

Well, I have to eat. I have bills to pay.

I want to be the best nurse I can at what I do, but I still have to have the money, and I like it when I get a raise, and bonuses.

I'm trying to build up my income in order to build up my rate of social security and retirement.

I see nothing wrong with that. I go to work and look out for my patients, and I have to look out for myself because someone has to do it.

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i took up nursing because it's an exciting profession... big salary is a bonus... ;)

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

I became a nurse because i have always found health sciences fascinating. And yes because I wished for a career with opportunities to earn money and advance professionally.

I don't have any problems with people who are in nursing solely for the money as long as they are competent and provide for their patients. We all have to eat.

If they reduced my wages or simply didn't provide pay increases then i may reconsider nursing but I really do love my job.

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Teaching is a great example, a young person goes to college to be a teacher "for summers off"

I know a lot of teachers would have a field day with this statement. Having the summer off for teachers amounts to being unemployed for 3 months of the year.

This is one of the stupid assumptions the public makes about teaching that teachers hate.

Who in their right mind goes into a profession for the express purpose of being unemployed for 2-3 months every year?

Give those young people who become teachers credit for more intelligence and insight that this.

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Great Article....sounds like some type of rationalization process for accepting lower pay scale. Could even be used to manipulate people.

This thread reminds me of studies that have been done on cognitive dissonance and careers.

You know - the studies go something like this: 20 participants are paid $5 to do a boring and unpleasant task (rated boring and unpleasant by overwhelming margins in other samples) and then they fill out a survey regarding the meaning and level of enjoyment. 20 other participants do the exact same task, but they are paid $50, and then they fill out the same survey regarding the boring/unpleasant task.

Who rates their boring/unpleasant level most accurately? The higher paid group. This has been duplicated many, many times. It is cognitive dissonance regarding work. The lower paid group will always rank their task as quite meaningful, etc. The mind has to inject the perception of extra meaning to explain why we would do such things for low pay/bad treatment.

When people are paid fairly and treated well, they tend to perceive their conditions more accurately.

I would think this could have implications for nursing. Anytime I hear nursing related as a 'calling' by someone I think of this. Savvy and scheming leaders know that the way to get someone to work harder for them is to treat them poorly and pay them little. The worker will respond with cognitive dissonance and unconsciously attach extra meaning to their work to bridge the dissonance and work harder.

Many people leading large groups know this. Religious leaders know this, and so do political leaders, etc. I think of this sometimes when I read about nursing being a 'calling' and all of the halo 'angels of mercy' stuff.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

message from the op

i feel that some people just don't get it regarding the thread i started from the get go! i don't mean i want nurses to earn zip; i don't want martyrs. no! i want nurses to earn as much as they are deserved of and more! what gets me is that some folks entering this field are looking at nursing as a career choice for stability and yes the money, however not reasoning within their head that this job is very hard, takes stamina, requires one to endure mental fatigue and keep on going like the energizer bunny, requires one to be diplomatic at all costs and not lose one's cool, is not an easy money making career choice, none whatsoever. so, whoever assumed this thread is about people earning nothing for doing honest to god very hard and sometimes unthanked work is crazy and needs to consider the main thrust of this thread rather than assume its all about the money, ok!? cheesch!

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Specializes in HIV care, med/surge agency.

Nursing used to be badly paid work. In the US unionization led to improvements in pay. We are still horribly worked to death with hideous patient care loads. We deserve better.

But a lot of country's nurses are very badly paid and treated like social scum. Remember nurses used to be either nuns or over age prostitutes looking for a career change.

If you just want to make money their are easier ways to do it. In fact the people who just want to make money and are not suited to the field will get out after a couple of years and move on. The nursing experience on their resume will open up all sorts of jobs for them, So don't worry about it.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.

message from the op

i feel that some people just don't get it regarding the thread i started from the get go! i don't mean i want nurses to earn zip; i don't want martyrs. no! i want nurses to earn as much as they are deserved of and more! what gets me is that some folks entering this field are looking at nursing as a career choice for stability and yes the money, however not reasoning within their head that this job is very hard, takes stamina, requires one to endure mental fatigue and keep on going like the energizer bunny, requires one to be diplomatic at all costs and not lose one's cool, is not an easy money making career choice, none whatsoever. so, whoever assumed this thread is about people earning nothing for doing honest to god very hard and sometimes unthanked work is crazy and needs to consider the main thrust of this thread rather than assume its all about the money, ok!? cheesch!

stability and money are very important considerations for job/career choices, especially in an era when we have lost much of our manufacturing jobs to a billion low-paid chinese workers, and are now facing losing many of our service jobs to a billion low-paid indian workers. need for money tends to change people's priorities and what they will or won't do to earn money.

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I don't remember taking a vow of poverty. :idea:

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Specializes in icu/er.

you know, sometimes i get tired of being held to nightingale standards...i'm sure you wont find many discussions such as this on a md website. can you see 2 doc's talking about it.. "hey you know dr. quak over in neuro, well do you think he is in it for the money?" and you know, they seem to go about their day with half the worried look on their face that i have, and besides they get treated better by the admin and the public as a whole. man, i've got aunts who were nurses back 30-40yrs ago and worked their butts off and were basically belittled all the time and was'nt paid crap. heck if rn nobody can make the big bucks go for it, and 95% of the time i got so much on my plate at work i'm really not thinking nor do i really care if rn so and so is in it for only the money. even superman gets tired.

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