Where do you stand on "Nurses don't get paid enough"?

[Convoy2022_TrumpSupporter]

To me I am on the fence about it. When I was a student, we were taught not to complain, if we complained in our clinical about too much work we would get a warning, or be kicked out for not being competent. Now that I am working its much different. I have a union who will stand up for me.  So now workers like me, often complain about workloads, and being overworked asking to come in, working lots of hours etc..

Here in Ontario we have Bill 124 where the Government froze our wages. I saw many Nurses protest this, but of course we cannot go on strike as lives will be on the line which is not good. One nurse said that they don't just change diapers, but they keep patients alive and are closely monitored, while being spat on, and yelled at. 

So this begs the question, are you becoming a Nurse because you like it? Or are you doing it for the money? I don't think Nurses are underpaid, I do think they are worth more than they currently are. 

[Guest 1152923]

Rather, nurses are speaking out about unsafe working conditions, dangerous staffing ratios, inadequate/unavailable PPEs and pay that is out of line for the amount of stress and responsibility that many nurses assume.  If you want to 'make bank' by signing on for a travel assignment in a Covid ICU that is beyond capacity, critically staffed, and in crisis mode, feel free.  Personally, I just want to be fairly compensated for my time and not be viewed as a disposable commodity by management.  

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

1 hour ago, NightNerd said:

I am happy with the money I'm making as a nurse, but furthermore, a raise wouldn't fix the biggest problems I have with this career. Don't throw more money at me to come in extra and continue to work under a plethora of safety issues that put my, muy livelihood, and my parents at risk. Just fix the problems! You know?

I mean, I'll happily take a raise anytime. Or a winning Powerball ticket. Yeah, that last one.

This, but minus the typos. Geez.

[JKL33]

I've done my time thinking about this issue and don't have a huge desire to revisit it all, but in a nutshell I don't think people cognizantly and independently wish to think this way. Plenty of nurses are hard-asses and hard workers who demand a lot from themselves; you know this if you've been around at all. Nevertheless, practically day one in nursing school is about the need to be faultless (always being measured against what a "prudent" nurse would do) as if every type of mistake has something to do with one's fitness as a human being or one's scruples (morality) or some important character quality. You don't even make it through nursing school unless on some level you accept fake moralistic principles such as "if it wasn't documented it wasn't done" and many more.

Where we have been in recent years is that this religiously harsh and prudent activity continues to be expected while those who make the rules (aka labor-related fantasies) go completely off the rails.

Now I will say that the "never get to eat or pee" group gets an eyeroll from me but I also understand that it is quite a process to see things for what they are and gain the empowerment necessary to act against numerous other forces.

Agree there are ways to make crazy money right now, at this moment. This current situation is but a blip in time in the history of nursing and you can be sure people are meeting day and night to come up with ways to make it stop asap--as well as already having come right out of the gate portraying nurses as greedy individuals who "gouge" poor multi-billion dollar businesses (the immoral bit again).

[Wuzzie]

I would just like to not be billed as part of the room. I am  not a couch. It dehumanizes us. ?

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

On 11/16/2021 at 12:45 AM, DK123 said:

I don't think Nurses are underpaid, I do think they are worth more than they currently are. 

Can you clarify this?  I'm not sure what you're saying...we're not underpaid but worth more?

I'm not in nursing for the money.  I don't always glorify my profession profession with a "I hold people's hands when they die and wipe their tears and save lives..." 

I could have made more money doing any other number of professions.  That being said the money is good enough that I stay despite the stress.  I think the market and the fact that we compete with other hospitals in the area has kept our salaries here rising recently so I feel okay about what I make.  I'm older and have been at it a while and am "maxed out" so this year I didn't get a raise but a cash pay out of $2500 instead.  

I also have to consider they contribute $500 a year to my health savings account and a certain percentage to my 403B retirement account as well as 30 days paid time off a year.  

I own a home, a car, and have traveled the world.  Nursing has been good to me.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

Not everyone can up and quit to go travel or pick up insane amounts of overtime. Some of us have families and other responsibilities that we can't just up and abandon. 

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

15 hours ago, Tegridy said:

Tough question for any field. I do think big cooperations have too much power but basically comes down to what the market will bear, which….. doesn’t always have an answer. Currently seems like nurses are having a good amount of power through many quitting and traveling but how much are the worth monetarily? Good question LOL.

If people are unhappy they can attempt a career change if able. Obviously I could think of about 50 different career choices before ever going back to nursing, but that’s just N=1 and doesn’t really answer the question.

Overall people are fairly ignorant about other types of jobs and assume theirs takes more “brain power” and is “more important” than other careers. This includes myself for those with tomato launchers locked and loaded.

 

The above post mentions saving lives, but… essentially if we did not have accountants the country would collapse so one could argue they do save lives. Same goes for many fields though it may not be as obvious as those providing direct medical care. Same goes for administration, some are good some are bad but the hospital would collapse without them. Money doesn’t grow on trees, at at least it didn't until this year…

LOL @ you thinking the country would collapse without accountants and they save lives. Okay, gotta tell my CPA BF this...he would have a good laugh.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Several off topic posts have been removed or edited. Please stick to the topic of nurses and compensation; let’s not turn it into nurses vs other professions. 

[KalipsoRed21, BSN, RN]

I think the pay for RNs is pretty stagnant. That the best way to improve your pay is, unfortunately, to move from job to job. I made $20.07 an hour in 2008. I now make $43.50 an hour. If you account for inflation and if I only got a 3% increase in pay each year for inflation/cost of living then I should be at about $36.50 per hour. Is $7 an hour adequate compensation for 14 year experience that includes ER, cardiac step down, home care, case management, and now medical surgical nursing and a Bachelors degree? I’m not sure. But what I do know is the baby RN they just hired makes $37.00 an hour with no experience and a 4 year degree. 
I think the life time compensation for nursing is poor for the odd schedules, high stress, high accountability but low autonomy position that we are put in. I think the constant “give more of yourself to us because you should just care enough to do so” mentally in nursing is absurd, especially since we all witness how precious and short our time here on earth is over and over again. That there absolutely is something more important I should be dedicated to: my family and friends…because we all have witnessed how poor healthcare is a substitute for those assets. So as far as a middle income job goes, I think the pay is fair, as long as they quit asking for us to do more. But because they never do I can’t ever agree that the nursing way of life is a good one.

[Ryan Lawson]

I don't believe in government interference of wages, and it's unfortunate that it occured where you work. I live in the USA, but even wages here are not adequate for regular staff nurses. In Michigan most staff nurses start around $29. The crazy part is if your contingent, or you float around to multiple hospitals in one system, the pay is outrageous in comparison. I just signed a 13 week temp position for $125/hr base. Prior to that I was making $53 + differentials for a contingent flex nurse. The only way to get adequately compensated is to travel or go contingent but most nurses won't go outside there comfort zone, which in many ways is to there own detriment. 

[SmilingBluEyes]

10 minutes ago, Ryan Lawson said:

I don't believe in government interference of wages, and it's unfortunate that it occured where you work. I live in the USA, but even wages here are not adequate for regular staff nurses. In Michigan most staff nurses start around $29. The crazy part is if your contingent, or you float around to multiple hospitals in one system, the pay is outrageous in comparison. I just signed a 13 week temp position for $125/hr base. Prior to that I was making $53 + differentials for a contingent flex nurse. The only way to get adequately compensated is to travel or go contingent but most nurses won't go outside there comfort zone, which in many ways is to there own detriment. 

No it's not always a comfort zone thing. I was military and moved around a lot.  It often is obligation at home that keeps many from traveling. We should not have to travel to make somewhat higher wages. I am not arguing travelers not get more--- but not an obscene amount more. It's mind-blowing how much hospitals will pay for travelers but not use the money to retain a reliable and decent staff.

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

I am paid very well, I think. I live in Connecticut and work outpatient. I make about twice what I made when I taught elementary school. (And I had a masters’s degree in education, and only a bachelors in nursing). 

My husband is a lawyer working in corporate litigation so he earns a fortune. However, I honestly feel that he is OVER paid, not that I am underpaid.