# Nurses: three interviews for an RN job? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543 "2016-08-02T12:23:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/21 "2016-08-03T16:46:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My daughter had several jobs lined up if she did not get the charge nurse position. Her area of interest is neonatal medicine and pediatric oncology which do have higher than average turn over. Dealing with dead and dying kids? I bet it does have high turnover. Your daughter is made of stern stuff. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/22 "2016-08-03T17:16:08Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Dealing with dead and dying kids? I bet it does have high turnover. Your daughter is made of stern stuff. Indeed. She initially planned on joining the Air Force, doing ROTC, then having a career working with amputees. She volunteered in a VA hospital during high school and shocked me with her Air Force plans. The Air Force ended up turning her down because her migraine medication was not on their approved list. She tried, with her physician, weaning off the medication and going to another but she ended up with debilitating migraines. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/23 "2016-08-03T17:32:35Z")
Well congrats to Kayakerkid! ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/24 "2016-08-03T19:46:54Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > My mother and aunt are both nurses. Their take on it is that since it’s a demanding but low-paying job, where you frequently aren’t thanked and often have to deal with human waste, there’s a very high churn rate with nurses. Since hospitals/doctor’s offices always need medical staff, there is therefore always a high demand. > > Just a second-hand pair of anecdotes. I don’t think I’ve ever heard nursing called a “low-paying job”. At least not RNs. The description is probably apt for LPNs. There are such a wide variety of jobs and situations available to nurses, it’s hard to generalize about either pay or working conditions, I would think. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/25 "2016-08-03T20:13:06Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard nursing called a “low-paying job”. I think the comparison needs to be between similar job requirements. Yes, nurses get paid more than gas station attendants, but you don’t need a bachelor’s to be a register jockey. They are fairly low paid compared to programmers, engineers, accountants, etc, and have a physical labor intensive job to boot. Nurses deserve a lot of credit. It’s not a job I’d be able to do at twice the pay rate most positions offer. > [@Orwell](#): > > There are such a wide variety of jobs and situations available to nurses, it’s hard to generalize about either pay or working conditions, I would think. That I can’t argue with. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/26 "2016-08-03T20:44:07Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard nursing called a “low-paying job”. At least not RNs. The description is probably apt for LPNs. There are such a wide variety of jobs and situations available to nurses, it’s hard to generalize about either pay or working conditions, I would think. Same here from what I’ve heard nurses with some certifications can make serious bank. I’ve never heard of a “low paid” nurse unless we’re talking about some person with a barebones credentials acting as a caretaker of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/27 "2016-08-03T20:49:41Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > I think the comparison needs to be between similar job requirements. Yes, nurses get paid more than gas station attendants, but you don’t need a bachelor’s to be a register jockey. They are fairly low paid compared to programmers, engineers, accountants, etc, and have a physical labor intensive job to boot. > > Nurses deserve a lot of credit. It’s not a job I’d be able to do at twice the pay rate most positions offer. > > That I can’t argue with. Nurses work hard and study hard but the math smarts required to be a programmer, engineer, or accountant is a step beyond that required for nursing. They are not on the same “similar job requirements” playing field. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/28 "2016-08-04T03:17:15Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Dealing with dead and dying kids? I bet it does have high turnover. Your daughter is made of stern stuff. I had the same opinion, but my paediatric and oncology contacts tell me different: paediatric care is often some kind of wonderful, and apparently for palliative care you have to start with a certain amount of resilience, which is not sternness nor indifference. But apparently intensive care toughens you up. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/29 "2016-08-04T03:51:01Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Nurses work hard and study hard but the math smarts required to be a programmer, engineer, or accountant is a step beyond that required for nursing. They are not on the same “similar job requirements” playing field. I would agree with this, but please do consider that the “people smarts” required of a nurse are several steps beyond that required to be a programmer, engineer or accountant. Nurses walk into a room and have to assess such things as a patient’s emotional state, his family dynamics, his living situation, and how to teach him how to manage his acute and chronic conditions. It’s not just emptying bedpans and handing out pills. Add to this the fact we have to tacitly diagnose conditions so that we know when to report to the doctors. It’s a complex process, but often incomprehensible/ unknown to others. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/30 "2016-08-04T13:01:05Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > I would agree with this, but please do consider that the “people smarts” required of a nurse are several steps beyond that required to be a programmer, engineer or accountant. Nurses walk into a room and have to assess such things as a patient’s emotional state, his family dynamics, his living situation, and how to teach him how to manage his acute and chronic conditions. It’s not just emptying bedpans and handing out pills. Add to this the fact we have to tacitly diagnose conditions so that we know when to report to the doctors. It’s a complex process, but often incomprehensible/ unknown to others. No doubt about it. But I still wouldn’t classify nursing as “low paying”, in any respect. It certainly ranks very high in my area in terms of pay for jobs requiring a bachelors degree. According to BLS data, the mean annual wage for various occupations: Registered nurse: $71,000 Nurse midwife: $93,610 Accountant: $75,280 Computer programmer: $84,360 Civil engineer: $87,940 Then you get to the: Home health aids: $22,870 Nursing assistants: $26,820 Of course, there are nurse anesthetists and nurse practitioners that make a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/31 "2016-08-04T23:14:22Z")
My daughter is aiming for a nursing career now - she is a senior in high school, so has a ways to go before interviews and salary comparisons. Good reading here in this thread, tho, as I am not familiar with this career path - thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/32 "2016-08-05T12:54:22Z")
What are “incredible genetics” and did they play a factor in the OP’s daughter getting the job instead of the [del]old bag[/del] older nurse? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543/33 "2016-08-05T13:02:38Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What are “incredible genetics” and did they play a factor in the OP’s daughter getting the job instead of the [del]old bag[/del] older nurse? In the roll of genetic dice, my daughter luckily received my looks, grace, and intelligence, and her mother’s incredible sense of propriety. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-three-interviews-for-an-rn-job/761543.md?page=1)