Social Class and Nursing

[AllOfMyWat]

This is not a question about ECONOMIC class/how much you make. I've noticed a fair number of nurses who make the same amount of money are varied in their social class. This isn't a value judgment, but it is visible in the food nurses eat, clothing choices, recreation, and behavior. (My prepatory school educated, Latin and Greek speaking, fair trade, organic eating husband readily points out my lower socioeconomic habits, which I enjoy and am unlikely to change.)

Does social class impact where you work? I've heard nurses complain you won't survive at the major hospital here if you're not a Stepford wife. I've also looked at facilities and thought I wouldn't fit into the predominant culture.

[Sour Lemon]

I see myself as lower middle class. My mother graduated from a high school that focused on religion and home economics and my father was a high school drop out. Although they were quite poor when I was a child, they've made somewhat good decisions over time and become financially secure in their older years.

I attended community college in my thirties to become a nurse and don't have much desire to go further. I feel "rich", educated and "classy" enough where I'm at. I'm one of the few people in my family who got married before having a child and doesn't have multiple children by multiple fathers. I don't use drugs and have never been on public assistance. My pets live inside of the house and are well taken care of. I'm treated well by my loved ones and have the self esteem and resources to walk away if that ever changes. To me, that's living the good life.

My husband's family members are all educated to at least to the Bachelor's level, but often higher- even though they might be housewives and not actually work. They're not wealthy, but all the kids in the family have small educational trust funds. Their family units are very traditional. I feel like my son will be solid middle class, but not quite me.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Should I and my husband remain in the country we both were born, we would be paupers. Here, after some solid efforts, we're in top 15% by overall income as a family, and could fare even better should we use most of my current income (which pretty much dissipates into my grad school, help to my ailing parents abroad and college savings). We do not have many attributes of upper middle class, though. No boat, expensive cars, large house, huge backyard with jacuzzi, etc., but these are just not things we care for.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I have a BSN, and am currently working on getting a DNP in informatics. Although I have a bachelors, I feel more working class than middle class. Nursing does not truly feel like knowledge work. So my wages puts me on par with a tradesman and feels blue collar, just like with a tradesman. This aspect, as well as the low wages, gets at me. I actually came from an upper middle class family. My dad worked for a big tech company until 5 years ago. We lived in a very well to do neighborhood. Then my parents divorced and my mother suggested I go into nursing, because in her mind it provided a stable income. She didn't want me to stay in a financially precarious situation by remaining in school. I wish I didn't listen to her, and I wish I obtained a degree in another field, which would lead to a higher paying career. Even if it took longer. She was also thinking about who would support her, so that's why she suggested nursing for me.

I hope with an advanced degree I can get a knowledge based job, complete with an increase in social status and pay as well. The job I applied for recently is for a clinical analyst position, and it calls for a clinician of some sort. No preference for associates or bachelors. But if I can get this job, and it doesn't hurt me too much financially, I can get some experience to apply for a more advanced job. By the end of 2 years, I hope to have the DNP degree.

If you are doing it right, nursing is a "knowledge based" career.

[NurseCard, ADN]

This makes me think of the Coal Miners of eastern KY... well... before Obama, but I digress..

If Loretta Lynn were alive ten years ago, would she be a poor Coal Miner's Daughter? Not likely.

They make EXCELLENT money. But, is a coal miner considered upper middle class? No. However, he's still probably living in a big house up on the hill, and his daughter is wearing all of the nicest clothes and driving a nice car.

You are right though... with all of the coal mines closing, that coal miner now has nothing.

Social class is a controversial issue that results in eye-rolling because it is not strictly about income...it is a combination of income, education, and occupational status.

For instance, a man with a GED who earns $30 hourly ($75,000 annually with overtime) as a unionized machine operator is not truly middle class...although he has the right income level, the other markers of true middle class status include a college education and a job that entails knowledge work.

A machine operator without a college education who loses his/her job is in a far more precarious situation in the employment market than those with similar incomes, but more educational attainment.

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I still live in the rural area I grew up in. Loretta Lynn and her husband lived in this area for a while before she hit the big time. Mom graduated from high school and was a stickler for proper grammar, dad graduated from the state college on the GI bill. We grew most of own vegetables, Mom sewed most of our clothes, and Dad went on strike a few times.

i think of myself as working class, definitely felt awkward among my "big city" classmates at the University of Washington. No push for Stepfordness, being granola and outdoorsy is popular.

[TuesdaysChild]

I polled in at lower middle, but I have several factors that distinctly belong to most of the classes, so it's hard to put my finger on it. I was born and raised in small town Oklahoma, running barefoot, riding bikes, building treehouses, etc. I also played the piano and the flute, was classically trained to sing opera (and I still got it!), had poetry published, speak languages, have traveled the world, and hold two successful patents. My current job pays close to six figures, yet I live in a (highly unorganized) studio and drive a Ford Fiesta. I couldn't be "stylish" if my life depended on it. My nails are never manicured, but I always wear makeup. I prefer import beer to wine, studied in the art of Asian tea preparation and presentation, and I can use power tools and a longbow.

So you see my dilemma.....

[RNperdiem, RN]

In my old country I was part of the lower end of the upper class. The families had professional jobs, sent their kids to the same private schools (boarding schools for some), most had household help- a maid, perhaps a nanny or a weekly gardener.

My family moved to the USA in my middle school years and integrated well into a middle class American life. I live at the upper middle class end. To live in this world, it helps to have a college education, good job, an interest in health and fitness (no smoking), and skills to navigate various social events.

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

If you are doing it right, nursing is a "knowledge based" career.

Not the bedside. At least not all the time. With an advanced degree, nursing is more likely to be knowledge based.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Not the bedside. At least not all the time. With an advanced degree nursing is more likely to be knowledge based.[/quote']

Bull. If you are working acute care, you should be using your brain daily, pulling from your knowledge base in order to anticipate potential complications and work to prevent them. Task oriented nursing is incomplete nursing. My background is ICU/cardiac/stepdown, now endo and OR, fwiw.

[TuesdaysChild]

Bull. If you are working acute care, you should be using your brain daily, pulling from your knowledge base in order to anticipate potential complications and work to prevent them. Task oriented nursing is incomplete nursing. My background is ICU/cardiac/stepdown, now endo and OR, fwiw.

The Dictionary of Occupational Titles and the required competencies for general nursing agrees with you.

[FurBabyMom, MSN, RN]

I grew up blue collar in a white collar neighborhood. My parents lived beyond their means, but were attempting to help my brother and I have a better life than we might otherwise have had. If we had stayed in my parents' first house (which would have been paid off before we entered high school), my brother and I would have attended some really disadvantaged schools, received a far less stellar education than what we did, and we would have grown up in a neighborhood riddled with drugs and violence. My parents chose to get us out of a less great geographical area for "better" opportunities. My parents never paid their second house off (they lived there 21 years of a 30 year mortgage).

Growing up like we did, we were "less" than our neighbors and classmates. Everyone else seemed to have the newest nicest things (our second house, while in an excellent school district, was in a very "keeping up with the Joneses" neighborhood). Our parents pretty much always worked (my dad was gone 6 day a week for work). None of the things my parents did to "update" their house were things they hired - we did it all, including plumbing and electrical (my dads good friends were tradesmen - they taught Dad to do much of the work himself, and helped make sure we had it right for any required inspections). On the other hand, my brother and I learned basic carpentry and home maintenance skills... Because of my parents work schedules, my brother and I did much of the housework in addition to our homework. I did most of the laundry from age 8 or so on, and did much of the cooking from age 10 on.

On the other hand, I'm solidly in the middle class with a bachelors' degree, making an excellent income for less than or equal to 5 years experience. I am paying off debt that is not related to school, I'm very close to having my credit cards paid off. I will then be saving to have an adequate savings and build a fund for the new car I'd like to have one day soon, and for the fact I'd love to buy a house someday soon. I will be paying on my student loans for quite some time (though there are forgiveness options to explore too). My employer is paying most of my grad school expenses. I will pay a fraction of what I paid for undergrad for my graduate level education.

I do not want to have the same existence my parents did. The spending more than was truly necessary, living paycheck to paycheck, etc. I have discussed this with my mother. She is glad I have learned from her experience in many ways. I went to and finished college (she has a high school education), my dad has an associates degree (but only got that when he was injured at work and they believed he'd be unable to return to work), and am setting better financial goals for myself. I love my parents, just do not want to live like they did. My mom is happy because she feels each generation should improve upon those before them (and admittedly, her childhood was disparate compared with mine). I will be the first person in my family to have a graduate level education (my mom's mother is so incredibly proud - she'd told all her friends :) ).

I would like to, one day, when I have kids, be able to afford their needs and some of their wants without "borrowing" to do it. I also would like to help them (substantially) with the cost of college. If I play my cards right that should work, but that's assuming I'll actually end up with kids of my own (nearly 10 years out of high school and it's not looking so promising). I have chosen to focus on experiences over things in my own life already. My car is older (but paid off - I only have maintenance costs), I'm renting where the rent is affordable and the neighborhood is safe. Someday, it'll work out how I want it (not that I won't have to work to get there).

[Libby1987]

I'm middle class with an attitude.

My parents were depression era, Dad was a WWII vet with an amazing work ethic and devoted to family. They had benefits available to their generation, they owned their home, had outstanding health benefits, I had orthodontic care back when it wasn't everyday common, they took a second on their home so I could have years of riding lessons and showing horses, they enrolled me in etiquette and poise lessons which trained me to maintain composure under pressure that has paid off many times over. We lived 15 min from a state university where I earned my BSN at 22 with a payable loan. I was raised by mature parents (by 60's standards) with a dad who adored me and a mother who taught me to command respect.

My friends and family are either college educated and/or business owners. We have a glaring absence of nonsense in our lives.

I'm successful and happy in my work, I'm considered to be at an expertise level in my field.

I'm rarely the smartest one in the room but often the strongest. I can hang with down to earth folks and carry myself with the pretentious without telling them what I think of their perspectives from their insulted bubbles.

I think that makes me middle class. And possibly a self righteous *****