GM2RN

There's nothing like having people jump to conclusions. How do you know I don't have a condition that I can't get rid of and haven't dealt with other's opinions???

I work with a few people who claim the diagnosis of ADHD. One in particular is an ER tech. I don't know enough about his particular disorder to classify it, but it is obvious to all of those who work with him that he lacks focus. He is good at his job when you can get him to do it and in a timely manner, but more often than not the nurses end up doing his tasks themselves once we discover that he hasn't done it. He is always engaged in a conversation with someone, staff or patients, and can never tear himself away from that conversation immediately to do the task assigned, frequently taking 20-30 minutes before starting a task when he could have completed several in the same time frame. Every shift finds him having gotten "lost" for ridiculous amounts of time on the way back from transporting a patient to the floor or some other location, resulting in having to look for him in the event that he is needed. He is never proactive in doing his work but always waits for someone to assign him something to do. Staff, nurses and other techs alike are frustrated with his behavior and joke that we might as well not have a tech assigned to our area at all. Regardless of whether his behavior is completely a result of his disorder, a lack of willingness to attempt to control his behavior/disorder, or whether it's just plain laziness the results are the same. No amount of understanding has made a difference and if someone can't do the job for whatever reason, they shouldn't have that job at all.

I agree it depends on where you live and your definition of "rolling in dough." I make enough for one person to support a family through high school as long as there are no great needs out of the ordinary, but my income would not pay for college. My personal situation is such that I support a son with extraordinary medical needs and a granddaughter, so I need to work OT to provide for everything and have no retirement savings. If looking only at the amount of yearly income for the average nurse, then nurses make a somewhat above average income in my opinion, but are certainly not "rolling in the dough" since that implies to me a well above average income that would allow for a nice house, 2 nice cars, college for at least 2 kids, and retirement savings for both parents. If you consider the knowledge that a nurse must have to do the job well, along with the responsibility, accountability, and personal risk that comes with the job for most nurses, then they do NOT get paid enough!

Nurses don't get what they get because management wanted to make sure that nurses' pay was fair; they had to fight for it! You sound a little bitter, jealous, or both. If you feel that you don't get the raises or recognition that you deserve as a group then you need to organize and demand more. If you feel that you don't get the recognition you deserve as an individual, you need to look inward first and make sure that you are truly doing what deserves recognition. But I can tell you that if personal recognition and praise are that important to you, you may need to consider doing more or seek another position.

I agree with the sentiment of your post but you must work for a non-union hospital or other type of facility because everything you said in your last paragraph, with the one exception about acuity being higher, is completely opposite from my experiences at five different hospitals, and one of those was even non-union.

I am also in Michigan but work at a union hospital. I make $37.11/hr and my shift diff brings it to $40.17/hr. I have one or two steps left before I'm at the top of the payscale, but the difference is, as long as my union negotiates pay raises I will always get an increase in my hourly rate until I reach the top, and then I will get a lump sum bonus based on a percentage formula which I've forgotten. But even those at the top of the pay scale get an increase with each new contract, assuming that pattern holds with future contracts. We also get loyalty bonuses, I think starting in the 7th year with the corporation. One minor but important thing I disagree with is that when working 3 days /wk, we only work 36 hours compared to those working a traditional 40 hour work week. I do agree, however, that we work hard for what we get paid. I also think that we don't get paid enough based on how physically demanding the job is, how much responsibility is involved, and what we give up in terms of the weekends and holidays that we miss with our families, not to mention activities at school and sports when our children are young. One final thing--I don't think any hospitals provide any benefits upon retirement anymore unless you have been grandfathered in with a plan. The closest any come to that is to contribute a certain amount to a 403B which you then must become vested in, but I know of both union and non-union who do that.

I've heard other Canadian nurses say something similar, yet many Canadian nurses come to the US to work. Why is that? They can't all be from Quebec.

Why is my reply extraordinary? Usually when someone makes a statement such as yours by pointing out what they feel is a greater injustice, it is an attempt to justify what they see as the lesser injustice. That's the way your post came across. My comment was only to say that they are both wrong and one shouldn't be allowed to continue because more money is spent on another wrong. Both should be appropriately addressed.

One wrong doesn't justify another.

Some NP's make six figures, some don't, and it's less likely for a new NP where, in my area for example, new NP's start off making a couple of dollars an hour less than what I make as an RN with seven years of experience. For those NP's who do make six figures, sometimes it takes some years to get there. For those who are considering this route, make sure you research the salaries for the areas in which you are willing to work and then consider if the return on investment for an NP is worth it.

It's obvious that some here still have on the rose colored glasses of a new grad. It WAS specified, more than once, that not every strategy will work for every area, but if nurses with many years of experience are suggesting that it is NOT unprofessional, done correctly, to seek out the NM in person, then just maybe a new grad should at least consider that advice. Just saying...

I'd also like to add that for those still in nursing school, the hunt for a job does not begin when you graduate, but before you start classes with your interview for nursing school. You should consider the entire time you are in school as a series of interviews and make yourself stand out to your classroom and clinical instructors WAY before graduation day. In my opinion, those who wait until the last semester of school to start thinking about ways to make themselves stand out are much less likely to have the success that they desire.

Peds, NICU and newborn/maternity areas are certainly places that would have tighter security where the OP's strategy wouldn't work. What I like most about this post is that you didn't just post why it wouldn't work for you, but you included something that WOULD work. There is another thread from 2011 that I never forgot and it has some creative strategies that could work, even in high security areas. Here is the link: https://allnurses.com/nursing-job-search/i-got-job-532817.html Whatever strategy or strategies one decides to use isn't the most important point to take from this. The main point for everyone is to not make excuses why a particular strategy won't work and to be proactive in finding a strategies that can work.

I don't understand some of the negativity toward the OP's information. It's a GOOD strategy. No one said it is guaranteed to work 100% of the time, and yes, you might irritate some NMs. But no one has a crystal ball that can predict exactly what will work and if you aren't getting any response from the hospital anyway, it certainly isn't going to hurt!

Your comments come across as suggesting that there must be very few doctors who don't vaccinate because you've only "come across" one. Also that you dismiss as not credible all doctors who don't vaccinate based on this one doctor.