Who is in Nursing for the money?

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I just had to ask that question? I am not trying to start anything...I see a lot of threads about how much RN's make.... That makes me wonder who is in Nursing ONLY for the money?

I care about the people I take care of. But I am not Mother Theresa of Kolkata.

Kolkata?

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH......deep breath.....HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

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Kolkata?

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH......deep breath.....HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata

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Specializes in Ortho/Uro/Peds/Research/PH/Insur/Travel.
There's an ethos in nursing that it's a calling, and that people who do it just (or primarily) for the money are less than - less good, less competent, less proficient, even heartless or cruel. I can't think of any other job where agreeing that money is the key motivator would garner this response, or where an instructor would direct students to leave if this is the case.

I've worked with a couple of nurses who acknowledged being there primarily for the money - one was brilliant: great with patients, a fantastic resource, thoroughly professional, preferred by patients and, detached in a way I'd love to be, he never took work home with him. The other is competent, very experienced, takes great care of her patients but isn't too fussed about helping anyone else out. Just like the general population of nurses I've worked with, the motivation didn't dictate the nursing care.

Like the other posters, I nurse because I enjoy it and I'm good at it, but I wouldn't be working if I didn't get paid (though I might still nurse - part time - if I won the lottery). I have no problem with people who nurse because they believe they were called to it, those (like me) who became nurses through fluke and happenstance, or those who looked at the benefits and rationally decided on a cost/benefit analysis.

Talaxandra, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You hit the nail on the head with your post. No member has the right to determine whether or not another member SHOULD be a nurse or whether their motivation to continue nursing is valid. I persevered through nursing school because I sincerely like to help people. At the same time, I find it to be, more often than not, a thankless career path. Since most of us are NOT going to get rich, it's important to find SOMETHING about nursing that you like. For me, that's becoming a public health nurse in order to work abroad and see the world. An average paycheck simply isn't enough to keep me in the profession.

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Talaxandra, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You hit the nail on the head with your post. No member has the right to determine whether or not another member SHOULD be a nurse or whether their motivation to continue nursing is valid. I persevered through nursing school because I sincerely like to help people. At the same time, I find it to be, more often than not, a thankless career path. Since most of us are NOT going to get rich, it's important to find SOMETHING about nursing that you like. For me, that's becoming a public health nurse in order to work abroad and see the world. An average paycheck simply isn't enough to keep me in the profession.

FYI...This thread was started intentionally to show a specific person that there is more to Nursing than a "paycheck"...FYI...I am not determining who should/shouldn't be a nurse....I needed honest opinions and I know this is a place where real nurses/students speak their minds...Furthermore, the person this thread was intended for got the message...

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last weekend i will tell you i did nsg for the money.

i've cut back on my hrs, as i do every so often when i'm approaching burnout.

last friday i was called and they needed 1:1 care for a very difficult pt...many acute events and dying in the process.

instead of systems shutting down, they were just going haywire, as was his ms.

the money they offered me was off the charts.

i stayed until he died, so i nursed him from fri noc to monday noc, only napping for a couple of hrs here and there.

an md was with me throughout.

very aggressive mgmt/interventions, and lots and lots of money.

this facility needed a top rate nurse and were prepared to pay what top experience commands.

the pt and his very large, hovering, anxious family got phenomenal care and i got phenomenal pay.

as it should be.

leslie

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last weekend i will tell you i did nsg for the money.

i've cut back on my hrs, as i do every so often when i'm approaching burnout.

last friday i was called and they needed 1:1 care for a very difficult pt...many acute events and dying in the process.

instead of systems shutting down, they were just going haywire, as was his ms.

the money they offered me was off the charts.

i stayed until he died, so i nursed him from fri noc to monday noc, only napping for a couple of hrs here and there.

an md was with me throughout.

very aggressive mgmt/interventions, and lots and lots of money.

this facility needed a top rate nurse and were prepared to pay what top experience commands.

the pt and his very large, hovering, anxious family got phenomenal care and i got phenomenal pay.

as it should be.

leslie

YOU ARE SUPER AWESOME!!!!

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Specializes in Ortho/Uro/Peds/Research/PH/Insur/Travel.
FYI...This thread was started intentionally to show a specific person that there is more to Nursing than a "paycheck"...FYI...I am not determining who should/shouldn't be a nurse....I needed honest opinions and I know this is a place where real nurses/students speak their minds...Furthermore, the person this thread was intended for got the message...

FYI: Being a nurse and earning as much money as possible are not mutually exclusive concepts.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
what money?

nursing doesn't pay you enough to do it just for the small amount of money to be made.

For associate degree programs RNs make a relatively high salary compared to some other AD graduates. RNs have one of the highest starting salaries for new grads compared to some other professions (in our new grad RNs make more than the MDs in their internship - especially considering the hours the interns work). Granted the pays remains stagnent as the years go buy and one isn't going to get rich by no means. But the money is attractive.

Nothing wrong with considering salary when considering a career - as long as you have some aptitude for the career you eventually choose.

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Well, to tell you the truth -- I do work for the money. I have a daugther who I'm helping through college and I also enjoy making money to pay off bills and build up a retirement. The work is tough, yes, but it's a great challenge that keeps me sharp, fit, and mentally strong.

I know we may not get paid as much as others, but I also have a heck of a lot more free time off than other folks I see. For the time spent, I think it's wonderful pay.

lately I've only been going in 2 days a week -- and although I've lost 1/3 of my pay, I'm also paying a lot less in taxes and just getting lots of rest and enjoying my job and life way more. I always go in fresh and happy and forget any troubles because I have enough time off in between shifts. If I have a bad night, well, I get to take time off from those patients while others have to come in the next night and deal with it all over again.

So, I don't know -- I'm in it for the challenge, for the money, but also for the flexibility -- it's just unparelled, unless you're a movie star or something ... :nurse:. Just my own .02.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.
Kolkata?

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH......deep breath.....HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

Kolkata is now the official legal name of the city that used to be called Calcutta. India is abandoning names like "Calcutta", "Bombay" (now called Mumbai) and "Madras" (now Chennai), which are holdovers from British imperialism.

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there was this guy trying to tell us about ati assessment tests at our school and he asked the whole class- "whose in nursing for the money" and everybody except me raised there hand. He said "than you all for being honest." Very sad.

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Specializes in Med/Surg,.

I like most others agree the money is def. nice to have, but I don't think the money is enough to keep me into nursing if I did not like it since I feel is the money we're paid is not comparable to the increasing level of responsibility shifted to us.

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