Nurses Who Shouldn't be Nurses

busylynn · May 31, 2005

I must say that I fully agree. I went into nursing because my heart is in it and led me there. I love my profession because I love helping people. There are way to many in the profession for the money but I don't know if that is the reason for the increased complaints. There are a lot of reasons for that like nurse to patient ratio, management......But I don't see a lot of heart in the profession anymore. Sad but true.

We had this huge discussion at work today, and i thought i'd get your opinions.
The statement was this: "We have to many people becoming nurses for the money. Its not like it used to be, where a nurse chose to be a nurse because they liked helping people. Its all about the money,."
We were talking about the increased patient complaints, and an older nurse stated the above and thats the reason for increased patient complaints.
So, what do you think.

JLVN1994 · May 31, 2005

We had this huge discussion at work today, and i thought i'd get your opinions.
The statement was this: "We have to many people becoming nurses for the money. Its not like it used to be, where a nurse chose to be a nurse because they liked helping people. Its all about the money,."
We were talking about the increased patient complaints, and an older nurse stated the above and thats the reason for increased patient complaints.
So, what do you think.

I totally agree. I work in a hospital where we have lots of nursing students come through. All they talk about is how much they are going to be making. To be completely honest, there are only a handful of them that I would want taking care of me or any of my family. I graduated eleven years ago, and our instructors were VERY strict. If they didn't feel we would be safe practioners, it didn't matter how smart the person was, they could bar us from taking boards. I don't remember once thinking about how much I would be making (even though the first job I had after graduating, I didn't even make twice as much as I had as a CNA). It was about "where can I go and make a difference in someone's life "(for the better of the person, not my bank account).

hollyster · May 31, 2005

In every profession there are people there "just for the money." There are a lot of careers the pay a lot more than nursing and the work is much easier. If they went into or are going into nursing for the money they aren't too bright or are masochistic and will get out once they realize the reality of nursing.

But whenever I hear older nurses talking about the new nurses and longing for the good old days I cringe.

I am an older nurse but I do not want to go back to the days of white caps, standing whenever a doctor walked into the unit and we were not seen as skilled medical professionals just glorified babysitters.

SmilingBluEyes · May 31, 2005

In every profession there are people there "just for the money." There are a lot of careers the pay a lot more than nursing and the work is much easier. If they went into or are going into nursing for the money they aren't too bright or are masochistic and will get out once they realize the reality of nursing.
But whenever I hear older nurses talking about the new nurses and longing for the good old days I cringe.
I am an older nurse but I do not want to go back to the days of white caps, standing whenever a doctor walked into the unit and we were not seen as skilled medical professionals just glorified babysitters.

I agree. And it need not be all or nothing. I came in for money, sure. I also care about people. But I would be only kidding myself if I said the ONLY reason I entered nursing was to care for others. I wanted a reasonable expectation of employment until the day I decide to retire----a career projected to grow in the new millenium. Reasonable security. Those were my primary reasons.

But I also give my best when I am at work; there are no "VIPs" with me. All my patients are treated as if they were my family or friends.

No one could convince me people like us should not be nurses, just because our motivation was not a calling. But those coming in just for money will be sorely disappointed. There is no easy money to be made in nursing; every penny will be EARNED.

rogramjet · May 31, 2005

I agree, too. We had nursing students in my class who were in it for the money. One wanted to be a nurse so that she cold get a good paying job and leave her husband. There are very few from my graduating class that I would let touch me. There are a few like me who went into nursing to help people, but sadly they see this shortage as a way into a steady income.

talaxandra · May 31, 2005

If I were motivated primarily by money I wouldn't be a nurse - there are other, easier ways of making a buck.

That said, I wouldn't work as a nurse for free, or even for substantially less money than I'm making now.

I don't think that being a caring person and being interested in renumeration are mutually exclusive.

I also don't think that you need to be motivated by helping people to be a good nurse. I'm not saying that that's not part of it, but we all have strengths and weakness, and nursing isn't sanctified - it's still a job. Some of the worst nurses I've ever worked with cared deeply about their patients - but they didn't finish giving meds, or document well, or fell apart in an emergency.

As a veteran of 'the old days' (hospital trained) I can tell you that not all nurses were motivated by altruism then, and not all nurses are motivated by money now.

And is being interested in money necessarily a bad thing? I'm sure that a lot of other health care workers are interested in money, but that doesn't make them bad practitioners. Maybe, if that was the sole motivation but, once again, in that case there are more fruitful avenues to pursue.

Conversations about how much worse things (and people) are now than they used to be makes me unhappy. It certainly doesn't make for a comfortable work place for newly-trained staff. Some things are worse than they were, and nurses today seem less prepared in many ways than I feel I was when I was first registered. But when I was a student they said the same things about nurses of my era, and nursing today is very different from what it was even a decade ago. And I don't think issues of training or preparedness have anything to do with motivation or quality of care.

MacNurse · May 31, 2005

Like someone said earlier there are certainly people that go into the profession for the money, and you will find this in every profession. But it is my opinion that it's those that truely care and love the profession that stay. Those that go into it for the money won't last when they see how hard the work is....and there's always hope that those that go into it for the money quickly learn that you can get a lot more out of nursing than an income

Elaine

SharonH, RN · May 31, 2005

I think there is nothing wrong with wanting a good or even high-paying job. There are many, many people who are not primarily motivated by "caring" or wanting to "help people" although that might be considered for them a secondary benefit to being a nurse. For instance, the line of thinking might be: "I want to be a nurse because it is a (relatively) well-paying, stable career with lots of opportunities for professional advancement and the chance to make good money. And as an added benefit, I would be helping people." I see nothing wrong with that.

Also, the reason for increased patient complaints is very complex and might also be attributed to unrealistic expectations on the part of the "customer"/patient, poor working environment and conditions, and lack of support from administration/hospitals. I would never attribute increased patient complaints solely to nurses who should or should not be nurses.

alexillytom · May 31, 2005

Why does it have to be all or nothing? How come people can't go into nursing for the pay and because they care about people? I care about people but I have a family to feed too. There is no way I would go into nursing if I weren't going to make enough money to adequately take care of my primary concerns, my children. As I've stated before, the most caring, compassionate, efficient, and knowledgeable nurse I've ever met went into it nursing to better care for her family. She just so happened to have the biggest heart and gave my nephew, and family, the best care possible when he passed away. She was so phenomenal that I was inspired to go ahead and enroll in school and fulfill my dream.

I am getting my degree so I can hopefully provide the same kind of care for my patients that we were given. More importantly though, I want to provide my children with a better standard of living and college funds.

SharonH, RN · May 31, 2005

If I were motivated primarily by money I wouldn't be a nurse - there are other, easier ways of making a buck.
That said, I wouldn't work as a nurse for free, or even for substantially less money than I'm making now.
I don't think that being a caring person and being interested in renumeration are mutually exclusive.
I also don't think that you need to be motivated by helping people to be a good nurse. I'm not saying that that's not part of it, but we all have strengths and weakness, and nursing isn't sanctified - it's still a job. Some of the worst nurses I've ever worked with cared deeply about their patients - but they didn't finish giving meds, or document well, or fell apart in an emergency.
As a veteran of 'the old days' (hospital trained) I can tell you that not all nurses were motivated by altruism then, and not all nurses are motivated by money now.
And is being interested in money necessarily a bad thing? I'm sure that a lot of other health care workers are interested in money, but that doesn't make them bad practitioners. Maybe, if that was the sole motivation but, once again, in that case there are more fruitful avenues to pursue.
Conversations about how much worse things (and people) are now than they used to be makes me unhappy. It certainly doesn't make for a comfortable work place for newly-trained staff. Some things are worse than they were, and nurses today seem less prepared in many ways than I feel I was when I was first registered. But when I was a student they said the same things about nurses of my era, and nursing today is very different from what it was even a decade ago. And I don't think issues of training or preparedness have anything to do with motivation or quality of care.

Great response, talaxandra.

Aneroo, LPN · May 31, 2005

I totally agree. I work in a hospital where we have lots of nursing students come through. All they talk about is how much they are going to be making. To be completely honest, there are only a handful of them that I would want taking care of me or any of my family. I graduated eleven years ago, and our instructors were VERY strict. If they didn't feel we would be safe practioners, it didn't matter how smart the person was, they could bar us from taking boards. I don't remember once thinking about how much I would be making (even though the first job I had after graduating, I didn't even make twice as much as I had as a CNA). It was about "where can I go and make a difference in someone's life "(for the better of the person, not my bank account).

As someone who just graduated nursing school, we did talk a lot about money. Most fo us looked at it in terms of "Wow, I can't wait to finally be able to get a paycheck again and eat something besides Ramen Noodles". :chuckle Personally, I've known I wanted to be a nurse since I was about 13. When we started, during orientation, I remember going thru everyone, and talking about why we wanted to be a nurse. I remember one girl saying, "Well, my true love is photography. I want to do this to make some money, then do photography". I remember thinking "WTH! You're not going to make it". She realized the first day of nursing clinical that it wasn't it for her, and luckily, she decided not to return to the program. It just wasn't where her heart was, and she realized she wouldn't be happy. I think the people who are in it for the wrong reasons, some of them get weeded out during school. I think another big part of people not being as motivated by "caring for others" is the fact that so many nurses are burnt out. I think they started out with the right intentions. -Andrea