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.

Hey, six years ago as a student, I was expected to stand throughout report while the staff got chairs on my clinical units.

Now the students just take the chairs and look shocked when the charge asks for a chair so she can begin report...:angryfire

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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.

OK, I've heard of standing up when the docs arrived, but saluting? BOWING when you received orders?!?!?

now I know what I'd have done for a career in the '70s if I needed a HUGE ego boost for no reason... :p

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With the exception of engineering, the entry level for all of these fields is the doctorate. Nurses with higher levels of education tend to make more, as well. It is not fair to compare an associates or bachelor's degree to a doctorate, when it comes to salary. Engineers do well, but depending on location, their jobs are not always very secure. My college roommate's boyfriend (now husband) graduated with a bachelor's in engineering. It took him over a year to find a job and he has been downsized twice since then. You have to admit, nursing is pretty secure. Like I said in my previous post, there are many factors to consider.

One of my son's friends from high school just graduated from a VERY EXPENSIVE private university with a Bachelor's degree in History and is looking for a job at Costco. He is also thinking of applying at PG&E (gas and electric co. here in CA).

steph :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Medical.

An earlier poster discussed being angry about other people's motivation for nursing, as s/he was "called" to it, with a "deep unrelenting passion" for the job.

I'm happy for s/he is going to be able to fulfill your destiny, though I would caution the poster that it is easy to be idealistic when you haven't had much experience in the field.

However, people have different backgrounds, needs, motivations and responsibilities, and this kind of judgement isn't particularly helpful.

Nursing is, indeed, difficult and complex. For optimal care, a wide range of skills, both technical and interpersonal, are needed. Ideally the staff on a ward manage to cover this range between them, but there's no way that any individual will have them all. Diversity is important in all things, including the character and strengths of nursing staff.

As other members have posted, how good a nurse is does not correlate with how much they care, or how important money is to them. I have much more pressing concerns than why my colleagues have chosen to nurse.

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An earlier poster discussed being angry about other people's motivation for nursing, as s/he was "called" to it, with a "deep unrelenting passion" for the job.

I'm happy for s/he is going to be able to fulfill your destiny, though I would caution the poster that it is easy to be idealistic when you haven't had much experience in the field.

However, people have different backgrounds, needs, motivations and responsibilities, and this kind of judgement isn't particularly helpful.

Nursing is, indeed, difficult and complex. For optimal care, a wide range of skills, both technical and interpersonal, are needed. Ideally the staff on a ward manage to cover this range between them, but there's no way that any individual will have them all. Diversity is important in all things, including the character and strengths of nursing staff.

As other members have posted, how good a nurse is does not correlate with how much they care, or how important money is to them. I have much more pressing concerns than why my colleagues have chosen to nurse.

steph

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My boyfriend became a nurse because it runs in his family and he saw his brother-in-law moving from state to state struggling to get a job as an engineer. So he figured he would become a nurse because the pay is good, and he will have job security. He is the greatest nurse I have ever seen with patients. I thought this long before I began to date him while working in the same hospital. In fact it was the kindness and quality care that I obseved him giving his patients that made me go out with him in the first place. He is respected and admired by everyone he works with. I hope that I can be as good of a nurse as he is some day.

I on the other hand am one that felt it was a "calling", ever since I was a little girl putting band-aids on my dollies and hooking them up to fake I.V.'s.

Can we all agree that no matter the reason, we are all needed? Even though our reasons differ, it does not make one nurse better than the other.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

I'd like to think most of us go into for a variety of reasons.

What about people who have been in it a while and hate it. They've lost that compassionate edge, are burned out, cranky, or just going through the motions. Rather than find another job they are doing it only for the money.

I think there are people in nursing only for the money, but most of them are us oldtimers, not the newbies coming in. As was stated if someone wants a job for the money, there are better jobs than nursing to go into.

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
"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:

Yeah! That's the kind of nurse I want to be! Crush your enemies, drive them before you, hear the lamentation of their significant others! Haarrrrgh!

Wait, did I miss something?

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Specializes in NICU.
Yeah! That's the kind of nurse I want to be! Crush your enemies, drive them before you, hear the lamentation of their significant others! Haarrrrgh!

Wait, did I miss something?

Mike, I simply adore you. But on to my point . . .

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'd say the problem with this CNA is that she's bad at her job, not that she's there for money since, as you point out, she has other options from an economic standpoint. I'm with SBE - there's nothing wrong with being a professional who doesn't necessarily have this mysterious calling I keep hearing about. n.b. - I forgot the sn of the person I'm quoting. It sort of looks like I'm attributing it to Mike, and that ain't so.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

I graduated college last year with a BA in psychology and sociology...aka..cant get a job anywhere...between june 04 and fall of 04 I worked a couple different places...thought about where I wanted my career to go, I knew I needed more schooling whatever I decided seeing as though a BA in psych/soc doesnt really offer you many career choices...I tried the business route, ie I dressed up in a suit everyday and went to an office...wow only took me a few days to realize that wasnt for me...i felt so unfulfilled (so cheesy I know!)...I realized that, at the end of the day I feel the most satisfied when I know I have made a difference, even if its small...sometimes I think that helping others really helps me, it just makes me feel good about myself....job satisfaction...its the key:) Im a humanitarian...my best friend is the cut throat business type and it just makes me laugh when I realize how different we are:)

LMAO Tweety...I do know a nurse like Attilla...shes pretty scary!

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"I never promised it would be easy.

I promised it would be worth it"

I love that! I liked what Leslie said about work ethic, too.

I am in the LPN program currently and my class saddens me. There are very few that I would want to take care of me or my family. Frankly, there are some that I will run away from if they would enter my hospital room. My instructors are WONDERFUL, but their hands are tied when it comes to getting rid of people. We have standards, actually a very respected program in the community, but you always have those that sqeak by. What upsets me is that I already know that so and so shouldn't be a nurse, but I feel bad for the patients that she will take care of during the time that she is figuring out that she really hates nursing. Or worse yet, those that hate it and it shows, but never quite do enough to get fired. Today I needed to be uplifted by those other students, and instead I was let down. It was my first attempt at a catheter that wasn't a mannequin. It was something that was sprung on me in report this morning, so no time to review or anything. Well, my patient was a lady with severe contractures. Took 3 students to hold her legs apart (and not very far) and the instructor to hold open the meatus so I could see it, and one to hold a pen light because we didn't have good lighting or even a flash light. Needless to say, I was unable to do it so my instructor did it instead of patient suffering needlessly. My instructor who is a NP specializing in OB, stood right there in front of everybody and said to me "I don't want you to feel bad about this. This was a very difficult cath to do, and I've done quite a few more of these than you have." But later on I hear from students that weren't in the room that someone was saying the instructor said it was my fault, I didn't do a good job, etc. Meanies! :angryfire Hurt my feelers. :crying2: I told my instructor what I had heard (because we're all about team builing and support) and she said that there was NOBODY in that room that could have placed that cath. Sorry for the rant, but this is where some kind compassionate nurse tells me that my instructor is right and first caths are awful for lots of people. :rotfl: (I'm actually not too upset about the cath. I did try my best, and if it was my fault my instructor would have flat out told me that I screwed up.) My whole point is that some classes of nursing students have more bad than good. Wish we could have a Survivor type game where the instructors could vote off based strictly on nursing skills and attitude. (I don't get voted off because I tried my best and put my patient's comfort above my pride.)

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Wasn't there just a thread that said nurses weren't paid enough? Search it and find all the reasons....

Forgive, but I do recall.

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