Nurses that “only do it for the money”

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What is your thought on nurses who only join the profession for financial gains?

On 3/30/2019 at 12:34 AM, brownbook said:

I'd say those nurses are coocoo! I think the pay is great but there has to be a less stressful way to get rich.

Working in a 24/7 industry; blood, poop, pee, and vomit. Sign me up ?.

Agreed 100%. And I am one of those people who just did it for the money. bad idea; it's not enough.

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Specializes in ICU/ER/Med-Surg/Case Management/Manageme.
On 3/30/2019 at 1:21 PM, laflaca said:

My job is to keep people safe and healthy, and I do so with respect and professional practices. Just as I would if I were an electrician or a lifeguard or a neurologist. But I don't accept that I have to prove my altruism to you or anyone. Not must i tolerate abuse and crappy working conditions in the name of being a "caring nurse," or make apologies for actually wanting a paycheck. Part of supporting our profession and our nurse colleagues, to me, is calling this stuff out and reconsidering our assumptions.

I'm only on page 4 of this thread but thus far, this is definitely the best response I've read. I completely agree...my job has always been to keep people safe and healthy no matter what area of nursing I've worked in.

I remember way back in the late 70's when I started nursing school they (the instructors in NSG 101) asked each person in the class why they wanted to become a nurse. About 98% of the responses were in the area of "it's a calling for me". I felt kind of bad. It wasn't "a calling" for me. It was a job that I could pretty much count on for years to come. (And I really enjoyed the A&P aspects). Still feel the same.

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On 3/30/2019 at 12:38 AM, AFJ32780 said:

What if they aren’t??

That is a completely different topic!

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I only read through page 2, but I've always thought of nursing in a similar way to teaching and a few other professions. (Not that the pay is the same, nor should it be.) Money is a significant factor for almost everyone when they are choosing a career. There's nothing wrong with that, and financial interests aren't incompatible with compassion. Some careers need a level of caring or compassion for other people because it is such an inherent part of the job. I can't imagine surviving for decades in those careers (nursing, teaching, counseling, etc.) without some basic level of desire to help others. So "ONLY for the money" doesn't really compute with me. I think most nurses DO have that compassion or caring, but it may be so ingrained they don't even recognize it in themselves. The ones who don't probably bailed long ago.

I've never met a really good nurse or teacher who didn't seem to truly care for his or her patients or students. It shows.

And it has nothing to do with being a martyr. Just genuinely caring about their patients/students on a basic level. This doesn't preclude caring about the pay, too, of course.

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I think it truly depends on the person!! It takes a lot just to get through school...so it’s not like someone just waltzes in and makes a decent salary; they have to put in the time and effort to ge there. I will be honest and say as a middle age nursing student who has been a zookeeper for over 15 years, one of the things that drew me to nursing was the salary. Don’t get me wrong, there are many other things that drew me in as well (variety of jobs, flexibility, challange, etc), but my main reason for switching careers was because I was sick of living paycheck to paycheck and going year after year not getting a raise because I “topped out” at $16.47 am hour. I think as long as the nurse has the knowledge and skills and does a decent job, who the hell cares why they became a nurse? I have seen plenty of nurses who had “the calling”, only to see them treat patients like *** and not to their job appropriately.

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When I first got into nursing it was for the love of the job and helping people. Now after 25 years it is for the money and I know nothing else

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Specializes in Med-Surge; Forensic Nurse.

Well, since no nurse I know works for free (except maybe Parish Nurses & even they have trade-offs, perks), of course a nurse should 'do it for the money,' if that's what he/she wants to do.

As long as the nurse does his/her job, why is it anyone's business what the motivation is? Nurses, in general, need to get out of this mindset that economics are not important. Economics are important to any business & lifestyle and no one should give away his/her skills, time, education, etc, for free, unless it is clear that they are volunteering.

I have even come up with a line when I hear nurses say, "We're supposed to care for our patients, so, I don't mind doing XYZ," to which I say, "I don't work for free when I'm at work."

There is zero, zilch, nada, wrong with 'doing it for the money.' If someone has a problem with that, ask him/her to forfeit his/her pay, and see how long that lasts.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
On 4/2/2019 at 4:31 PM, AFJ32780 said:

This is like 4 days old. Why are we still talking about this? Lol ?

It just means that you touched a nerve and that there are a lot of strong feelings on both sides of the aisle. I don't care one way or the other why someone becomes a nurse. I just hate the way many nurses "caring" are used against them to work short staffed and over time they don't really want to do.

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Specializes in Non judgmental advisor.
On 4/2/2019 at 4:31 PM, AFJ32780 said:

This is like 4 days old. Why are we still talking about this? Lol ?

I think your thread will go on for years , nurses can’t publicly talk about how they really feel out loud , so you have opened up pandora box where anonymous users can admit to an anonymous crowd about what really motivates them to go to work. And nurses who are honest with themselves can read this and or choose to respond and not internalize their own honest thoughts as guilt or a bad thing because they chose to do it for the money . I know nurses who are a 100% in it for the money, do not care 1 iota about the individual , their outcome , but are 100% excellent actors who put on a face , get constant praise from patients and staff and management because when they come into the work they have developed the ability to step on the stage , and be super nurse but internally they do not care.

In the present world perception is reality . I think a more unique and controversial topic would be “how many nurses are in it for diverting,”

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27 minutes ago, Nurselexii said:

I think your thread will go on for years , nurses can’t publicly talk about how they really feel out loud , so you have opened up pandora box where anonymous users can admit to an anonymous crowd about what really motivates them to go to work. And nurses who are honest with themselves can read this and or choose to respond and not internalize their own honest thoughts as guilt or a bad thing because they chose to do it for the money . I know nurses who are a 100% in it for the money, do not care 1 iota about the individual , their outcome , but are 100% excellent actors who put on a face , get constant praise from patients and staff and management because when they come into the work they have developed the ability to step on the stage , and be super nurse but internally they do not care.

In the present world perception is reality . I think a more unique and controversial topic would be “how many nurses are in it for diverting,”

It wasn’t my intentions to start a riot, but now I realize that it is an important discussion from all sides.

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Specializes in Med-Surge; Forensic Nurse.

Because not everyone sees it on the first 3 days. We're busy making our money. LOL. Thanks

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Specializes in Cardicac Neuro Telemetry.
On 3/29/2019 at 11:38 PM, Emergent said:

I'm more annoyed by the nurses who think they are Mother Teresa. They are self righteous Polyannas. You can't even complain about irritating patients around them, they are too saintly for that.

OMG I was just talking about this yesterday. I can't stand it when nurses act like this. I find myself just rolling my eyes. As if they nevvvverrrrrr get annoyed when a patient acts like a horse's behind. ?

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