Show Me the Money

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2014

I always tell people that if I was in nursing for the money then I would have been left. No amount of money can pay me what I'm worth as a nurse. I do it because it actually is my calling. I could totally be doing something less stressful for more money then what I'm making now......

amygarside · Feb 20, 2014

If you would just love what you do, good things will come your way. This is one thing I have learned from watching "The Shift". Yes, we all need money but it is just there around the corner. Maybe, we just need more than what we have.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Feb 20, 2014

I'll echo the poster who said that people who go into nursing ONLY for the money are very soon disillusioned and don't stick around. Of course we should be paid a meaningful sum of money for the complex and essential work that we do, but if it's truly all about the money there are health care professions that pay a lot more but don't involve nights, weekends or holidays, don't involve poop or snot, don't include missed breaks and the high risk for abuse, infection and injury that nursing does. I too do not work for free and expect my missed breaks to be reimbursed with cash, that if I work nights that I'm paid more than someone who doesn't and so on, but there has to be more to it than money or I'd have left long ago.

TU RN, DNP, CRNA · Feb 20, 2014

"Drive thy business, let not that drive thee."

brownbook · Feb 20, 2014

If money is that important to you plan ahead. It is very easy to Google salaries then get whatever education is required and apply for those jobs. It doesn't make sense to become a nurse or any job then start complaining that the salary is too low.

Delicate Flower I know you weren't complaining, you were just stating the facts, but your facts would be the same if you were a teacher, social worker, administrative type job, etc.

I don't buy that a nurse is more important than a teacher or social worker or other helping/service worker. If schools and teachers had ton's of resources, better pay, smaller classes, etc., the better educated public and their families wouldn't be crowding our ER's, people wouldn't be stabbing and shooting each other, (or themselves,) they'd have healthier life styles. We'd be out of work!

Yeah, yeah, I know we'd all sing kumbaya together and live in peace. I am not that starry-eyed!

Delicate Flower · Feb 21, 2014

Absolutely. I have no illusions about the fact that if my employers think they could pay me any less and still get the same quality of work and keep me from quitting, they would do it in a heartbeat. I am worth only what the market says I am worth. This is becoming evident in the current nursing market, where in many areas there is an overabundance of qualified applicants. Many places I have worked have either severely cut back on, or completely eliminated weekend programs (where nurses work 2 weekend shifts per week in return for premium pay and full time level benefits). Hospitals now just require every nurse to work x amount of weekend shifts as a condition of employment, and because we need our paychecks, we have no choice but to comply. If you say "I don't work weekends," they can and will show you the door. They know there are plenty of people waiting in the wings who will gladly step into your place.

My sister is a teacher who likes to grumble about her pay. "Teachers don't get paid enough." Well, philosophically I may or may not agree (in the locale she's in, my Master's prepared sister pulls in about $80K per year, summers and weekends off, 13 paid sick days per year for middle school arts teacher). Teachers in other states and districts don't do nearly as well. But the fact is, there is no severe teacher shortgage (especially for music and art teachers), so at least according to the market, teachers are compensated just fine.

When I say, "it's all about the money for me," I mean that I don't have the luxury of it being about anything else. When coworkers at one of my jobs find out about the other, they always ask which one I like better. My answer is, the one that pays more. It can't be about the work culture, or the friendliness of my coworkers, or the patient population, or anything else. It has to be about the money.

Brownbook: money is important to me and it was important when I was at the point of deciding on a career/college major. I chose a specific path almost 100% because of income potential. As an undergrad, I thought I wanted to be a genetic counselor. So I started checking out grad schools which for G.C is Schools of Public Health. I found a listing of the various majors they offered, and the expected income in the job market. Genetic Counselor = $30-50K/year. I continued down the list and found Hospital Administrator = $150K+/year. Whoooh! Guess which degree I got. Yep. I spent 2 years and tens of thousands to get a Masters in Healthcare Administration. When I gradutated, I coulnd't find a relevant job to save my life. When I finally found something tangentially related, but nowhere near the responsibility or pay level, I absolutely hated it! And I found I was not cut out for the politics of management> I am, after all, a Delicate Flower. So I put myself through nursing school. That, in and of itself, is the best decision I have ever made. Like I said, I do enjoy being a nurse!

In a way I think I have contradicted myself, just having put forth an argument that your career choice should definitely not be all about the money. On the broader level, i.e. career choice, it certainly was not for me. But as a nurse, in this career path, money is the most important factor (as opposed to passion, compassion, caring, etc.)

RNGriffin · Feb 22, 2014

It's funny this thread was brought up. My coworkers ask all the time how could I leave the corporate healthcare setting, which was well paid and highly respected, to go back into nursing?

I chose this field for the love of it. Matter of fact, I am more interested in nursing education for the love of building a strong healthcare force. Of course, I wouldn't do this without a paycheck. I would, however, choose nursing if I were independently wealthy.

There are some who go into the field for the money or perception of stability, that's fine. But, if I were chasing the dream of being wealthy, nursing & healthcare would be last on my list unless I were to head back into the corporate setting. Even physicians aren't paid accordingly in my opinion.