Nursing Low pay, high demand!

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ever wondered why nurses get such a lousy deal when it comes to industrial relations? nurses are in such high demand, constantly told how much our profession is valued by the public the government and private hospitals. why then are we paid so poorly for such a valued profession, in such high demand?

if you are interested to find out, perhaps you may be considering nursing as a career choice click on this article as it may very well :angryfire change your mind. http://www.cbs.curtin.edu.au/files/wepau_dp-06_april_2000.pdf

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

I've had a look into this myself. I saw an article whereby the average age of a nurse in Australia is 45. So where will nursing be in 20yrs time and who will be caring for us?

As for pay, my brother is currently doing his apprenticeship but is in an unusual position as he also works as a foreman in his place of employment. BUT...nothing prepared me for the fact he earns $40 - $50 an hour. Sure, he has a responsible position, but in comparison, in the least it is not fair! (How childish of me!)

Another site to check is the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It spells it out to the govt in black and white...

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/8a87ef112b5bcf8bca25703b0080ccd9!OpenDocument

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I always thought that nurses never get paid for what they are worth. (Why are celeberties making so much money? Tom Cruise would never take care of a patient with C-Diff!!) Nurses give their all and get the raw end of the deal. I guess that's why I like being a nurse, I keep coming back for more!!! :)

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.
Why are celeberties making so much money? Tom Cruise would never take care of a patient with C-Diff

Well said!

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Specializes in Community, Renal, OR.

I agree, my brother who is a tradesman has always earnt more than both my husband (software engineer) and myself.

Needless to say, my son is an apprentice Plumber.

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I've had a look into this myself. I saw an article whereby the average age of a nurse in Australia is 45. So where will nursing be in 20yrs time and who will be caring for us?

So true. 60% of australian nurses are aged 40 and over...by 2010 it is estimated that there will need to be 10,000-15,000 new graduates PER YEAR to fill the workforce. Amazing hey.

I have heard that QLD nurses are the highest paid in Aust, but I have no other info cause I am only 1st year!! Just learning what nurses have to do (i.e double checking the Drs) makes me wonder why nurses get so underpaid...:angryfire

But I think (well it is for me anyway) it is the love of the job, not the pay that we have nurses at all!

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So true. 60% of australian nurses are aged 40 and over...by 2010 it is estimated that there will need to be 10,000-15,000 new graduates PER YEAR to fill the workforce. Amazing hey.

I have heard that QLD nurses are the highest paid in Aust, but I have no other info cause I am only 1st year!! Just learning what nurses have to do (i.e double checking the Drs) makes me wonder why nurses get so underpaid...:angryfire

But I think (well it is for me anyway) it is the love of the job, not the pay that we have nurses at all!

:monkeydance:

i think nurses are paid low becoz healthcare is an extremely expensive thing. it does huge damage to the country's budget. and nurses are the largest cost in any healthcare setting. there's always more nurses then any other position in healthcare. to increase the pay of nurses means more damage to the budget. where would the money come from? sure, nurses are worth more than entertainers. but a lot of people would rather be in denial and pretend that entertainment is more important than health. healthcare is one of those things, unseen and swept under the rug... entertainment is one of those things, "glamourous" and delusional...

also, QLD nurses are NOT the highest paid in Oz, but they are definitely one of the top 3.... :)

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So true. 60% of australian nurses are aged 40 and over...by 2010 it is estimated that there will need to be 10,000-15,000 new graduates PER YEAR to fill the workforce. Amazing hey.

I have heard that QLD nurses are the highest paid in Aust, but I have no other info cause I am only 1st year!! Just learning what nurses have to do (i.e double checking the Drs) makes me wonder why nurses get so underpaid...:angryfire

Nurses are paid poorly, underpaid as you point out to keep the cost of health care down. Think of it like this when you go to work and every nurse for that matter that works in the public or private hospital system will be donating part of their time for free.

The real cost of a nurse is a lot higher then we actually get paid. Look at it as a volunteer service to the community, nurses supplement the cost of health care.

Every time a public system EBA is negoitated, private hospitals have a vested interest in keeping the public system nurses remmuneration as low as possible, as every extra dollar a public system nurse gets paid their private counter part will have to have a similar increase. Thus keeping cost down and profits up for share holders.

Keep that anger going and who knows where you will end up. Nurses can no longer be passive and must be actively involved in promoting nursing as a profession through improves wages and conditions;)

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Oh am I bad? :o:confused:

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Hi 2B and others, you may be interested to hear what the State Government of W.A is doing to tackle the shortage of teachers. It is offering first year graduates up to $70,000 a year, consisting of a base salary of $50,000 a year. Great News for teachers of W.A and they have not even started to negoitate their EBA, that comes later on in the year. Read my blog on the main message board for more details. Meanwhile it is the same old hype for nurses higly valued and poorly paid, let the discounts continue.....

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