Blog Entry #6 - Behind the Scrubs: The Silent Struggle of Underpaid Nurses.

    The underpayment of nurses and the alarming rate of hospitals losing their most needed healthcare professionals is truly an outrageous issue in the United States. This is not just a problem for nurses or hospitals, but a concern that affects everyone. In this blog, I will discuss why nurses have chosen to leave their profession and years of schooling because they aren't appreciated enough. 

    The importance of nurses in our healthcare system cannot be overstated. They are the backbone of hospitals and clinics, providing round-the-clock care, compassion, and expertise to patients in need. According to Katherine Harmon Courage, she states that "According to a 2021 report from Nursing Solutions, the turnover rate for registered nurses last year was close to 20 percent." https://www.vox.com/22600439/nurse-america-mental-health-suicide. Covid was one of the most heartbreaking situations the world has ever seen, which caused nurses to leave their profession and not look back. Without nurses, the quality of healthcare would suffer tremendously, leading to potential crises for patients and all communities. Therefore, any challenges faced by nurses, such as being underpaid, directly impact the overall well-being of society. 

    As someone whose dream is to become a nurse one day, it is disheartening to witness the lack of appreciation and fair compensation for the incredible dedication and hard work that nurses put in every day. Despite the intense schooling and training they undergo to enter this profession, many nurses find themselves struggling to make ends meet due to inadequate pay. According to an article written by Nursing Times, they state that "Almost a third of nurses say they have difficulty covering the cost of food and heating their homes,"https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/charities/rcn-congress-2022-survey-reveals-financial-hardships-of-nurses-09-06-2022/#:~:text=Almost%20a%20third%20of%20nurses,January%20and%20February%20this%20year.. It is nerve-wracking to think that those who dedicate their lives to caring for others aren't being valued and compensated fairly for their essential work. 

    The significance of this issue extends far beyond the nursing community, as it truly affects every single of of us. When hospitals are unable to retain nurses due to underpayment and poor working conditions, patient care suffers, and our healthcare system as a whole becomes strained. It's crucial for us, as a society, to recognize the vital role that nurses play and advocate for fair wages and better working conditions. As a nursing student, I will continue to ensure that nurses receive the appreciation and compensation they deserve and that our healthcare system remains strong and resilient in a world that can truly destroy a person and their dreams.