If Nurses were paid $8.50 per hr, would you or would you not

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I have seen a couple of posts about the motives of students/career changers/people going into nursing . I thought of the question and I want to know.

If RN pay became regulated and new grads had to start at $8.50 and the cap was $17...

1. would you still go into nursing ?

2. would you quit nursing?

why and why not.

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
Some new grad positions only pay about $25/hour :( and that's in California!! I should've saved on the student loans and got into cleaning houses.

Quit whining. I have been a nurse for 5 years and only make 27 bucks an hour and its mostly because I have not gotten a raise in the last two years due to the economy. I'm happy to have my 27 bucks an hour and my job.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

I can't believe I do this for the pay I get, let alone take a cut.

I would NEVER ever, ever, be exposed to life threatening diseases, take abuse, work 12 hrs and never pee or eat for a single cent less of my $30 plus per hour, let alone the poop patrol, personal injury due to heavy patients, the paperwork, the crazy family dynamics... the crazy family....

I had to stop because I would be flagged. Only a new grad who didn't walk two miles in my shoes would disagree with this. You noobies out there, god love ya, you have no idea. I'd love to hear about your ideals after two years...

I need a raise, and would never, ever do this for a cent less.... have an HIV positive... spitting at you as you're trying to care for them and you'll wake up quick.:lol2:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

A per hour pay rate really does need to be seen in the context of the cost of living in an area, and how we fare as far as inflation affects our wages over the years. For most of the time I lived in the same area and rented similar apartments, my job descriptions didn't vary too much, and my tax status was the same, so I can truthfully say that my real wages have dropped when compared to inflation and cost of living. Where renting back in the 80s, that expense was about 25-30% of my take-home pay, now I struggle to keep it under 50% of my take-home pay.

The days of yearly merit raises and cost-of-living raises are gone in most facilities near me. It's pretty depressing. So while no one would work for $8.50 an hour, we may at some point be priced down to near minimum wage when it's viewed relative to everything else.

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Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.
Some new grad positions only pay about $25/hour :( and that's in California!! I should've saved on the student loans and got into cleaning houses.

Absolutely! When a friend of mine started working for a very well know Hospital in Los Angeles (2003), she started at

***drum roll, please**

$19.76 an hour!

Disgusting.

Another friend of mine actually opened a housekeeping service in a small city and she makes more than many RNs do. Housekeeping is an extremely lucrative business. No OT, no call, get your breaks, all Holidays free, etc...

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Absolutely! When a friend of mine started working for a very well know Hospital in Los Angeles (2003), she started at

***drum roll, please**

$19.76 an hour!

Disgusting.

Another friend of mine actually opened a housekeeping service in a small city and she makes more than many RNs do. Housekeeping is an extremely lucrative business. No OT, no call, get your breaks, all Holidays free, etc...

As a LPN starting in 2005, I got 14.55/hr. That was pretty much the going rate for any facility at that time.

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Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.

I would probably still do it. I wouldn't want to and nor am I volunteering to but...

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Specializes in ER, PACU, Med-Surg, Hospice, LTC.
As a LPN starting in 2005, I got 14.55/hr. That was pretty much the going rate for any facility at that time.

Too low, IMO.....$14 to be responsible for somebody's life? Way too low.

Postal workers, city bus drivers, Unionized cashiers, and garbage/sanitation workers make more than that where I live. And they don't have the education, skill or responsibility that a LPN/RN has.

The $19 an hour was for an RN position, too. Also waaaay too low.

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Specializes in Ortho/Peds/MedSURG/LTC.

I'm making 20.17 average NITES!! RN!! SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY I'm a new grad., putting up with the most miserable of burnout "capped out" hags, I'm thinking this is the worse mistake I have ever made in my life - I love my patients, I love nursing, just give me the knowledge and I can do my job and yours! WITH A SMILE! (I sign) and that's a big NW! NO WAY! For 8.50..I'd gladly be a cashier anywhere and work overtime if they'd allow, I could clean houses for 15.00, cut yards for 15-20, run taco bell on what I'm presently making, be a secretary and call in on snow days. We take care of 6 and sometimes 7 patients..figure that body out (by the hour) less than 5.00 per hour per patient...our market is flooded. I wish the hosptials would ask...for 5.00 per hour per patient how many can you take on?? I would stop at 3-4 patients, 15.00 to 20.00 per hour, great patient care and get to empty my bladder and eat a decent meal.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Absolutely! When a friend of mine started working for a very well know Hospital in Los Angeles (2003), she started at

***drum roll, please**

$19.76 an hour!

Disgusting.

Another friend of mine actually opened a housekeeping service in a small city and she makes more than many RNs do. Housekeeping is an extremely lucrative business. No OT, no call, get your breaks, all Holidays free, etc...

In 2004 in Los Angeles, a well-known hospital offered me an LVN job at $12.50. Yeeaah. I suspect that was to avoid paying time and a half for the last 4 of the 12 hours. Hope so. Otherwise, why bother.

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Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.
In 2004 in Los Angeles, a well-known hospital offered me an LVN job at $12.50. Yeeaah. I suspect that was to avoid paying time and a half for the last 4 of the 12 hours. Hope so. Otherwise, why bother.

I had an agency try an offer me $12 for a private duty job I said no. It wasn't the money persay but the family sounded like a pain in the ass. They didn't want to pay much but lived on a golf course......

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I'd stay at my current security guard job, where new hires start at $9.75/hour. In Texas.

Guess this makes me a terrible, horrible wanna be nurse. I mean, I should be placing my patients before everything, including my ability to pay rent, right?

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I had an agency try an offer me $12 for a private duty job I said no. It wasn't the money persay but the family sounded like a pain in the ass. They didn't want to pay much but lived on a golf course......

I'm glad you said no, because there really are agencies that do not have as their Mission Statement "when profits are threatened, sc---w nurses first". Double check everything with an objective source. Best wishes! :)

Wannabetxnurse -- we have every right to be paid a wage that reflects our education and job responsibilities- down with the martyr trip!

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