ALT-5 Do Nurses Deserve a Raise
Registered Nurses deserve a raise. Current wages for Registered Nurse are not compatible with the education, stress and danger of the job.
I have been a Registered Nurse for 18 years. I no longer work full time. I work part time at a large teaching hospital. I make $35.00/hour. I am not entitled to any benefits, this higher hourly rate is in lieu of vacation time, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance and any guarantee of hours.
I have thousands of dollars in medical bills as I had no health insurance before I was married and had a son to raise as a single mother.I can be called off after waking up at 5 a.m., taking a shower and be on my way out the door. They can call me at 5:30 a.m. and cancel me for the first 4 hours of the shift, leaving me "on call" and not knowing if they will need me to come in at 11 a.m., if I do not have to come in at 11 a.m., I get paid absolutely NOTHING.So, I have wasted most of my day...
In 18 years of nursing, I have given up countless family events, holidays, birthdays and school functions. I have given up PTA meetings, basketball games and countless family events that I can never make up for.
I am an employee of the hospital but pay $8 and up per day to park.I practice Universal Precautions, but come in to contact with blood and body fluids from patients with full blown Aids, HIV+ , hepatitis A, B, and or C. usually on a daily basis.
I have been punched, bitten, smacked, cursed at. I have gone 10 hours without going to pee, without sitting down, without having as much as a sip of water.10 hours non stop....at a neck breaking, mind boggling pace, only to leave with many tasks undone and praying that I didn't forget to chart something that will cause a problem one day down the road when a patient decides to sue the hospital.
I sometimes worry that despite my careful hand washing and infection control practices, that I could be exposing myself or family to a deadly disease or virus.In 18 years of nursing, I can count on my fingers how many times I have had a full 30 uninterrupted minutes to actually sit down and eat lunch.Do nurses deserve a raise?
Do you really think nurses would make the amount that they do if this were a male dominated field?
My husband makes the same amount per hour that I do. Of course, he didn't go to college, has a high school education and has a union job with the telephone company. Of course, he doesn't work weekends, holidays or rotate shifts.During the holidays, they have parties at the office.Like most 9-5'ers, unless you work as a nurse, you cannot begin to fathom the fast paced, mentally and physically challenging pace that we work at on a daily basis.
I truly believe that if Nursing were male dominated and/or unionized, R.N.'s salary would double.
There is no male executive who works as hard as a nurse on this planet. There seems to be no equity in the self sacrifice and pay scale.
God forbid a Registered Nurse would acquire HIV or Hepatitis at work, she would be fired eventually (they would find a way to do it)and without a second thought from the "suits" in Administration at the Hospital. Their entire existence is based on bottom line and profit.
So, tell me, do nurses deserve a raise?
