Yeah, that's right, it's my fault.

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Last evening I was informed by a patient that the high cost of health care can be blamed on nurses and their high compensation and benefit cost. This is a afluent, well educated person in his late 70s. For past ten years he has been heavy user of health care due to a series of medical problems. He has had the most advanced medical care in the world, the best medical care money can buy. Indeed, I believe that he has had the best of everything all of his life. I am willing to bet it has cost millions of dollars to keep him alive here in his later years. But that has nothing to with the cost of health care and health insurance does it. It is me who at the end of my career, after years of being severly underpaid and over worked, who is now finally making a pretty good wage who is responsible for the high cost of health care. To bad I couldn't say what I was really thinking because it was a patient. However, if someone out on the street makes a comment like that they are going to be sorry they every met me.

not just consumers! i work with a few nurses who think our salaries are "just fine." these are also the same ones who clock out on time and then stay on the unit to "finish up", who don't clock in for unit meetings, and who work through their breaks without charging for it.

they never get it. they never understand why we get more work piled on us. it's because "the numbers" show that we're doing just fine. and who's skewing the numbers???

why the little angelic, altruistic martyrs themselves. of course. :rolleyes:

by the way, i'm in florida.

you mean people like this?

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/salary-question-143472.html

or this?

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/people-complaining-about-wages-45072.html?highlight=complain+salary

or this

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/what-complaint-nursing-salaries-133211.html?highlight=wages

granted, the ops in these threads are all either not nurses yet or are still inexperienced, but there are nurses in all the threads that come along to say "oh, nurses get paid just fine".

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I'm not so worried about the doctors. If I'd spent 12 years at school I'd expect the same compensation.

It's the drug companies, the drug reps, the HMO's and hospital hangers on (administrators) that get to me.

Those people can all make far more money than they're really worth.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
It's the drug companies, the drug reps, the HMO's and hospital hangers on (administrators) that get to me.

Even some administrators aren't rolling in the money.

Fiance's cousin works as one (MHA in 2005), he'll pull in about 35,000, working in Lynchburg, Va. He doesn't make much more than i do.

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Hmm.. like the manager of clinic/company I work for? He delegates that a 2.4% wage increase is accepatable.. if they don't cap your salary totally... and you KNOW this guy is still getting his wages increased yearly. When you make just under 16 bucks an hour, 2.4% is NOT all that much.. maybe if I made 300,000 a year I'd think it was all right, I don't know..

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I'm afraid I have to agree with him. After all, it's not like we do anything that REALLY matters--like throwing a little round object at somebody, so they can hit it with a stick! THOSE are the people who make a difference in the world!! Right??? What the heck-- what's life & death compared to Baseball? Get your priorities in order.

You're my hero!!

And don't forget about those people who's biggest worries in life are paparazzi, whether they'll win an Oscar/Emmy/LaffyTaffy, and where are their personal chef/personal trainer/nanny/assistant.:angryfire :angryfire

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Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice, Home Health.

he should be told "better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt..."

linda

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Last evening I was informed by a patient that the high cost of health care can be blamed on nurses and their high compensation and benefit cost. This is a afluent, well educated person in his late 70s. For past ten years he has been heavy user of health care due to a series of medical problems. He has had the most advanced medical care in the world, the best medical care money can buy. Indeed, I believe that he has had the best of everything all of his life. I am willing to bet it has cost millions of dollars to keep him alive here in his later years. But that has nothing to with the cost of health care and health insurance does it. It is me who at the end of my career, after years of being severly underpaid and over worked, who is now finally making a pretty good wage who is responsible for the high cost of health care. To bad I couldn't say what I was really thinking because it was a patient. However, if someone out on the street makes a comment like that they are going to be sorry they every met me.

Yeah... and if he would just take his old butt out and die like all repsonsible old people should do and stop wasting valuable medial resources and hospital space, the cost of healthcare would go down....:rolleyes:

Yeah, I said it! I don't think people should die at a certain age, but it makes me wonder if this man every stopped to think how insensitve it was to make this comment to the nurse taking care of him!

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In order to attract knowledgable skilled people into the profession, Salaries need to be competitive. Nurses work long hours, weekends and holidays. Are job arn't glamorous, all the glory goes to the doctors. How are yoiu going to attack others into the profession if you don't pay competitve salaries.

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How are yoiu going to attack others into the profession if you don't pay competitve salaries.

:chuckle I knew what you meant.

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
Yeah... and if he would just take his old butt out and die like all repsonsible old people should do and stop wasting valuable medial resources and hospital space, the cost of healthcare would go down....:rolleyes:

Just another old Fart blowing out steam (and I don't have to to tell you from where), as far as I'm concerned.

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:chuckle I knew what you meant.

So did I, but I still thought it was a cute idea -- tackling strangers randomly on the street and telling them:

"Go into nursing and stay at the bedside OR ELSE!!!!"

:chuckle

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The thing I seem to notice is that often nurses do make a seemingly impressive salary comeing right out of school, but the bad thing is, experience seems to not be compensated. The most experienced nurses on our unit don't really make that much more than a new grad does and I don't think that's right.

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