Why do RN's get paid so much?

typical human behavior, people whining why does this person or that person get paid more for this or that..... GO BE A NURSE if you think they are getting such a great deal..... it is and always has been SUPPLY & DEMAND for everything... that is also why places pay shift premiums for graveyard shifts... not enough people are willing to do the job compared to how many are needed... nursing is a huge payback compared to the short time required in school and yet still people leave school at lpn level or choose other fields of work altogether... the fact is that most people ( just like myself) are not ready, willing, and able to be a nurse.... supply and demand

You have an obvious lack of information about the purpose of a hospital. Hospitals are constructed in the world for only one reason...people need 24 hour nursing support and monitoring. Prior to nursing physicians did their surgeries and all other treatments in the patient's home. They also had offices where they did procedures and testing, but the reason the patients were kept in the hospital was for 24 hour care.

X-Rays, Lab tests, and surgery are all done on an ambulatory basis, and the only reason an insurance company will allow the patient to stay overnight in the hospital is for the nurses. Under current insurance guidelines, the patients are spending less and less time in the hospital, which means that all the ones in the hospital are in the highest risk period.

Nurses also do much more than follow orders. Usually, when a patient has changes in his/her medical condition the physician is at home or their office and rarely near the hospital. It is the assessment of the nurses which allows for the changes in patient orders, it is frequently the intervention of nurses that resuscitate patients during codes before the physicians arrive. In ICUs and CCUs the nurse are trained in advanced cardiac life support and usually run the codes for several minutes until physicians can be found. In labor and delivery suites RNs have often delivered infants when the physicans could not arrive in time. Multitudes of patients are saved by the interventions of highly trained RNs in emergency rooms all over the country every day.

In addition, RNs are responsible for knowing their patients all their history, drugs, conditions and drug interactions, just like the doctors. Frequently RNs call physicians before orders are carried out because of errors made by the doctors.

On top of all the knowlege and skills the RNs must have, they are expected to fill out multiple forms and documents to protect the patients, as well as to make sure that everyone gets paid for the health care services.

But if you think they are worth less (many after 4-8 years of college and graduate education) than the mechanic that charges $63.00 per hour to work on your car or the plumber who charges you $200 for the first hour regardless of what they do, or even the guy that cuts my yard for $35 in less than 1/2 an hour then you have no concept about how health care actually works.

Just so you are aware RN's all do not get that amount of money. The cost of living in the area which you work determines the pay. The raises suck!!! Most years no raise and when you do get one they nickle and dime you to death until they are desperate and have to raise the base rate because no will work for that rate. Let me tell you if you have a hospital stay you want a good nurse!!!!! You can't put a price tag on a person whom show compassion and empathy and is able to execute care with execellance and pride.

I'm sorry are you a doctor? Do you have any notable experience in the medical field? I believe you are speaking from an uninformed veil, and perhaps coaxed by jealousy.

My entire family is in the medical profession, from Psychologists, Social Workers, Doctors, to RNs and trust me, RNs are worth every penny! Spend a day with an RN, especially those who have chosen to work in 3rd class neighborhoods. We are entrusting these men and women with our sick and helpless, and you are saying we pay them too much? You could not stand the psychological effects these nurses deal with day to day, you should re-evaluate your query and perhaps your profession.

I get paid $45 an hour as a graphic artist, and I feel a little guilty at times. Shame!!!

Supply and demand..

I am at work making over 30 bucks an hour right now and all I am doing is goofing off on YA......Ain't it cool

PS

Just to add I just got back from a code blue(heart attack) where I work and the RNs there were kickin but to save this mans life.....I think they are worth more than anyone could pay.....Think about that the next time you are on a table fighting for your life..

I am an intensive care nurse, and sometimes, the nurses know more than the doctors.(Seriously the doctor will ask the nurse, what we think) We sit with the patient 24 hours a day, literally keeping them alive most times, because doctors can only be at one place at a time. Have you ever been to a code blue before? Guess who runs it- the nurses. We know what to watch for to keep a patient from going downhill- BEFORE it happens. We are the doctors eyes and ears, when they can't be there. You bet your a-s we are worth 40 bucks an hour, becuase if the nurse isn't there, neither is the patient. If you are ever sick, you are going to thank your lucky stars for your nurses. Bite your tongue

There is a major shortage of Registered Nurses at the present time. Registered Nurses are part of the hospital staff which monitors patients' conditions, administers medications, IVs, etc., so that a doctor does not have to constantly be at a particular patient's bedside. Other factors contributing to the shortage are the aging of the US population and lack of space in training programs.

I don't know how to answer this exactly, but I do know that nurses do need to know an insane amount of information. Being a nurse is not easy! I am a nursing student, and oh my gosh, the information we have to know, the skills we have to preform and interaction we have to do it a lot. Nurses do help doctors out in a huge way, and what would society be like without nurses? It is a backbone to society by keeping everyone else healthy so they can do their jobs and keep life running smoothly. I do agree that the amount that some nurses make is really a lot, but hourly rate usually depends on the specific area they working in (both city wise and job position wise) as well as the demand of the job.

Because their main thing is to take care of people and 'nurse' them back to health....

And people's lives are invaluable.

Plus as you've mentioned, there's a shortage so I think nurses get what they want because no one wants them to go on strike or whatever.

Most are college graduates with some post graduate work in specialities. They are worth every penny if you ever need one. They are middle managers when on shift and in some cases are the ones that wil save your life or let you die. The ones that cared for me in intensive care are worth more than that in my opinion.