How much do YOU think nurses are worth?

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Personally, I think nurses are grossly underpaid. I am 10 years in and I think I should be earning a bare minimum of $150k/yr. I hear what my friends/relatives are making, who have degrees in business, human resources, communications, marketing, PR, etc. (I'm in NYC) and they make so much more than me. Additionally, they have cushy schedules which allow them a better work/life balance, and they generally talk favorably about their jobs and report manageable stress levels at work.

Are you satisfied with your pay? What do you think nurses are "worth" (in regards to salary)?

So as an adult I've never worked in any other profession beside nursing or EMS so I don't feel like I have a strong base for comparison. Going off of what my friends tell me of their professions is their subjective opinion of stress, etc. so again it's hard to compare. I think 60,000-80,000 (for my city) is reasonable, I've rarely had moments where I just thought "I do not get paid enough for this!"

YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT UNDERPAID THOUGH....EMS. At my paramedic job I have to do more lifting, do 24 hour shifts, no guaranteed breaks OR SLEEP, be out in the elements, be exposed to much more dangerous situations, at time have absolutely no back up other than my partner, have the liability of running code, STEMI's, intubating etc. without being able to fall back on the doctor for decisions and guess what I make.....$15.00 an hour, less then my friend at face book makes in his climate controlled cubicle where he literally gets free food all day.

So no I don't think nurses have it that bad in regards to pay

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Don't forget that most nurses in the US work for private hospitals which give them no medical/dental insurance, no medical perks of anykind when they leave. No life insurance unless you now will pay for it privately. All of those extras, including vacation time, sick time, etc. etc. can add another 40% to your base salary.

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Specializes in CIC, Geriatrics.

It's not that they won't pay to see us do an assessment, that's not what we're asking for. If you have ever been in a room with a patient who is critically ill, and the nurse steps in, controls the situation, saves the patient's life, the family, etc. spend hours complimenting the staff for their brilliant performance, that is what they want to "see"!! However, since it is a life we are discussing, they expect that to be done for nothing!!! It is owed to humankind to have nurses who are loyal to a fault, as it is a female dominated profession. Those same people, you are correct, will pay thousands of dollars a year for "entertainment" yet resent having to pay for a $20,000 hospital stay for life-saving care and technology. That $20,000 out of their pocket reduces their ability to pay for "fun" things, so they don't want to. As well as feeling those things are an inherent right, having hospitals and nurses to provide care. What I can't explain, is why they don't resent doctors salaries!! An MD comes in for 10 minutes a day, changes a couple of orders (usually requested by the nurse) and wanders off. The nursing staff is there 24/7 providing the real care that heals!! The reason nurses should be receiving at least 100K/year is that nursing can do ANY function in the hospital that any of the ancillary departments do, (take xrays, draw blood, run blood, etc)and they can not, in a hundred years do what we do!! We are the care managers, we oversee all of those other things, put them together into one big picture, and change things that need to be changed. It's time we stand up and take charge of our profession, and demand what we are worth. But I have been in this profession over 30 years, and I can tell you those around us will just continue to go to work, because our patients need us, refuse to create TRUE unions that have TRUE power, and continue to grovel to MDs. Until we get more males in here, it will never change.

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Don't forget that most nurses in the US work for private hospitals which give them no medical/dental insurance, no medical perks of anykind when they leave. No life insurance unless you now will pay for it privately. All of those extras, including vacation time, sick time, etc. etc. can add another 40% to your base salary.

Maybe I just live under a rock but I've never ever heard of an employer not offering any health insurance to a full time or part time employee. I work for a private hospital and have great insurance.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Maybe I just live under a rock but I've never ever heard of an employer not offering any health insurance to a full time or part time employee.
On the other hand, I have worked more than one full-time nursing job for employers that offered no health insurance to employees.

Perhaps this phenomenon is regional...

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You opened a bag of worms :arghh:

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Hahahah oh my god the sense of entitlement for nurses is so outta control!!!!! This is why nurses aren't economical! It doesn't take a bachelors to start lines and fetch meds! Most nurses stand around most of their shifts because they've slowly tech'd out their entire scope beyond iv starts. This is why nurses unions have worked tirelessly to keep medical assistants from iv scope. Unless you're a specialized nurse or an np, you don't deserve any more than 80k a year to 100k max depending on your location. It honestly makes me sick to hear new grad bsn complain about loans all day and to hear the greed!! Some nurses in this thread think they should be making surgeon wages! Ridiculous, absolute greed and dillusion!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Why would anyone be jealous of a nurse? You can literally become a nurse in 2 years if you tried.. Worked your butts off in school? Seriously? I wonder how you would describe what medical school and residency is like :roflmao: Worked your butts off now? So 36 hour work weeks are considered working your butts off? Aw man. This is hilarious. I think you are giving yourself too much credit.
I will make a bold conjecture and assume you are a non-nurse who is posting on this forum to get people riled up while enjoying the defensive responses that follow. Here is a hint: the word rhymes with 'roll' and starts with a 'T' letter.

Why would anyone be jealous of a nurse? It is because half of American society earns less than $50,000 annually. It is because 70 percent of all Americans are without a degree. A prerequisite of jealousy is a strong desire of something you currently lack.

Therefore, the masses of cashiers, call center representatives, stock clerks, car wash attendants, teachers, nursing assistants, dietitians and social workers might envy a nurse's salary even though they might not actually be jealous of nurses.

On the other hand, physicians, high-powered attorneys, engineers, bank presidents, and real estate moguls of the world would probably never be jealous of nurses. After all, the main prerequisite of jealousy is wanting something you do not have.

A $12/hour forklift driver wants something that he/she lacks (read: money and a better job). Likewise, an educated professional who earns a six-figure salary already has the money and optimal job. Who is more likely to be jealous?

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I'm priceless.

That being said, the healthcare system couldn't sustain itself if every nurse was paid 150k.

Sure it could if we'd make healthcare a business instead of right the government is required to provide.

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Hahahah oh my god the sense of entitlement for nurses is so outta control!!!!! This is why nurses aren't economical! It doesn't take a bachelors to start lines and fetch meds! Most nurses stand around most of their shifts because they've slowly tech'd out their entire scope beyond iv starts. This is why nurses unions have worked tirelessly to keep medical assistants from iv scope. Unless you're a specialized nurse or an np, you don't deserve any more than 80k a year to 100k max depending on your location. It honestly makes me sick to hear new grad bsn complain about loans all day and to hear the greed!! Some nurses in this thread think they should be making surgeon wages! Ridiculous, absolute greed and dillusion!

News Flash........Most staff nurse salaries won't buy a house, a car, health insurance, food for a couple of kids, and a yearly vacation. Is it really greedy to want those things?

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Yes if you think one nurse salary should allow support for multiple children and to buy a house and car than yes it's not only greedy. It preposterous!

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Hahahah oh my god the sense of entitlement for nurses is so outta control!!!!! This is why nurses aren't economical! It doesn't take a bachelors to start lines and fetch meds! Most nurses stand around most of their shifts because they've slowly tech'd out their entire scope beyond iv starts. This is why nurses unions have worked tirelessly to keep medical assistants from iv scope. Unless you're a specialized nurse or an np, you don't deserve any more than 80k a year to 100k max depending on your location. It honestly makes me sick to hear new grad bsn complain about loans all day and to hear the greed!! Some nurses in this thread think they should be making surgeon wages! Ridiculous, absolute greed and dillusion!

If your nursing skills are as adept as your writing abilities then you are correct. You don't deserve a professional salary if you can't spell or compose a coherent sentence. For those of us who actually learned how to correctly assess, monitor and deliver care, the responsibility that is inherent in nursing is worth a higher salary. Moreover, given the working conditions that many nurses tolerate, 13 hours on your feet while charting at bedside, few breaks, 24 hour/365 schedules and the expectation that a two year education encompass what many medical students never learn, including diverse interpersonal skills and technical functions, our salaries are grossly inconsistent with other professionals. Your observations lead me to believe you really have never worked as a nurse. IV starts are hardly as simple as you portray and they represent only a bare minimum of what the professional nurse actually does. Society's interpretation is often influenced by our own. If you see yourself as a cartoon-garbed maid, that's what you get paid for.

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