Why don't employers start lowering wages for nurses?

Nurses General Nursing

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After looking at the countless rants of nurses who can't get a job for months on here and seeing nearly all job listings for nurses requiring experience, I went on to conclude that getting a nursing job now isn't easy.

Why don't employers keep lowering the wage until there is only 1 or 2 applicants willing to apply instead of the usual 70 to 80? Don't you think an employer could get away with a job offer for $32 an hour for a RN instead of $33 an hour? Why not offer $8 or $10 an hour?? RN are working for FREE via internships! 33% of nurses at hospitals are nothing more than internships, free labor. The clinical experience at colleges means absolutely nothing. I bet you that a hospital can still get RNs if it paid $10 an hour for wages. On the news a while ago I heard of a company hiring programmers at MINIMUM WAGE, they had NO PROBLEM getting programmers willing to work for that much with no chance of pay increases. If you are an unemployed RN, wouldn't it be better to land a job as a RN for $15 an hour rather than be jobless?

On my way towards becoming an RN I've already encountered an obstacle. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get in anatomy, physiology, or microbiology. All classes were completely filled as soon as they were available to a group of students. I went to every class to petition and most of the time there were 3-4 times more people petitioning than people registered for the class. I will never get in those classes since I'm already working full time. Students taking more units (classes) last semester are the first allowed to register for classes. Students like me who struggle to get in a single class will always be the last allowed to register which means the classes I need will be closed. I'm not stupid and know I need to attempt to pass my classes with "A's". I'm getting a little discouraged when I'm not even given the opportunity to take the classes I need and when RNs can't find jobs at this time.

I think my wages have already been cut. I did all the work my hospital wanted to get a raise and they didn't give raises this year but they still got all my extra work on committees. My health insursance stinks. I also don't think I am paid what I am worth.

When you get out of nursing school and apply for your job you can always counter-offer a lower wage, but I bet you don't.

just for the record, i'm not advocating the lowering of rn wages . i myself would hate it if wages were to fall or stagnant before i get in the field. i believe the reason why wages are high and there are a dearth of nurses is because (almost) every nursing school in the nation is either jammed or competitive to get in which shows that there isn't enough nursing schools to train nurses for jobs. if there were more accredited nursing schools then i'm sure that there would be a greater supply of nurse

well, one thing is that many of the hospital based nursing programs that turned out excellent (diploma)nurses for years have been forced to close due to multiple factors.

want to know why i'm becoming a nurse? i'm doing it completely for the money. what other job provides good benefits, job security, good salary, and good job outlook? i didn't want to become a nurse but i couldn't find another job that provides so much for so little.

job security?????????? if you think that there is any loyalty to staff by most health care facilities you are sadly mistaken. all it take is for one irate family member to stir a pot and threaten litigation and you could find yourself on the unemployment line. so much for so little????? come post on the board if u get through nursing school and start working on a med-surg unit or a telemetry unit. plan on getting a bsn/msn if you want to move up the food chain and get away from doing direct patient care.

as for overcoming the stresses of nursing, i shouldn't have a problem with that. i simply won't have compassion for patients and live my life as normal. if i wasn't there then the patients would still be screaming, suffering, and crying with another nurse. i'll get things done while other rn's hold a patients hand for 30 minutes or wheel a patient on a wheelchair outside to be picked up by family members.

what do you do now???? just curious. what are you going to be "getting done" while the other nurses are providing holistic care to their patients? i do live my life "normally" (whatever that is) and still provide competent, holistic care to those i care for.

i went to a hospital and seen it with my own eyes, a rn wheeling a patient to the parking lot and wait there for about 10 minutes! what a waste of resources when someone that has a lesser wage could be wheeling that patient! why does it matter if you hold a person's hand before they die, they'll lose memory of it anyways. i've seen rn's talk in the break room for a while and one time even host a birthday party for the nurse manager, hard job right?!

i would not want you to take care of anyone in my family or even my pets. yes, sometimes we have to wheel people to their cars. why does it matter if you hold a patient's hand?? personally i would want my family with me if i was dying but they may not be able to get to me before i die. sometimes family members are comforted when they know that someone was with their loved one as they died. so what if someone has a birthday party??? who says that we can't take a break?

i would never become a nurse if the salary wasn't enough. if hospitals lowered rn wages by $5-10, i bet you that nursing schools would still be packed and there would still be the same supply of nurses coming. i see many on here saying that they would quit nursing if wages were lowered, is money a primary reason that you (a nurse) got in the profession?

if our wages are lowered, it's no different than anyone else. we have mortgages, car payments and bills like everyone else and our money is budgeted. i've worked for way less than what i make now and had to make do with it. money is not the only reason i became a nurse. i have also worked two nursing jobs in order to make ends meet.

i've looked over the dropout rate statistics and still decided to be on the path towards getting in nursing school. no point in working towards something then quitting. i will not be grossed out by anything or quit because of it. i won't be intimidiated by crazy patients. once again, i do not care at all about patients and will just do what i'm supposed to do as a nurse which i think will keep my stress level down. i can't wait to get ahold of a $70,000/yr salary after just 2 years in college . refer to me as "his/him" in your replies since i'm a man .

hmmmm, it's not the crazy patients you have to worry about!! it's the crazy family members looking for a quick buck. who's paying new grads $70,000 a year??

please go do something else...

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
I pointed out nurses got good job outlook, good wages, and good benefits that can be had for only 2 years in nursing school. I think RNs get paid WAY to much for what they do and wages need to be cut in half.

First of all, it takes more than 2 years to get a nursing degree, even a ASN. It took me five years to get my BSN. Wait until you become a nurse before you say nurses should get half of what they are getting now. Unless of course you are a troll and you can get out of this site...

My opinion - you should forget about nursing as a career - you are definitely management material!

Oh my goodness!!!! That's what's wrong with much of management in nursing now!!! All chiefs that don't know what's going on in the trenches~~

Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
Want to know why I'm becoming a nurse? I'm doing it completely for the money. What other job provides good benefits, job security, good salary, and good job outlook? I didn't want to become a nurse but I couldn't find another job that provides so much for so little.

You might want to take a look at a few of the threads by new graduates---and experienced nurses---who cannot find jobs in this economy. While the outlook for jobs in the future looks good, no one can predict for sure when the current nurse overage is going to cease. Moreover, many of those jobs in the future will likely be in gerontological nursing---you think you can handle taking care of old, sick adults? Oh, that's right. People with attitudes like yours don't clean feces or vomitus or urine. People like you are in it for the paycheck---let people stew in their own bodily wastes while you and your like-minded heartless peers collect your big, fat pay.

As for overcoming the stresses of nursing, I shouldn't have a problem with that. I simply won't have compassion for patients and live my life as normal. If I wasn't there then the patients would still be screaming, suffering, and crying with another nurse. I'll get things done while other RN's hold a patients hand for 30 minutes or wheel a patient on a wheelchair outside to be picked up by family members. I went to a hospital and seen it with my own eyes, a RN wheeling a patient to the parking lot and wait there for about 10 minutes! What a waste of resources when someone that has a lesser wage could be wheeling that patient! Why does it matter if you hold a person's hand before they die, they'll lose memory of it anyways. I've seen RN's talk in the break room for a while and one time even host a birthday party for the nurse manager, hard job right?!

You are saying this just to pull everyone's chains, right? People typically go into helping professions because they want to HELP people.

Gosh, why didn't I figure out when I was younger that the best way to alleviate the stress of nursing was to just not give a damn? All those times I dared talk to my patients, all the hours I've spent holding the hands of someone who was dying or just needed comfort---that was wasted, wasn't it? Waste of my time. Right?

Wrong. Not in my opinion. And not in the opinion of the recipients of my nursing care. Laugh if you want but there is a sacredness in the life process---in everything from birth to death. Nurses have a unique privilege to be part of some of the most important moments in people's lives. How can anyone witness a birth and not be moved? How can anyone be at the side of someone who transitions into death and not be moved?

Oh, there's that four-letter word again. CARE. It's a scary thing to actually care. You open your heart to the woundedness of other people. You help shoulder their burdens. Whether you're with them for a moment or for a lifetime, you make an impact on their lives and they make an impact on yours.

Unless you simply don't "care".

I would never become a nurse if the salary wasn't enough. If hospitals lowered RN wages by $5-10, I bet you that nursing schools would still be packed and there would still be the same supply of nurses coming. I see many on here saying that they would quit nursing if wages were lowered, is money a primary reason that you (a nurse) got in the profession?

If you come here to a NURSES' forum and start bashing other nurses, saying their salaries should be cut and then strut around saying that you are planning to be a nurse ONLY for the money, be prepared to get hostile reactions. Why do you think YOU'RE worth a high salary and the rest of us aren't?

I've looked over the dropout rate statistics and still decided to be on the path towards getting in nursing school. No point in working towards something then quitting. I will not be grossed out by anything or quit because of it. I won't be intimidiated by crazy patients. Once again, I do not care at all about patients and will just do what I'm supposed to do as a nurse which I think will keep my stress level down. I can't wait to get ahold of a $70,000/yr salary after just 2 years in college :up:. Refer to me as "his/him" in your replies since I'm a man :).

For your sake as well as the sake of those who are in or truly WANT to be in the nursing profession, go find another field. You will be taking up dead weight in your academic program, in orientation, in a job that someone else wants but that you happened to get IF you get a job, IF you get into a program with such a crass and crappy attitude. A job you hate, working for people you don't respect, working with people you look down upon---is not worth ANY amount of money.

As an educator, I would not want someone like you as my student. As a nurse, I would not want someone like you as my colleague. And as a patient, I sure as hell would not want anyone with an attitude like yours within my sight. Would YOU want someone as callous as you taking care of you? Your parents? Your wife and children?

Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.
Just for the record, I'm not advocating the lowering of RN wages :wink2:. I myself would hate it if wages were to fall or stagnant before I get in the field. I believe the reason why wages are high and there are a dearth of nurses is because (almost) every nursing school in the nation is either jammed or competitive to get in which shows that there isn't enough nursing schools to train nurses for jobs. If there were more accredited nursing schools then I'm sure that there would be a greater supply of nurses.

Want to know why I'm becoming a nurse? I'm doing it completely for the money. What other job provides good benefits, job security, good salary, and good job outlook? I didn't want to become a nurse but I couldn't find another job that provides so much for so little.

As for overcoming the stresses of nursing, I shouldn't have a problem with that. I simply won't have compassion for patients and live my life as normal. If I wasn't there then the patients would still be screaming, suffering, and crying with another nurse. I'll get things done while other RN's hold a patients hand for 30 minutes or wheel a patient on a wheelchair outside to be picked up by family members. I went to a hospital and seen it with my own eyes, a RN wheeling a patient to the parking lot and wait there for about 10 minutes! What a waste of resources when someone that has a lesser wage could be wheeling that patient! Why does it matter if you hold a person's hand before they die, they'll lose memory of it anyways. I've seen RN's talk in the break room for a while and one time even host a birthday party for the nurse manager, hard job right?!

I would never become a nurse if the salary wasn't enough. If hospitals lowered RN wages by $5-10, I bet you that nursing schools would still be packed and there would still be the same supply of nurses coming. I see many on here saying that they would quit nursing if wages were lowered, is money a primary reason that you (a nurse) got in the profession?

I've looked over the dropout rate statistics and still decided to be on the path towards getting in nursing school. No point in working towards something then quitting. I will not be grossed out by anything or quit because of it. I won't be intimidiated by crazy patients. Once again, I do not care at all about patients and will just do what I'm supposed to do as a nurse which I think will keep my stress level down. I can't wait to get ahold of a $70,000/yr salary after just 2 years in college :up:. Refer to me as "his/him" in your replies since I'm a man :).

Regardless of whether you are male or female, many places have a peer review to hire you, then about 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days into your orientation you are peer reviewed to see if you fit in. People can tell if you are compassionate or not. Enough complaints from coworkers or patients and/or family and you'll be jobless, if you can even find a job in this economy. I really hope that your just kidding. There's nothing wrong with working for the money, but if that's the only reason, you'll never be very successful at it.

& you wonder why you can't get into any classes?????????. Maybe the MAN above sees right through u. Take a look in the mirror & reevaluate yourself, you can't even cope with being turned away from a few classes how in the heck are u going to deal with nursing school, thats right u have a plan. It saddens me to see someone write what the outlook of nursing should be and u haven't even completed a course that prepares you for that field. You should learn to respect the nurses that hold their positions as u strive to fill their shoes. I seriously hope this is a prank posting (you got me!) because u are in for one bumpy ride my friend, not only in nursing, but also life.

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

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