Career as a nurse -- DH has a prejudice against it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nurses will always be in demand, always be able to find employment. But,
They are overworked, underpaid, and subjected to difficult situations, huge responsibility, irregular schedules, the general public, covid.... it's a tough, tough job.

There’s also the nurses that get paid time and half watching soap operas, talking on the phone, watching monitors all day that trigger every few hours.

Are you talking about the telemetry floors? You don't know anything about the situation except maybe when you walk in to see your loved one and notice a nurse sitting down. Maybe they are on their break?
I had a relative work that floor. They are charting for so many patients (the number increasing every year) leaving the records that your loved one's doctors read when they come in. And in between this, it's not as if nothing happens. If some patient is on that floor, it's for a reason. A good nurse can make the difference between life and death.

NP - also, that person sitting by the monitors on the tele floor is probably a tele tech, not an RN. The tele tech’s job literally is to sit by the monitors and, you know, watch them. Duh. (And LOL to poster below calling Susan out for her Gray’s Anatomy research)

[Anonymous]

Nurses are undervalued- monetarily. So yes, your husband is right.
The fact that hospitals can pay double to travelling nurses, illustrates this.
My mom was a nurse and nursing manager for 30+ years and also says they are underpaid and underappreciated.

I'm also advising my daughters not to go into nursing. So sad, because nurses are awesome and sorely needed. but the market needs to change to pay them what they are worth (like most women fields)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an RN in California, I made over $100K a year with 8 years experience. After COVID I left and went into case management (100% telework) and still make $98000. Becoming a nurse was one of the best decisions I have made….

That's great, but as an attorney I make twice that after 3 years and I still work from home 100%. Which one is the better option for the OP?

Nursing. Doing the sort of law that lets you make twice that after three years, will ruin a lot of people's lives.

So, what's your point?

My point is that however much money you made as a baby lawyer, it's a terrible career path for a lot of people. And VERY expensive to get there. Nursing seems like a better choice for many people.

I think what some of the PPs have been trying to say though is that nursing is a terrible choice long term because of the backbreaking work and relatively low pay. As a PP pointed out, $100k in CA ain't much, and that was only after 8 years of changing bedpans, doing the dirty grunt work that doctors don't do, etc. In the long run, a white collar profession is better, whether lawyer, engineer, doctor, etc.

I’m the PP who stated I make $100,000 a year in California. For the record…I’ve never changed a bedpan. There are many different types of nursing, FYI. Also, my COL in California is very, very similar to when I lived in DC. Not everyone in California lives in the ridiculously expensive Bay area…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an RN in California, I made over $100K a year with 8 years experience. After COVID I left and went into case management (100% telework) and still make $98000. Becoming a nurse was one of the best decisions I have made….

That's great, but as an attorney I make twice that after 3 years and I still work from home 100%. Which one is the better option for the OP?

Nursing. Doing the sort of law that lets you make twice that after three years, will ruin a lot of people's lives.

So, what's your point?

My point is that however much money you made as a baby lawyer, it's a terrible career path for a lot of people. And VERY expensive to get there. Nursing seems like a better choice for many people.

I think what some of the PPs have been trying to say though is that nursing is a terrible choice long term because of the backbreaking work and relatively low pay. As a PP pointed out, $100k in CA ain't much, and that was only after 8 years of changing bedpans, doing the dirty grunt work that doctors don't do, etc. In the long run, a white collar profession is better, whether lawyer, engineer, doctor, etc.

I’m the PP who stated I make $100,000 a year in California. For the record…I’ve never changed a bedpan. There are many different types of nursing, FYI. Also, my COL in California is very, very similar to when I lived in DC. Not everyone in California lives in the ridiculously expensive Bay area…

Considering even Fresno is more expensive and you have much higher taxes and fuel costs, I’m skeptical your COL is the same, unless you are comparing like Kalamora to Fresno.

[Anonymous]

My mom is a nurse practitioner. Idk what she makes but she is well compensated. NPs can do a lot of the things physicians do (prescribe, practice as a primary care provider, etc.) especially if they specialize. My mom is a pediatric NP. It's also a good certification if you want regular hours like at a primary care doctor's office.

I'm really jealous of my mom's ability to flex her hours. She was basically a SAHM but still made decent money part time and still had all her professional credentials/wasn't penalized for a resume gap when she went back full time. Same for my sister who is a physician assistant.

There's a gulf of difference between a high school educated LPN or CNA who went into nursing because it's "what women do" vs. a nurse practitioner at Georgetown or Johns Hopkins with a master's degree.

I don't think your DH is picking up on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nurses will always be in demand, always be able to find employment. But,
They are overworked, underpaid, and subjected to difficult situations, huge responsibility, irregular schedules, the general public, covid.... it's a tough, tough job.

There’s also the nurses that get paid time and half watching soap operas, talking on the phone, watching monitors all day that trigger every few hours.

Are you talking about the telemetry floors? You don't know anything about the situation except maybe when you walk in to see your loved one and notice a nurse sitting down. Maybe they are on their break?
I had a relative work that floor. They are charting for so many patients (the number increasing every year) leaving the records that your loved one's doctors read when they come in. And in between this, it's not as if nothing happens. If some patient is on that floor, it's for a reason. A good nurse can make the difference between life and death.

Dialysis and nursing homes. Don’t think all my aunties would lie about spending majority of their time on the TV! They all get together and laugh about it,
very low stress job for them.

Wow, that’s so interesting! Those are two areas of nursing where they are always hiring. Crazy when it sounds like such an easy job, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nurses will always be in demand, always be able to find employment. But,
They are overworked, underpaid, and subjected to difficult situations, huge responsibility, irregular schedules, the general public, covid.... it's a tough, tough job.

There’s also the nurses that get paid time and half watching soap operas, talking on the phone, watching monitors all day that trigger every few hours.

Are you talking about the telemetry floors? You don't know anything about the situation except maybe when you walk in to see your loved one and notice a nurse sitting down. Maybe they are on their break?
I had a relative work that floor. They are charting for so many patients (the number increasing every year) leaving the records that your loved one's doctors read when they come in. And in between this, it's not as if nothing happens. If some patient is on that floor, it's for a reason. A good nurse can make the difference between life and death.

Dialysis and nursing homes. Don’t think all my aunties would lie about spending majority of their time on the TV! They all get together and laugh about it,
very low stress job for them.

Wow, that’s so interesting! Those are two areas of nursing where they are always hiring. Crazy when it sounds like such an easy job, right?

The pay is much less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom is a nurse practitioner. Idk what she makes but she is well compensated. NPs can do a lot of the things physicians do (prescribe, practice as a primary care provider, etc.) especially if they specialize. My mom is a pediatric NP. It's also a good certification if you want regular hours like at a primary care doctor's office.

I'm really jealous of my mom's ability to flex her hours. She was basically a SAHM but still made decent money part time and still had all her professional credentials/wasn't penalized for a resume gap when she went back full time. Same for my sister who is a physician assistant.

There's a gulf of difference between a high school educated LPN or CNA who went into nursing because it's "what women do" vs. a nurse practitioner at Georgetown or Johns Hopkins with a master's degree.

I don't think your DH is picking up on that.

DH classmates all went to university for nursing, like Georgia flagship. They work at hospitals, but not JHU. Does JHU and Georgetown pay like $150k for RNs?

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard stories about nurses being attacked in hospital parking lots (for enforcing covid restrictions) and just getting burned out after the last two years. Something like 1 in 4 nurses have reported being assaulted. People don’t talk about it that much, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom is a nurse practitioner. Idk what she makes but she is well compensated. NPs can do a lot of the things physicians do (prescribe, practice as a primary care provider, etc.) especially if they specialize. My mom is a pediatric NP. It's also a good certification if you want regular hours like at a primary care doctor's office.

I'm really jealous of my mom's ability to flex her hours. She was basically a SAHM but still made decent money part time and still had all her professional credentials/wasn't penalized for a resume gap when she went back full time. Same for my sister who is a physician assistant.

There's a gulf of difference between a high school educated LPN or CNA who went into nursing because it's "what women do" vs. a nurse practitioner at Georgetown or Johns Hopkins with a master's degree.

I don't think your DH is picking up on that.

DH classmates all went to university for nursing, like Georgia flagship. They work at hospitals, but not JHU. Does JHU and Georgetown pay like $150k for RNs?

RNs? No. Major urban hospitals pay mid-level providers, like NPs and CT As, well over $100k. Likewise, management and hospital leadership are also well paid.

Has your DH considered that his classmates being low paid is (shocking) more related to the fact that they're just staff nurses in a rural southern state. I'm pretty sure most the lawyers in small town Georgia ain't making close to the average federal lawyer, let alone a big law lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom is a nurse practitioner. Idk what she makes but she is well compensated. NPs can do a lot of the things physicians do (prescribe, practice as a primary care provider, etc.) especially if they specialize. My mom is a pediatric NP. It's also a good certification if you want regular hours like at a primary care doctor's office.

I'm really jealous of my mom's ability to flex her hours. She was basically a SAHM but still made decent money part time and still had all her professional credentials/wasn't penalized for a resume gap when she went back full time. Same for my sister who is a physician assistant.

There's a gulf of difference between a high school educated LPN or CNA who went into nursing because it's "what women do" vs. a nurse practitioner at Georgetown or Johns Hopkins with a master's degree.

I don't think your DH is picking up on that.

Not to mention surgical nurses. Family friend made over 200K over 20 years ago at a major hospital.

[Anonymous]

To the person who claims that dialysis nurses and nursing home nurses spend their work time watching tv and laughing, and says the reason they’re always hiring is “because they pay less,” then tell me why nurses don’t transition to these easy jobs instead of leaving the field entirely.

Answer? Because you’re talking out of your ass. Your aunts, if they exist, are not dialysis nurses. Not an easy job. And I don’t for a moment believe nursing home nurses, whether LPN or RN, have easy jobs either. They can’t find staff because it’s a ton of work. And yes, they should be paid more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the person who claims that dialysis nurses and nursing home nurses spend their work time watching tv and laughing, and says the reason they’re always hiring is “because they pay less,” then tell me why nurses don’t transition to these easy jobs instead of leaving the field entirely.

Answer? Because you’re talking out of your ass. Your aunts, if they exist, are not dialysis nurses. Not an easy job. And I don’t for a moment believe nursing home nurses, whether LPN or RN, have easy jobs either. They can’t find staff because it’s a ton of work. And yes, they should be paid more.

You can not lump the whole field to what you know. Common sense yes?

Go outside the city into the suburbs, what you will find are obviously lower paid positions but workload is 2-4x less.

People are paid what they are worth. Yes, 60k-70k nursing job in nursing home/outpatient/dialysis floor is lower paid but less stressful than the 100k a year medsurge nurse in large inner city hospital.


You know not everyone wants an easy job and would rather make the most and be challenged than sitting at a desk relaxing earning 30-40 percent less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom is a nurse practitioner. Idk what she makes but she is well compensated. NPs can do a lot of the things physicians do (prescribe, practice as a primary care provider, etc.) especially if they specialize. My mom is a pediatric NP. It's also a good certification if you want regular hours like at a primary care doctor's office.

I'm really jealous of my mom's ability to flex her hours. She was basically a SAHM but still made decent money part time and still had all her professional credentials/wasn't penalized for a resume gap when she went back full time. Same for my sister who is a physician assistant.

There's a gulf of difference between a high school educated LPN or CNA who went into nursing because it's "what women do" vs. a nurse practitioner at Georgetown or Johns Hopkins with a master's degree.

I don't think your DH is picking up on that.

DH classmates all went to university for nursing, like Georgia flagship. They work at hospitals, but not JHU. Does JHU and Georgetown pay like $150k for RNs?

Lol. Hopkins and Georgetown starting pay for RN is about $55K. After 10 years and a bunch of shift differential (nights, weekends) maybe $85K.

I'm an RN in DC. Nursing is a decent career for many reasons (flexibility, etc) but it does not pay well. The California nurse who posted above is irrelevant because nurses in California are unionized and their salaries are almost twice what they are in the DMV.
Most DC nurses (over the age of 30--i.e. those who want to own a home, start a family) live 1.5-2 hours outside of DC because they can't afford to live closer in. The next time you're in a DC hospital, ask your nurse where she lives. She will probably tell you Frederick or Leesburg or Fredericksburg.
Almost none of my colleagues live within an hour of their job.
Nurse practitioners make more but their schooling has become ridiculously expensive. A master's at Hopkins or Georgetown is now $150K. And then you make $120K when you're done.

People always, always, overestimate what nurses make. Covid has contributed to that because now there are travel nursing jobs that pay a ridiculous amount (12 week contracts that work out to $200-300K a year). However, the trick is, you have to be able to travel to take these jobs.
Most RNs can't pick up an move to Phoenix for 12 weeks. And then St. Louis for the next 12 weeks after that.

[Anonymous]

Typical nursing salary at Georgetown: $69K https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/MedStar-Georgetown-University-Hospital-Registered-Nurse-Salaries-E28288_D_KO39,55.htm
Hopkins: typical salary $70K. https://www.indeed.com/cmp/The-Johns-Hopkins-Hospital/salaries?job_category=mednurse
Washington Hospital Center: $72K https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Medstar-Washington-Hospital-Center/salaries?job_category=mednurse&location=US%2FDC%2FWashington