Nurse Salary – Is It Enough?
Is the Nurse Salary really enough? For every in-demand profession, a corresponding salary awaits those who make an effort to meet those demands. Many have strived for many years to claim that hard-earned bachelor’s degree, and eventually that coveted license to practice. Ironically, a number of these nurses have acquired licenses to practice in other countries other than theirs, and this has led to numerous controversies surrounding the profession. The most important point of which is the nurse salary; is it really enough nowadays?
For those who have made it to the top and earned that very desirable staff position in the hospitals of the developed countries of the West, the best and most prosperous job opportunities await. It has been reported that nurses who work in these countries obtain an average nurse salary of almost $100,000 annually, along with a variety of benefits and bonuses. This only applies for regular staff nurses, and as for nurses who prefer the specialized roles like those in intensive care units, the equivalent salary will surely go above the mentioned average. This has been the most prominent reason for those who aspire to take up nursing, and no one can blame them for it. For them, this kind of salary is definitely enough to last a generation of families.
However, can the same be said for those who are unfortunate in their careers? This can be said for those nurses who have failed to get those abroad papers working. Especially today, in these times when the demand for nurses have almost been satisfied, many of those current nurses who were not able to go abroad had no choice but to either find a job other than nursing, or pursue a deeper healthcare field. According to some, the salary has become roughly parallel to the minimum wage, which some consider to be unfit for a white collar job like nursing. And as mentioned, they cannot also be blamed for their decision to defect.
As for the other cases, a small percentage of these people have chosen to work even at a lower salary grade. Some prefer not to desert the country and race that they have grown to love. A few have verbalized that they want to help those in need, while the others have said that they prefer nursing just for the fun of it. Whatever the reason, these people have sacrificed the international opportunities that they had in order to serve their motherland and make use of their skills and talents in order to improve the healthcare status and quality of the country that they believe is deserving to possess. Could they actually be the unsung heroes that have always been overshadowed by the selfish pursuits of the masses?
Large houses and fast cars become clear to the eyes of a nurse eager to work abroad, while poor developmental status and compromised quality of care befall those left behind. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that everyone stranded at a left-behind country will inevitably suffer the tragedy of the commons. In times like these, is the nurse salary really enough?