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?

Kyshamarsk, looks like you have been putting in a few too many hours your typos are worse than mine. :) Looks like you might do with some beddy time. ((hug))

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Kyshamarsk, looks like you have been putting in a few too many hours your typos are worse than mine. :) Looks like you might do with some beddy time. ((hug))

Nah...I just have always been a crappy typist....:selfbonk:

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Ok OK you have a very good point EG! We earn what we justly deserve in salary; some of us think otherwise...that MDs earn exponentially more than us and that's just not fair.

Does it bother you when someone comes to work, sits on there ass, complains about patient's in an unprofessional manner, gripes about pay, appears to have more interests in how well the Starbucks stock is doing than doing the tasks, the nursing process at hand or being even an inkling of the best nurse that they can be?

What you are actually complaining about is a person with a bad attitude and a bad work ethic; it is a character flaw and usually improves with maturity but sometimes does not. It is present in every profession from minimum wage to 6 figures a year. And, I totally agree with you; these people are irritating to say the least.

As to your question about people just doing it for the money; I think that everyone works for money; but it's hard to imagine a nurse doing it JUST for the money because there are a lot better paying jobs out there if all a person cares about is money.

I am not a nurse; I hope to attend nursing school Fall 2008. And believe it or not the money is actually what has kept me AWAY from nursing for so long. With all due respect, nurses really don't get paid that much in the grand scheme of things. I'll be taking a significant pay cut once I earn my RN. Not trying to start a fight here, but nurses are significantly underpaid, IMHO.:o

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

I am not a nurse; I hope to attend nursing school Fall 2008. And believe it or not the money is actually what has kept me AWAY from nursing for so long. With all due respect, nurses really don't get paid that much in the grand scheme of things. I'll be taking a significant pay cut once I earn my RN. Not trying to start a fight here, but nurses are significantly underpaid, IMHO.:o

I agree, we are underpaid.

I'm glad you chose nursing. It sounds like the perfect career for you.

For love of money alone won't make a happy nurse, no doubt!

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Specializes in Emergency.

We're ALL in it for the money. Otherwise we would be called volunteers.

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Specializes in None yet - looking for a job.

I'm not a nurse yet, just a first semester student. My clinical instructor said she would not want any student to graduate unless they stood up for the nursing profession as a profession. She is nice as can be and tough as h*ll, a NP with years of experience. She raised her voice when saying this and everyone in our clinical group knew she meant it. I thought I wanted to do this to help people, it pays about the same as my current construction trade. I know after going to clinicals with the variety of people and tasks you have to deal with, while also knowing your stuff. Nurses are underpaid in general. After reading posts on here for a while, I really agree with most of the people on this thread.

I want to do the best job I can, just like I do in my current job. I want top pay for the trade of nursing, just like my current job. Why work for a company that doesn't care about its workers? If they don't care about you who they see everyday at work, how much do they care about the patients I wonder? Not much I bet.:madface:

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Nah...I just have always been a crappy typist....:selfbonk:

So that is the real reason we are nurses!

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I'm not going into it for the money because there are other jobs and professions out there that pay a lot more w/o having to jump through all of the hoops that we do to get educated and licensed.

My BIL is a union construction worker, he has a HS diploma and no license to worry about. His salary is almost double what I will start off with as an LPN and it is MORE than what my new grad BSN cousin makes... so how do you like them apples?

When I was a CNA I worked my butt off and I always treated the patients very well. I will be the same kind of nurse once I graduate but I will not have a twinge of guilt about taking the best paid job that I can find (factoring in ratios, benefits etc).

I am not a martyr and I am NOT going to be made to feel guilty because I want a salary that reflects how vitally important my job is.

I get sick of the "What would Flo do" mentality that seems to rise up every now and again. If I wanted to take a vow of poverty I would have skipped NS school hell and joined a convent.

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I am not sure there is anything else to discuss when GilaRN and somebody with the phrase "Evil Liberal" after their name agree. :D

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Specializes in Critical care, neuroscience, telemetry,.

Well, I'm kind of afraid to admit it, but I consider nursing my calling.

Simply put, it's where I'm most apt to encounter the sacred, and after 20 years I still consider myself privileged to be a nurse and work with people in their worst moments.

That being said, let me hasten to add that I make about 4X what I did as a new grad. I accept every penny of it. I won't be turning down any raises, either.

I remember raising my hand as a sophomore in our "Intro to Nursing" class to ask the ICU RN guest speaker about salaries in critical care. I thought the head of our department, whom we called "Atilla the Nun", was going to stroke. I guess she couldn't see how a 20 year old with no intention of joining a religious order could possibly be interested in money. I was already thinking of the family I hoped someday to raise, and as one of our previous posters so aptly put it, altruism won't pay the bills.

I will say that there isn't enough money minted to make the job worthwhile if you don't like people on some level. Some nights, I'm convinced there isn't enough money minted, period, depending on what comes up from the ER or who's on call!

So, yeah, it's my "calling", but it's also paying for my kid's gymnastics and putting money in my retirement fund. It's turned out to be a pretty darned lucrative calling, and I'm glad I chose it!

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

I'd have to volunteer, as at the age of 68, the armed services wouldn't employ me in (God forbid) WW III.

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I'm guessing that many attorneys may enjoy their jobs *and* the money they make. Docs may like their jobs *and* the money they make. Veterinarians may like their jobs *and* the money they make.....you get the point.

Why shouldn't a nurse both enjoy their job *and* the money they make?

No one would expect less for any other profession.

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