poverty level???

[babynurselsa]

I live in Oklahoma which cis supposed to be about number 49th in teacher salaries. I believe at my last recollection brand new teacher were starting out at about 29,000 a year. Now If Pattycakes and her husband are in fact teachers, and I do not mean of the Sunday School variety. Then they should be making at least 50,000 a year after 5 years in the profession. Teachers in our state do recieve yearly raises. They are not big ones but they are regular. Kind of like my annual 2% evaluation raise.

With the level of destitution that poor patty is complaining of I am thinking more like Teachers Aide.......

[fergus51]

Originally posted by traumaRUs

Fergus - why don't you get paid when you work through lunch, stay over, etc??? What state do you live in? I have worked overseas (Korea, Japan, Spain), in the US, Nevada, Indiana, and now Illinois and I don't clock out till my work is done and by golly, I get paid for it!!!!

How it works is we fill out these bubble sheets on patients which let the powers that be in the hospital know how much time is spent with each approximately. In a situation like I described I put down the OT on my work slip, but I have had them deny me OT saying I wasn't efficient or should have gotten everything done in my shift. When this happened before I went to the union and did get paid for the OT. My nurse manager has absoltely no authority to deny me OT, and I WILL be getting paid for it. I do not work for free. Even with the stupid bubble sheet caluculation I was into OT, so they can write me a nice cheque.

[Ortho_RN]

I understand completely about being unhappy and underpaid for your work.. I am also changing careers.. and I am only 25 years old... I am also a Certified Veterinary Technician, which I have an associates degree for and had to take state board exams.. however the pay is not here in the area I live, and due to my husband making good money especially "IN THE SOUTH" straight out of college making 55,000... so here is a good area.. Just not for the Vet field... So I have chosen to go to nursing school, which I start on Monday So I would never down anyone for changing careers.. It does however get old, hearing her(Pattycakes) b*tch and moan about how bad the south is..And as Dr.Heal said cost of living DOES make a big difference... Even for the part of the South I live in, Arkansas, you can get a 1800sq foot BRAND new house for 115,000... Go to Mississippi (where I lived for 22yrs) and can't even get a 1480 sq foot house for less than 125,000... SO YES it does make someones salary in New York seem great, but heck you probably can't get an apartment there less than 1500/month... Every Job has its down sides.... and every job has its perks.... and Dr. Heal i do know how hard it has become to work in the teaching field.. I graduated from Pearl High School in Pearl, MS where the first school shooting was done by Luke Woodham.. So I do understand that.. I just wish Patty would make her change in career and stop being so rude to everyone on here... and if she doesn't like the south, I am sure there is a Interstate that goes straight up to the North...

[akg2002]

I AM PATTYCAKES SISTER N LAW AND I HAVE TO CLARIFY SOMETHING. FOR SOME OF YOU, I THINK ITS HORRIBLE TO RUN DOWN THE NURSING FIELD THE WAY YOU DO. WHY DONT YOU JUST GET OUT OF IT. I THINK NURSING IS A VERY GOOD FIELD WITH EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY. SURE IT HAS ITS BAD POINTS JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER CAREER YOU COULD CHOOSE. TEACHERS DO NOT MAKE AS MUCH AS NURSES HERE IN THE SOUTH AND ANYBODY SAYS DIFFERENT IS A LIAR. THATS JUST THE BOTTOM LINE. ITS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT JUST THE MONEY THOUGH. IT TAKES CERTAIN PEOPLE T0 BE A NURSE . SOMEONE WHO HAS THE ABILTY TO SHOW COMPASSION AND HAVE REAL CARE FOR THE WELLNESS OF HUMAN BEINGS. IM NOT SO SURE THAT SOME OF YOU ARE THAT TYPE OF PEOPLE. OH AND BY THE WAY, ON THE ORIGINAL PATTYCAKES DEBATE. SOME OF YOU MADE THE COMMENT THAT I WAS A JOB HOPPER SINCE IVE HAD 3 JOBS IN 3 YEARS WELL LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THAT. I HAVE BEEN A DIALYSIS NURSE FOR 3 YEARS. I WORKED AT THE FIRST JOB FOR 1 YR AND 9 MONTHS FULL TIME, I AM STILL THERE PRN. THE JOB IM AT NOW IVE BEEN THERE FOR 1 YEAR AND 4 MONTHS. I HAVE JUST TAKEN A NEW JOB AS A CARDIAC NURSE /ICU AND WILL STAY ON AT MY PRESENT JOB PRN BUT WILL RETIRE FROM THE FIRST ONE. IM CHANGING JOBS NOW FOR NEW EXPERIENCE NOW. MY NEW JOB PAYS 24.50/HR AND I WAS MAKING 18/HR. NOW WHAT WOULD YOU DO?. THATS 6.50 MORE AN HR. SO YES I THINK ILL TRY A NEW FIELD FOR THAT AND THE EXPERIENCE. SO A JOB HOPPER , I DONT THINK SO!!!!!!!!!! SO WHY DONT YOU ALL EITHER GET A NEW CAREER OR A LIFE.

AMY, RN

[akg2002]

OH AND BY THE WAY, IVE NEVER HAD A JOB YET WHERE I DID NOT GET OVERTIME OVER 40HRS A WEEK AND IT IS CONSIDERED TIME AND A HALF

LET ME BREAK IT DOWN FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DONT GET IT:

IF I WORK SAY 45 HRS THIS WEEK NORMAL PAY FOR THE 40 IS 18 AND THE OTHER 5 HRS IS $27 each.....

thank you very much

[Ortho_RN]

here in the south.... blah blah blah same song different dance.....

akg you said.. nurses dont make the same as teachers in the south.... nursing and teaching being two different careers don't make the same anywhere... do dr's make the same as veterinarians??? do mechanics make the same as fast food workers??? do lawyers make the same as doctors?? the same answer goes for all.. no and they shouldn't...

pattycakes?? did you not know that when you went to school to be a teacher that teachers don't make tons of money.. as you say especially in the south... ever since i have been in school i have always been told teachers don't make alot of money.. so i don't see how all of the sudden it can be so suprising that teachers don't make alot of money... teach at the university level.. those teachers make pretty good... which all comes down to what each individual person considers pretty good... i would think if a teacher got 35-40,000 a year and had the summer off, then there are doing pretty damn good... there are alot of people regardless of their career that bust their butts everyday with no summers off and make less than 30,000/yr....

[Windyloo]

Dear Patty,

In my opinion if nursing is what you really want to do than do it. However, pleaseeeeeeeeee make sure it is really what you want and that you have taken the time and energy to really research the REALITIES of nursing. Nursing has to be the all time most stressful job. As nurses we are not paid well for the hours and abuse that we put up with. You will be expected to work almost every holiday. You will rarely have the time or energy to spend time with your children. Youre job is not 9 to 5. You'll be expected most likely to start out on the 11p-7a shift. There is little support, at least in my case. You're thrown out there after graduation and expected to know everything. Unlike teaching, as a nurse, you are responsible for the life and death of your patients. You are responsible for all your mistakes. And one little mistake can mean life or death for your patient. There is little or no support from the administrative staff. You are worked like a dog and, as the nurses in my hospital joke, if you had a massive heart attack in the hallway, everyone would just step over your dead body, and keep on going. And don't forget the high incidence of injuries nurses sustain on the job that teachers never have to deal with. I myself just sustained a rotator cuff tear caring for one of my all too often confused, non intentionally abusive patients. If you don't have a back injury you'll probably have one sooner or later as a nurse. You will be screamed at by patients, patients families, other nurses, especially doctors, and the administrative staff. You will possibly be degraded, possibly be hit, and treated with disrespect by the same. I know teachers don't deal with that on a day by day basis. In all the schools I've been in teachers have seemed to support eachother, worked out problems with respect and discussions. I've never personally seen teachers being humiliated, or berated by other teachers or their superiors. Do you honestly think that nurses have time to have conversations with their patients? And yes we usually work through breaks and lunches, and if we do we don't get paid for it. Our 30 minute lunch is automatically deducted from our paychecks even if we missed it. Overtime is only paid after a 40 hour work week where I live. And yes there are nurses who work for salary and end up working more hours than nurses paid by the hour. Basically they get cheated out of money they worked very hard for. I honestly have to say as a med/surg nurse I'm on my feet the entire 8 to 12 hour shift. I know at least at my hospital half of the equipment you need to take care of your patients is not available or is so old and shoddy it can be an embarrasment to use. On top of all that, you work side by side with a registry nurse making at least $10 more an hour than what you get paid for being loyal to your organization. I struggle everyday to be able to come up with enough money to pay my rent and my bills as a nurse. I also cry looking at my paycheck knowing how hard I worked and how much strain I put on body to get barely enough money to keep my head above water. And I live in good ole California where supposedly the wages are better than most states. Well we do have to consider the cost of living in this state. That's why I'll be moving next year out of state. There are lots of different areas of nursing you can go into if you are lucky enough to get your foot in the door. Either that or pay more money out of your own pocket to take more classes to hopefully get accepted into the area you want to work. And let us not forget as nurses we have to pay for all our own medical instruments such as stethoscopes, scissors, etc. We pay for our own uniforms. We pay for our own classes so at the end of two years we can renew our professional licence, which also costs money. We also pay for our own test at the end of school so we can get our license in the first place. Nursing isn't all bad, don't get me wrong. I also love nursing, I just haven't found my perfect niche. There are moments: Such as holding a patients hand when they are scared, when a patient or their family smiles and says thank you, when you see a healthy baby being sent home with its family, when someone you work with takes five minutes out of their time even when they are busy to show you something you don't know without huffing and puffing and grumbling like it would kill them to help you, when you hear from fellow workers and up aboves that you're doing a good job, seeing a confused look on a patient light up with understanding when as a nurse you have five extra minutes to explain to a patient what's going on, to cry with a family after a loved one has passed on, to be there with a patient when they're dying when they have no one else, and on and on. However, these GOOD parts of nursing are so far and between, it's hard to remember why you ever became a nurse in the first place. I myself am thinking of leaving the nursing profession. I was thinking of becoming a teacher. I know at least in California, they make way more money than I do and have far more perks. Here in California they even have deals for teachers at the banks, give them special loans for housing, and reduced rates on car insurance. How unfare is that? I work my butt off, abusing my body every day I go to work, can barely pay the bills, no way can I afford a house of my own, work with major stress, and life and death situations, work overtime whether I like it or not, rarely get to spend any quality time with my child, am abused by doctors, pts and their families, other nurses and higher ups, and for what??????????????? Goodbye California, and goodbye at least to med/surg nursing. Oh and I don't get a 3 month vacation every year. And as a teacher if I really cared about my job and the children I taught it wouldn't bother me to stay over an hour or so to help tutor a child that needed the extra help, and it wouldn't bother me to be grading papers at 1 in the morning. That's just part of the job. At least that's a non stressful, relaxing job you could do in bed. Can you learn to organize better? That's what nurses are told all the time. You need to organize better. Then maybe you wouldn't be up at 1 in the morning grading papers. Sorry if this is so long. Sorry also if this is hard to follow. My brain tends to spin many ideas at the same time so it's difficult for me to keep on one subject and thoroughly complete an idea all at one time. JUST MY OPINION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And really no disrespect to you intended. Not meant to be hateful either.

[hadit]

All I can say is let whomever wants to go into nursing do it. Nurses are very much needed... Those that have been there may and have been leaving after getting a dose of what it's like in many areas. That is unfortunate but true. You need to walk in the shoes to really know for yourself. Good luck to everyone finding what makes them happy!

[drhealyourself]

This is a response to Windyloo's post:

PLEASE, I beg of you, don't go into teaching without thoroughly researching all of your nursing options!

Teaching is, by far, an extremely stressful job, where it is simply impossible to do all that is asked of you no matter how hard you try! Especially during the first three years!

In California, if nurses that work through an agency make more money, then why don't you work through an agency? Or, maybe you should consider changing your specialty? In NYC, school nurses are really needed. Maybe you should consider that before you leave nursing.

How about travel nursing? The pay is pretty good, plus your rent gets paid!

Or, if you want to teach, why not consider teaching allied health courses at a community college? Or, maybe you could teach nursing courses? How about legal-nurse consulting?

I just think that nursing offers so many options that just about anyone can find a niche that they like if they know exactly what they are looking for and go about searching for it!

Dr Heal

[nurs4kids]

You know guys, something occured to me that may be the difference here.

"Here in the south", the shortage has not quite impacted us, YET, like it has elsewhere. This may be why pattycakes SNL is still so optomistic. She may be incapable of reading what you guys are saying and realizing that her job isn't the norm. I'm still sitting at a 1:4 nurse/patient ratio, and if it wasn't for listening to you guys and reading what you've been faced with, I too may still be euphoric. Anyhow, the shortage is rolling in here like thunder, so I hope pc's snl is taking cover.

I do agree with her, that nursing is wonderful and if someone wants to be a nurse then they should pursue nursing. However, a taste of reality now will prevent another case of dissappointment in the future.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Excellent observation. Although in SC it hit a few years back. It was running 15-20 to 2 (1 RN/1LPN) for 15-20 patients.

I can't remember a 1:4 for at least a decade.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Geez, this is getting silly. If you want to be a nurse then be a nurse, if you want to be a teacher, then be a teacher.

Who gives a rip?

Both professions are much more important than their paychecks reflect...it's like that infamous RN/LPN debate- and we don't want to go there- do we???

[mopsi]

LOL Canoehead..Yeah everyone knows LPNS are just as good as RNS...except the insecure RNS......Jeeze we're getting dumped on with snow..rain..turns to ice..than more snow..I think I want to move to Tampa Bay....Nurses,Cops Teachers and Drive-thru-Window Order Techs are the backbone of society..Everyone doesn't value them until they need their services.......Then it's a whole different story.......God Bless Us ALL!!!!!!!!!!