pay

I'm sure this will raise a lot of peoples temp, but why is there so much whining about being underpaid and overworked?

[RazorbackRN, BSN, RN]

Gosh, I have no idea.

After all, that football player making $20 million has a much more important job than me...all I do is help save children's lives.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

:lol_hitti

[clairebearrn]

razorbackrn LOL!!!! you are right...

we should make that money!

[josh1974, LPN]

Just saying, I have worked in mental health for 7 years barely making peanuts for pay. I work to keep people from hanging themselves, keep them out of state hospitals and living somewhat independently, etc.. Our team is 24/7 and way overworked. I'm starting nursing school next monday, but the negativity(although there are great positive posts also) just make me think, why did ya'll become nurses if it's so horrible?

[josh1974, LPN]

Oh yeah, when I was in the Marine Corps, we didn't get paid c***. That's a fairly important job. And I agree, a football PLAYER making $20 mil is just wrong. Not trying to upset anyone here, just inquisitive.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

golly, josh, why are you entering this field if it's full of whiners? is that what you want to be around in a working environment?

*jess*

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I just took my pn boards today and have 9 more months until I can test for rn, so I'm just looking forward to a paycheck. Haven't had one in a few years, so I'm definately not going to complain for at least another year!

I love the football explanation though :chuckle

[Tash4nvyblues, RN]

I'm sure this will raise a lot of peoples temp, but why is there so much whining about being underpaid and overworked?

:chuckle You are very brave, very legitimate question though, I probably would have left out the whining part cause that will ruffle a few feathers. If you have read some of the posts on this site, then you probably have already had some insight into some of the conditions that nurses work under, they are extremely overworked, both physically and mentally. There are so many unsavoury aspects to our job and sometimes the only way to deal with them is to whine/vent, it helps to talk about it, as you would know from working in mental health, but it doesn't mean nurses hate their jobs, just some aspects of it.

As far as pay goes, I do believe for the responsibilities we hold, we are not compensated accordingly, and for your own sake do some research, compare the salaries for nursing compared with jobs requiring less education and training you will be surprised.

My daughter is 19 years old and has worked in hospitality for a year now, no formal training, and she is earning a pretty penny, which annoys me no end.

[josh1974, LPN]

All fields are full of whiners. But no, I have wanted to be a nurse since my grandma had a heart attack years ago, and I realized, I want to be in a position to help people in that situation. Don't really look forward to wiping folks, but hey, that's what ya gotta do, cause they can't.

[Babs0512]

Josh, I didn't know how much work and underpaid I would be when I was a student. That's why I became a nurse.

[Nightcrawler, BSN, RN]

RN pay is pretty good if all you look at are minimum amount of education need it and compare it to other careers with comparable educational requirements. That, however, is not the only point of reference. When you look at the amount of responsibility that the nurse holds, not only for her own practice, but as the last line of offense against errors made by pharmacists and physicians- that is where many nurses feel overworked and underpaid. We literally hold the lives of others in our hands every day. Because of this, some of us sometimes bemoan the fact that we do so for less than we pay our mechanic per hour