Re: Nursing Shortage-low wage?

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> Perceptions about wages are all relative. Yes, a nurse's wage might
> be perceived "low" compared to a doctor's or a phamacist's wage. But
> it's probably higher than the minimum wage.

L, yes, the wage of a nurse is higher than minimum wage. And no one
would expect nurses to earn the same as doctors, the education and
responsibilities are way too diverse. My friend the nurse with a
master's degree makes roughly the same as her sister the school
administrator, but not nearly as much as their brother, the engineer.

> The main problem might have been that 1) potentially would-be nurses
> had alternatives careers which were more rewarding;

Maybe not more rewarding but certainly higher paying. Once women
realized that they really could do more than teach, take dictation or
pass bedpans, they began to exercise those options, no question about
it. If nursing had started out as a male dominated profession the way
engineering or other "hard" sciences had, I expect the pay and prestige
would be higher. I'm not a "femin-nazi" just speaking from years of
experience and observation.

2)> hospitals, to the extent that they are non-profit at all, could pay
> only certain level of wage to remain in operation.

Most hospitals have become for profit. I know people who worked for a
nonprofit hospital that went private. Once it became private (for-
profit) wages and benefits actually shrank! It's all about the bottom
line.
I did not mean to say that police and firefighters do not have public
prestige and respect. They do. Especially after 9/11. And it is earned
in many if not most cases. But what about the other people who save
lives every day? The EMTs and paramedics? The nurses? The lab techs
who make sure that your tests are done right? No one goes around wearing
a hat with NYEMT on it.