Nurses Who Shouldn't be Nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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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.

Specializes in Me Surge.
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.

There is nothing wrong with wanting and needing to earn a decent wage. However, there are those who hear that nurses make 100,000 a year and think that all nurses make that.( Maybe a highly qualified travel nurse who works seven days a week. ) Anyway, my two cents is that I don't mind hearing from the nursing students for example that they want to make a nurses salary. What drives me insane is when they say, "oh I don't really need to worry about all this nursing stuff because when I graduate I'm going to go to CRNA school." Wanna bet!

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I am definetely in it for the money...but also because I care about people and I love learning almost everything medical/health related. The problem is when people go into nursing and many other fields for only the money and for none of the other reasons.

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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.

Heck, we're having a problem with a CNA that is like that. You can tell that she truly hates her job..and the residents at my LTC suffer. She's just a bad attitude on two legs. In her case though, there are a multitude of other jobs she could have for the same amount of money..in many cases more money! I think she's in the old trap of "it's what I've always done". Unfortunately, no matter how many complaints she seems to get, nothing ever gets done about her. It's really sad.

I switched majors from computer science to nsg when I finally realized that money is only one factor in a career. It's equally, if not even MORE important to me, to be satisfied with the job I am doing. At this point in my life, I finally want to be able to not dread my work so much that my first waking thought every morning is what kind of excuse to call in I can come up with.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
ok this is a bit off topic so my apologies first...can i ask who exactly is Atilla the Hun? lol...I have heard this person referenced to many times already in nursing school and now here too lol....just wondering...:)

"Atilla the Hun [often spelled "Attila" - otherwise an excellent essay! Ed.] has been known as a ruthless barbarian, fierce and uncivilized. The devastation that he delivered his enemies and the terror that he instilled in them during his lifetime caused him to become known as "The Scourge of God".

Know any nurses like this??? :rotfl:

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Yes, I think this sums it up. In my own words...

1) Get a job anywhere

2) Help people

3) Get a decent wage

4) Flexible hours

5) Always something new

6) Great co-workers

What's wrong with making a decent living to support your family? Also, I don't think today's nursing student is any more deficient than any other generation. Take off the rose colored glasses already!

Absolutely nothing wrong with those reasons. It isn't the reason that matters. All that matters is how you take care of your patients.

The interesting thing here, is so many comments would be great under the nursing shortage posting.

I have seen people get into nursing because of the pay, or the image, or, a "calling". The difference , to me, is that because the training is so much less hands-on, the nurses graduating today are NOT as prepared for the reality of the job. I do think that is why we lose so many new nurses so early in their career. I know the orientation makes a difference, however, I have heard nurses not even 6 months out of school, making comments that it isn't what they thought it would be. There is also the fact that few graduates will be working day shift after orientation. Something else to consider when going into nursing. Will working holidays, weekends, and shift work work with your lifestyle? Some people really freak out about those things.

I would encourage anyone thinking of entering nursing to work as an aide first, to see if their idea of nursing is what they thought it was, to get hands-on at having an assignment of more than 2 pts, and to develop prioritizing skills.

I did this with my own daughter, who originally was going to be a teacher. Sure she has heard my stories while growing up. However, it is one thing to hear, another to experience. In fact, I had her go to the Respiratory floor to work as an aide, because it is the most difficult floor in the hospital(and my fellow nurses were questioning if I really loved my daughter...lol). She received a great orientation, and took to it like a duck to water. While on that floor, she worked with some really great nurses who taught her so much more than what she learned in school. While an aide, she also worked shift work, and had no problem working off-shifts or weekends.

I've worked with nurses who were former bartenders! And they are awesome! You bet they don't take any crap from anyone.

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Hi everyone I'm new here and I just wanted to say I want to be a nurse because I like helping people. It makes me feel good inside. I've always been like that. I'm 39 now and one day a couple of years ago something inspired me to become an RN. After all this time I still want to do it more than anything. Now I feel that's what I was put on this earth to do so I'm starting to get the ball rolling and hopefully I'll start school as soon as possible. I had no idea what the pay was. I did know however there was a shortage so I'm hoping I can help by doing my part. As long as I have a roof over my head and some food to eat and a little money for myself once in a while I feel the real pay for me will be the way I feel when I'm able to help someone else. I hope I'm not wrong. Anyway have a nice day all. :)

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:rotfl: There's nothing wrong with making money! Most nurses deserve what they make and then more! In my 25 yrs experience patient complaints go up when the workload is unrealistic! On the other hand, if a "bad apple" nurse comes along that ignores patient needs, that nurse just needs to be disciplined and/or removed. The vast majority of nurses I've worked with want to do a good job and will one when given the tools they need!

I have observed that well-managed units that place a high priority on excellent care will attract better quality nurses, and will keep them. ON the other hand, a unit that doesn't take care of problems ( pt. complaints, absenteeism, bad attitudes) will become a dumping ground for nurses with sub-par performance. If an excellent nurse does eventually hire on to that unit they invariably leave beacuse they can't tolerate the poor care.

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I personally went into nursing for several reasons.

1. I like people.

2. I wanted job security.

3. I wanted to make a decent living wage.(ie. above minimum)

4. I have career ADD (I get bored doing the same thing everyday and once I learn a job I am ususally bored and dissatisfied with it, not a problem in nursing, never done learning!)

5. I wanted flexible scheduling.

6. I wanted to be able to move my job if necessary (hubby's job can move and he would need to go)

There are more I have forgotten I am sure. What other career can give you all of these.:rolleyes:

I do not claim to have had a "calling" to nursing, and generally I do not get involved emotionally with my pts, though there have been a couple that have gotten to me.

AH-HA!! CAREER ADD!! I love it - high five from a fellow sufferer.

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Specializes in Medical.
We all have our own reasons for choosing ANY career, but I am growing very weary of the nursier than thous who feel they must look down their noses upon anyone whose motivation for entering nursing differs from their own.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

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Being overworked and underpaid is not always a sign of greatness. Go for the package.

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.

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Specializes in OB, critical care, hospice, farm/industr.
STANDING WHENEVER A DOCTOR WALKED INTO THE UNIT??? Are you kidding me???

Not at all. I started in the 70's and that was required. You had to stand and give him his choice of chairs in which to sit. We saluted, let them have places at the lunch table and stood if we had to and bowed when they gave us our orders.

I didn't last long there.

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Specializes in ED, Cardiac Medicine, Retail Health.
Oh boy...this subject always gets me upset. I knew I wanted to become a Nurse when I was 14 years old. Back then, I knew absolutly nothing about the salary...or even the reality of the profession. Something just told me that I was made for it, I was made to help people...I guess I would say it is a "calling". People tell me all the time that it is a great profession to go into, that I will make good money and I will always have a job...anywhere I want. I think to myself...These things are great, I am very lucky that the one thing I am drawn to in life happens to be something with good benefits for me and my future. But if suddenly there were less jobs available and I couldnt make more then a cashier at Walmart, I honestly dont know what I would do with my life....because this is ALL I CAN IMAGINE for my future. I dont think of Nursing as just my future career...I think of it as defining who I AM. I feel it is who I AM.

So with that said...I have a friend who is a Medical Assistant. She spent a lot of money on a technical program to become an MA. She is now working in an office making $11/hr with no benefits. She is now saying she wants to go to Nursing school and, "...wouldnt mind making money like that".

I just HATE it when people just casually decide to go to nursing school like its "just a job" to make more money. I have this deep, unrelenting passion for nursing...and then someone comes along and says "yea I guess I'll just be a nurse". .............. :angryfire

How can someone with that mindset provide quality patient care, let alone get through SCHOOL? How could someone with this casual attitute towards nursing ENJOY their profession? It is a VERY hard job...I couldnt see how you could do it WITHOUT a true LOVE for it!

NurseMeme I am happy that nursing is part of your being. I would venture to say that you provide excellent patient care, and are passionate about helping those in need. But today people are of the mindset of wanting fair compensation for the labor they provide. Is becoming a doctor or lawyer a calling? I am sure that the potential financial rewards plays a part in selecting a profession. Why then is nursing treated differently? This whole thing about nursing being a calling is quite baffling to me. In my opinion that mindset has contributed to the lousy treatment and low wages that nurses have endured for years. For those who feel that nursing is a calling, would you work for free? Nursing is a calling for some, a job for most and at the present time happens to offer a decent wage and job security. I dont think that a person neccessarily has to love their job to be good at it. Nurses also have bills to pay and families to feed, and my mortage company doesnt give a hoot about a calling if I come up short at the end of the month.

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