Is the money all we are looking for???

[zumalong]

Here is a question I would like you all to ponder. Maybe I am just so very jaded after all my years as a nurse, but I think not. (I am more than confident that this group of varied individuals will let me know if I should just be happy and "sho' me the money")

Here is the situation. Our hospital just announced today that they are going to give all nurses an across the board raise of 28% over the next 3 years. Now here is my feelings on this subject. I think this is great news for all those nurses who have worked at the hospital for years and did not receive any raises or a minimal raise for the last 10 years. But I just feel that this is a steri strip on a gaping stage 4 decubitus. (oozing with purulent and foul smelling material of course).

How is this going to help in the long run with the nursing shortage??? We have had one large city hospital close in the last year. The staff was mostly absorbed at RGH and it's subsidiaries. (I hate that health care is now a business) We still have an overall 11% need at any one moment for nurses in our hospital alone. So where are we going to get them from??? We have tapped our area. We are seeing declining enrollment in nursing schools, is 15 scholarships going to solve this problem??? Ok, so if the nurses from the other area hosp. decide to move to RGH, how is this helping our community as a whole when there are only some many nurses to begin with????

Do not get me wrong, I am not bemoaning the raise--it is greatly appreciated and about time. What I am afraid of is this-- how is the public is going to view this. It has been presented in a fashion that makes it look like all nurses are going to be earning 60-70,000/year. (I think not) Now if we as nurses decide to try to unionize or try to get the public to appreciate and support our worth, they are going to say we are ungrateful. The image in this city of nursing is fair at best.

I am so ambivalent about this situation. It is definately a great thing for the staff. It will bring some new blood to the hospital and even to nursing. But--it will not make a difference in the long run. All the nurses who are ready to retire in 10 years or so--are still going to retire. All the young students out there are still going to choose high tech informatics over high stress patient care. I do not want to work with a nurse who went into the field only to earn the "big bucks". I would like a caring individual who sees me for me if I ever become a patient. I would bet that most of you here on this bb went into nursing because you wanted to help others. I know that is why I did. The nursing shortage is not only about our pay---it is about being able to do the things for our patients that we used to or want to do. (like hold the hand of dying patient, or give that back rub)

I am afraid this is going to become an issue of just money. I do not want to see this. I want it to be an issue of quality care. Am I being ungrateful??? My hubby is sitting shaking his head--"I am only getting 3% if I am lucky." etc etc. What do you other nurses think, am I being ungrateful????

ViaHealth Takes Steps To Relieve Nursing Shortage

Christine Webb

05/30/02

Rochester, NY - A local health care company believes it has the answer to the nursing shortage in Rochester.

At a press conference on Thursday, ViaHealth officials announced a three-step plan to lure nurses to the Rochester area and keep the nurses we already have.

ViaHealth officials stated that effective immediately, nurses' starting pay will increase by 18 percent; already employed nurses' income will increase by 28 percent. Some RNs could now earn between $60,00 and $70,000 annually. Rochester General Hospital will also offer 15 nursing scholarships.

ViaHealth CEO Sam Huston said, "Rochester is historically a low-pay area. Nurses are paid $5,000 less here than in Cincinatti and $8,000 lower than in Kansas City. So obviously we have some catchup to do here."

The raises and scholarships will come out of the hospital's operational budget.

When asked how ViaHealth could afford the pay increases in light of the recent closure of Genesee Hospital, Houston said the company "couldn't afford not to do it" and that "quality of health care is paramount."

:chair: (I just stuck this smilie in cuz it is so cool)

[thisnurse]

i agree that anyone going into this field for the money quickly realizes they have made the wrong choice. some sort of caring and compassion has to be in the motivation or you will never make it thru nursing school.

i think the public has no idea what we make. the hospitals have convinced them we make "big" bucks. if they really knew what we do and what we are paid...ESPECIALLY in light of WHAT we do ..i think we would have massive support.

i ran into my cousin in the emergency room. she works for the same comapany as i do but she is in accounting. she says to me...oh hows nursing going? making big money now huh?

i laffed...BIG MONEY?

you know YOU make more than i do and compare what we do.

she was astonished when i told her what i made an hour.

apparently corporate has been telling them we make like 50 bucks an hour....lmao

ive been doing floor nursing for a year. i havent been able to work for the last week because i have gout that just wont go away. ive been calling my mgr every day and she cant be bothered to return my calls so i am assuming that i am either out or am on my way out. this has caused me to really look at what i do and how i am paid. its a joke. ...it REALLY is. we take SO much crap from so many people. now i realize thats part of it and its going to be like that everywhere but it really is ridiculous. you know i get grief from everyone in that hospital....from patients to management to the freaking cleaning people. there is no respect ANYWHERE. dammit i went to school to do this. i am a PROFESSIONAL. nobody treats docs like they do the nurses. its crazy. my badge says NURSE not WHIPPING BOY.

anyway now im ranting.

my point is that i am going to do home health or something where i can set my own appts and do my own thing. they are pushing us out of bedside nursing and then wondering why we leave. money is a big part of it but not all.

nurses have to break out of the we need them more than they need us frame of mind. its just not like that.

[mattsmom81]

People that go into nursing to make big bucks..without realizing what the job entails...are likely to be unhappy and disappointed.

We definitely deserve better pay for the level of responsibility we have for our patients' lives.

If the raise is being used as 'hush money' ya'll need to get real loud real quick, IMO.

(But do take the money, please..you deserve it)

[Teshiee]

For the most part. I really don't think the majority of us went into nursing for a large paycheck. There are other fields I can think of that make more money. I will say you can make a decent wage for the least amount of education which is nice for single moms and dads out there that our looking for a career change.

I like nursing because it is what you make it. You don't have to work staff you can work so many different avenues the opportunities are limitless. I feel in knowing that a nurse should be compensated for his/her level of knowledge and expertise. The wages are not up to par especially with the cost of living. Living in California is outrageous what they charge to buy a home that even I can swing the mortgage why work extra hard for basic things. 25-50 and hour range isnt bad I think across the country but hey that is my opinion!

W:kiss

[tonicareer]

Where I live (Indiana) about the only jobs available are in healthcare. Also one of few jobs that pays well. No one should be a nurse if they totally hate. Many people can't spend huge dollars on PA or doctor schooling. Computers and business? Not many jobs in my area in that. I think nursing would be stressful for people with children (crummy hours). But for people without committments it's good. I like the fact that I can move geographically with nursing. Also that I can get an AS then go on into BSN (even online) then MSN not many jobs let you do that. I don't think computers or business pays more but probably has better hours of working. Of course no body waste or contamination risks in those jobs. If someone hates nursing(totally) then they should switch careers for sure.

[fergus51]

WOW!!! Long thread.

I have to say, I see nothing wrong with money being PART of the motivation for being a nurse. It will never be all the motivation, but the fact that a woman can get her LPN or RN after a year or two of school and then make a decent living to support her family is a big draw. I certainly wouldn't have gone into nursing if it was minimum wage, caring as I am....

For me money and respect are tied. If administration respects me for my contribution to patient care, thenI think they shoudl show it with a good wage. I also FIRMLY believe that money alone does help with certain working conditions because it helps with recruitment and retention. We are keeping more of our new grads and good oldies like me with our raise, that in turn means, fewer OT shifts, less staying late, less burnout!!!

I do agree 100% that the public needs to be educated about nursing. We had a lot of people in the public saying we were very well paid for the easy job we have. They seem to think it's all bedbaths and backrubs...GRRRRR!!!!

[dffrntx]

I have been a rn for over twenty years and I got into this profession to care for the sick and stamp out disease and I have done that to the best of my ability. I am a caring person that cares for my patients,patient families, my spouse, my kids and and that person that needs help. To do all this caring I need to be secure financially and be able to care for myself in order to provide this gift that all nurses have who has chosen to care for the ill.

[fedupnurse]

This past summer, July 2001, our Union refused a $2.00 an hour increase becasue of the strings attached. They wanted to change our evaluation tool from the objective one we developed after a strike to a subjective one (do you smile enough was one of the criteria, another was do you provide refreshments and entertainment). Of course the VP of Nsg. said that the piloted study showed it wouldn't effect our raises. Pigs fly over a frozen hell too. We held out and they eventually gave us the 2 bucks without the strings. It was supposedly a market rate adjustment. Funny, I thought those were given freely to remain competitive?????????????

[teamrn]

"...you can still do an excellent job AND CARE AND LIKE TO BE PAID.

this higher power thing is a fairytale passed on to us by the hospitals so we would be HAPPY NOT TO GET A RAISE...

personally...id forgo the raise in favor of resolution of staffing issues.

imho....as long as the person im working beside is competent and DOES her job i dont care why she wanted to be a nurse...."

How many of us REALLY went into nursing because we thought we'd find some Tom Cruise saying "show me the money" all the time? From the above posts I've read, the majority/if not all, of us entered nursing for other reasons, usually because of a desire to help mankind with our services. It has been incredibly unfortunate that the 'powers that be' over the course of the years have taken unfair advantage of these desires and attributes, and determined that the services that a good, qualified, nurse can provide to a healthcare institution are not worth compensating them for.

Isn't that a sad commentary on today's prioritizing? We need

R E S P E C T as a profession, and I'm reminded of the words of a surveyor who phoned me last eve, "nurses are very special people." Please NONE of you forget that from a non-nurse.