Nurses

[maggiebee]

Wasn't sure where to put this, but it certainly made me pause for thought. Posted by a nurse friend. Not a job I could do.

If you have never zipped up body bags on a shift, you shouldn’t be deciding how much nurses make.
If you have never watched a person suffocate to death from their own blood or sputum, you shouldn’t be deciding how much nurses make.
If you have never been punched and kicked for trying to assess your patient, you shouldn’t be deciding how much nurses make.
If you have never had someone beg you to not let them die, or to let them die, you shouldn’t be deciding how much nurses make.
If you've never had to look into a loved ones eyes or hold them while they crumble when you tell them of the death of their child, mother, father, sister, aunt, gran, papa... you shouldn't be deciding how much nurses make.
If you have never told your family your shift was “fine” to spare them from what you saw that day, you shouldn’t be deciding how much nurses make.
If you’ve never felt ribs breaking from doing CPR on someone’s family member, you shouldn’t be deciding how much nurses make.

For years nurses have been underpaid and undervalued and no one seemed to care.
Now that healthcare is on the brink of a collapse, everyone is concerned.
Nurses are leaving the profession at rapid rates.
Perhaps it’s from the years of getting 1% raises and barely being able to pay bills.
Maybe it’s because nurses are asked to do more and more with less.
Maybe it’s from the terrible staffing ratios. The reasons are honestly endless.

Let’s start caring about nurse retention, fair wages, safe staffing, etc.
Let’s not get to the point where you need a nurse and there isn’t one to spare.

[barry1010]

I know how much my neighbour earns as a NHS nurse and it is not much short of an MPs wage.

[anneasquith]

Barry. They must be in a senior position or been working for years ( as a nurse )

[pastafreak]

I recently read a discussion on another site regarding the cost of living crisis and nurses wages. A lot...and I mean a LOT of them were struggling.

[pimplyteen]

Most nurses don't become nurses because of the money, but I fear many won't be joining the ranks for any reason sooner or later, or even now, knowing they may get kicked and punched when working in A&E by drunks and druggies. The caring nature they have when first joining is soon knocked out of many very soon.

[bednobs]

when i worked as a nurse i always thought i was actually well paid. Obvs that wasn't in covid times though. When i left the profession 10 ish years ago i earned more then than i do now!

[bednobs]

mind you i suppose i didnt train for 3 years at uni to do what i do now (project management)

[pimplyteen]

Yep all in the training

[windywillow]

Some are leaving the NHS because they can earn more from private nursing.

That aside, I don't consider nursing a poorly paid job. I have relatives in nursing and they're happy with the pay.

[pimplyteen]

^^ Good some get more than others, depending on time served I would think.

[david small]

The last five years of my wife’s working life as a stroke nurse, and stroke nurse in the community, home visits etc. Her wages were frozen.
I know for a fact that her wage was not commensurate to the stress and responsibilities she tolerated. Twenty five years in the nursing profession she was paid marginally more than a shelf stacker.

[pimplyteen]

Disgraceful really considering the training they have to do before entering the battlefield. ^^^

[douglas9401]

Purple prose innit.

I worked all through the pandemic, where's my round of applause?

[pimplyteen]

Clap clap, that's it.

[douglas9401]

Bless, nice to be appreciated.

[Old_Geezer]

But it's a nonsense. You don't have to have done a job to decide how much you're willing to pay to get it done.

[cashier]

There are a lot of people earning a lot less than nurses, they also are have a cost of living crisis. Pensioners are also struggling with it, why the fuss about nurses? Policemen also get kicked and puched, shop assistants get lots of verbal abuse, the list is endless.

[barry1010]

Carers are often on minimum wage, work alone in the clients' own home and are also subjected to verbal and physical abuse, have to carry out intimate care procedures that require a very strong stomach in a very restricted time frame, sometimes find the client dead and often have to deal with the client's family, too. They don't seem to get the respect or appreciation afforded to nurses but they, too, are vital.

[rockyracoon]

Who exactly should decide how much they make, then?

This rears it's head all the time, but I'd wager that most taxpayers wouldn't want the extra deducted from their pay packets to give nurses a pay rise. If you work in the public sector, you're not likely to earn anywhere near what you're worth.