urgh! so irritating!!!

GHGoonette, BSN, RN · Dec 24, 2010

Everybody, chill, chill, chill. It's not worth getting urself worked up over stuff that doesn't really matter, especially at this time of year.

We're all chilled, Carol! In fact, the beer's chilled, the wine's chilled, the soda water's chilled....everything's chilled!

Thanks for saying it all for me, Canes, now I can go and heat up in the kitchen... :smokin:

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 24, 2010

see to me there is a difference.
there are those who genuinely have a passion for helping people when they are at a most vulnerable point in their lives and it's also a great plus that the money goes along with it.
then there are those who are solely in it for the money. they are the ones who hate working with people, could care less what their wants and needs are and do the bare minimum requirement of their job just to collect those big bucks. those people should not be nurses by any means.

i disagree that someone who is in nursing just for the money hates working with people, doesn't care about their needs and does the bare minimum to stay employed to collect those . . . ahem . . . big bucks. you're confusing two issues. someone who is financially motivated -- and we all have bills to pay -- could be a fabulous employee. someone who has a "calling" could be a miserable employee who calls out sick every sunday (must get to church you know), does the bare minimum work necessary to get by because all of their time is consumed with pillow fluffing and hand holding, won't help others because their handholding is so much more important than your blood checking, poop clean-up or code. someone who is in it for the money may have an expansive knowledge base, impressive skill set and critical thinking ability. someone who has a "calling" may have barely passed their nclex after barely graduating, can't put low hematocrit, rapid heart-rate and black stool together with bleeding and might give the coumadin on schedule to a patient whose inr is 9.

but what i find truly irritating is, as the op has ranted, so many people who are in nursing because it's a calling feel compelled to judge the motivations of others. (we rarely see those who are in it for the money judging those who have a calling . . . and maybe in some cases they should be judged.) it's not your business why anyone else chose the field. it's your business that they take good care of their patients, that their patients get what they need before what they want and that they have your back when the fecal material hits the rotary air displacement device.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Dec 24, 2010

Ruby is wise. Come when you are scheduled, do your job properly and keep your personal dramas out of the work place, and I don't give a d@mm what your underlying motivation is. Some people need to spend more time improving their own practice and less time worrying about other peoples'.

ocean waves · Dec 24, 2010

Hello. I agree that there is an important distinction between the approach of entering the nursing profession solely for big bucks income and joining the world of nursing for a mix of income and sincerely helping patients. Regarding your concern about "nurses who chastize others for being in the field for moneytary gain...", it may be helpful for you to consider how nursing salaries and attitudes about the profession have changed tremendously since the 60's and before that time. Here are two examples: (1)one of my nursing supervisors who went to nursing school in the 40's told me that her family had advised her not to go into nursing because some people thought of nurses as something like "prostitutes" who were willing to bath men as part of their jobs!; (2)when I started nursing in the 60's, the minimum wage in the USA was about $1.65 an hour and all professional nurses tended to earn around $3 per hour--most of us nurses entered the field because we felt a "calling" to help people--with this limited income,a single person could only hope to swing the expense of living in a low rent efficiency apartment or having a room mate and sharing the rent costs. Over the decades with influence of the womens' lib movement nursing salaries have improved in such a huge way! Yes, the changes are great, however it is difficult for some of us retired nurses to hear or read when some nursing folks seem to have more focus on earning mega bucks and less focus on the sincere "calling" to help patients. Try to be patient with us. Best wishes!

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Dec 24, 2010

i disagree that someone who is in nursing just for the money hates working with people, doesn't care about their needs and does the bare minimum to stay employed to collect those . . . ahem . . . big bucks.
what, you mean there isn't big bucks in nursing? gasp!!?!?
you're confusing two issues. someone who is financially motivated -- and we all have bills to pay -- could be a fabulous employee. someone who has a "calling" could be a miserable employee who calls out sick every sunday (must get to church you know), does the bare minimum work necessary to get by because all of their time is consumed with pillow fluffing and hand holding, won't help others because their handholding is so much more important than your blood checking, poop clean-up or code. singin' my song, ruby! someone who is in it for the money may have an expansive knowledge base, impressive skill set and critical thinking ability. someone who has a "calling" may have barely passed their nclex after barely graduating, can't put low hematocrit, rapid heart-rate and black stool together with bleeding and might give the coumadin on schedule to a patient whose inr is 9. it would be funny if it wasn't true.

but what i find truly irritating is, as the op has ranted, so many people who are in nursing because it's a calling feel compelled to judge the motivations of others. (we rarely see those who are in it for the money judging those who have a calling . . . and maybe in some cases they should be judged.) it's not your business why anyone else chose the field. it's your business that they take good care of their patients, that their patients get what they need before what they want and that they have your back when the fecal material hits the rotary air displacement device.

ruby, i love the way you shoot from the hip. you say it without apology, and you state your opinion with a lot of experience to back your words. hopefully someday i will have the gonads to do the same. merry christmas, ruby vee!

OCNRN63, RN · Dec 24, 2010

At the risk of repeating myself: altruism doesn't pay the rent.

For those embittered nurses who question the motives of their coworkers: it must not be much of a "calling" you have if you spend your days being hyper-critical of others. One would think you'd be totally devoted to your patients and wouldn't have time for such foolishness.

ocean waves · Dec 24, 2010

Hello again! Good for your great points about how nurses can be both financially motivated and dedicated to fantastic patient care! I sincerely agree with you! I also agree with your point about how unfortunately some nurses can become too side tracked with the "calling" thing and can become "miserable employees" if they "won't help other nurses because their time becomes too consumed with "hand-holding...". Yep, I have known some well intended nurses who did this and failed to zoom in on the huge importance of being a good team player and of prioritizing to get urgent required patient care tasks completed on their shifts. Not good! Hooray for a balance of seeking hard earned good pay, seeking to be a fabulous employee, and seeking to help patients! Best wishes!

gymnut · Dec 24, 2010

i disagree that someone who is in nursing just for the money hates working with people, doesn't care about their needs and does the bare minimum to stay employed to collect those . . . ahem . . . big bucks.
you're confusing two issues. someone who is financially motivated -- and we all have bills to pay -- could be a fabulous employee. someone who has a "calling" could be a miserable employee who calls out sick every sunday (must get to church you know), does the bare minimum work necessary to get by because all of their time is consumed with pillow fluffing and hand holding, won't help others because their handholding is so much more important than your blood checking, poop clean-up or code. someone who is in it for the money may have an expansive knowledge base, impressive skill set and critical thinking ability. someone who has a "calling" may have barely passed their nclex after barely graduating, can't put low hematocrit, rapid heart-rate and black stool together with bleeding and might give the coumadin on schedule to a patient whose inr is 9.
but what i find truly irritating is, as the op has ranted, so many people who are in nursing because it's a calling feel compelled to judge the motivations of others. (we rarely see those who are in it for the money judging those who have a calling . . . and maybe in some cases they should be judged.) it's not your business why anyone else chose the field. it's your business that they take good care of their patients, that their patients get what they need before what they want and that they have your back when the fecal material hits the rotary air displacement device.

i think i should have elaborated on my post a bit more.

we are all financially motivated. no one says "i'm going to become thousands of dollars in debt, go to school for several years and make sacrifice after sacrifice all so i can make less than $15 an hour!" that's just ridiculous. i know i wouldn't be a tech or bother to go to nursing school if it paid beans. as you said people have bills to pay and banks and creditors could care less how much passion you have for a job when you can't make the monthly payments.

you are correct that you can be an excellent employee no matter what your reason for entering any profession. simply having a passion for something doesn't always equate that you have the knowledge or work ethic to go with it. i have worked with employees who were excellent at their jobs...when and if they showed up for work and i have also worked with people who had passion and drive and dedication who simply made one mistake after another because they couldn't get their priorities straight or had poor organizational skills. both were headaches to deal with.

one rn that i work with said that she worked in a coffee shop and decided to become a nurse after a customer told her that he was making over $90k a year being an icu nurse. she is a phenomenal nurse and i would trust her with my life. another rn is also a heck of a nurse and she claims she only went into the profession to meet a hot doctor (she is self proclaimed gold digger). an excellent nurse will always be an excellent nurse no matter what the motivation is that drives him or her.

the rns (and others) i have an issue with are those that bring zero to the table and only want that paycheck. i have met real life example of these people. one girl that was in my cna program always showed up late, left early, constantly complained about the work, said outright that she wasn't going to change briefs or clean up bodily fluids and pass them off to someone else, disappeared a lot during clinicals and when she actually did patient care she was horrible at it. she said she wanted to be a cna because the place she currently worked at paid them $18/hr and she could "finally afford some nice jewelry." yes, she actually said that.

another rn i work with on the floor (who is only a reserve thank god!) is the same way. all dirty work is beneath her and she will take 20 minutes to hunt down an aide rather than do it herself. she is always on her cell phone, in the break room or looking up things on e-bay to buy. patient care is the least of her concerns (chronically late and forgetting meds) and she once said how she wished a patient would just die already because she was tired of taking care of her. when i was talking to her the one day about nursing in general she said she was happy to become a nurse because this way she could make money and fulfill her dream of traveling around the world. she said she was begging the nm to go full time because she wants to go to london next xmas. so instead of doing nothing for 10 hours a week she wants to do nothing for 40 hours a week just to go on a nice vacation.

i'm sure all of you have worked with these two types of people and those are the types i was referring to in my original post. they shouldn't be nurses because the dollar signs in their eyes make them blinded to the big picture of what nursing actually is.

sevensonnets · Dec 24, 2010

Well, that got everybody riled up on Christmas Eve. Wasn't that the point?

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Dec 24, 2010

I don't think we are riled up, but add some more Hot Toddies, and we may just get there!

OhioCCRN, MSN, NP · Dec 25, 2010

i disagree that someone who is in nursing just for the money hates working with people, doesn't care about their needs and does the bare minimum to stay employed to collect those . . . ahem . . . big bucks. you're confusing two issues. someone who is financially motivated -- and we all have bills to pay -- could be a fabulous employee. someone who has a "calling" could be a miserable employee who calls out sick every sunday (must get to church you know), does the bare minimum work necessary to get by because all of their time is consumed with pillow fluffing and hand holding, won't help others because their handholding is so much more important than your blood checking, poop clean-up or code. someone who is in it for the money may have an expansive knowledge base, impressive skill set and critical thinking ability. someone who has a "calling" may have barely passed their nclex after barely graduating, can't put low hematocrit, rapid heart-rate and black stool together with bleeding and might give the coumadin on schedule to a patient whose inr is 9.
but what i find truly irritating is, as the op has ranted, so many people who are in nursing because it's a calling feel compelled to judge the motivations of others. (we rarely see those who are in it for the money judging those who have a calling . . . and maybe in some cases they should be judged.) it's not your business why anyone else chose the field. it's your business that they take good care of their patients, that their patients get what they need before what they want and that they have your back when the fecal material hits the rotary air displacement device.

yes!! yes!!! yes!!!

you absolutely got my point! and very eloquently put, i might add!!!!

WandererRNBSN, BSN · Dec 25, 2010

Nursing is both an art and a science, as one of my theory books say. You can't focus on just the art or just the science. As far as the motivation issue, it doesn't matter to me why people get into nursing, all that matters to me is that the patient is taking care of. Stay current in any new information, and keep learning on the job an off. Show competence in the clinical setting, an not just do the bare mininums. I'm a student nurse, im in it not because of a the media driven "shortage", but because I have a passion to care for people AND because of the science of the field, and to provide for my family. Someone's signature says 'patients don't care how much you care, but about what you know.'

Merry Christmas!!!:tree: