A nurse is the heart of a hospital; they are the person that brings compassion and empathy to patients and, more importantly, keeps these people alive. According to the American Nurses Association, the main job of a nurse is to protect and promote health, prevent illness and injury, healing, alleviation through the diagnosis and treatment response, and care of the individuals (Rawes). The role of a nurse is much more than caring physically and psychologically for patients: the nurse is the advocate for the patient. This job entails many long hours of mentally and physically challenging work. Nurse salaries have always been low, especially compared to other healthcare workers, and nurses have always been known to be underpaid. What is not well known is that there is a pay gap between male and female nurses. Throughout this paper one should see that nurses deserve higher salaries because of their many responsibilities and roles, and the gender gap should be eliminated because men and women do the same work. 

There is a variety of different fields of practice in nursing, including pediatrics, neonatology, psychology, orthopedics, and others. This large diversity allows there to be many jobs for nurses and allows nurses the opportunity to choose from many different specialties throughout their careers. The education needed to become a nurse is dependent on the type of degree or program that a nursing student chooses. One can earn an associate’s degree in three years of study in conjunction with a certain number of hours of practical hospital work. Most nursing students today earn a bachelor’s degree after four years of study and complete their practical training as part of their four-year curriculum.  There are also options to earn a master’s degree or even a PhD in nursing. Each degree requires extra years of study. After this education, a nurse still has to pass a certification exam known as the Nursing Boards to be licensed to practice (The History of Nursing). Nurse specialties including being a nurse anesthetist, clinical specialist, or nurse practitioner all require extra years of education. There is an intense education for a nursing major and especially if they study a certain specialty. The bachelor’s degree prepares students in all types of health settings including biology, organic chemistry, nutrition, anatomy and physiology, psychology, and more. In their last years of education students focus on in depth studies (Lucille). This shows that nurses have training in all areas. They deserve higher pay because of all the education and training they receive.

Nurses play a huge role in public health. They focus on disease prevention and promote good health. They have a huge knowledge of the medical field. According to an article by Jessica Sharon, a nurse has many roles, and being a nurse is one of the most demanding professions in healthcare (1). A nurse acts as a caregiver first, depending on each patient and fulfilling each requirement given by the doctor. Nurses must help the patient prevent illness. A nurse also must be a decision maker. They must use their critical thinking skills and evaluate a situation depending on the best interests of the patient. A nurse must be a good communicator, especially with so many people being involved with one patient. The nurse will decide the best way to communicate to the patient and family. A nurse has an important duty to protect the rights of the patient when the patient is unable to do so. Finally, a nurse needs to be a good teacher to the patient to inform them on the needs and procedures they need, and to the other young nurses that are learning (Sharon). All the roles and responsibilities nurses have, gives evidence to why they should receive higher pay. 

Apart from all the roles a nurse is involved in, they are also working twelve hour days on average. Nurse shifts usually depend on the unit they are in or their specialty. Some types of nurses like intensive care are required to be “on call” in addition to working their regular shifts. Nurses generally work morning, afternoon, or night rotations (Rawes). Nurses are starting to work more than 12 hour shifts, and most of this time the nurse is on their feet moving. Shifts are usually longer and unpredictable because of unanticipated staffing changes or the patients’ needs change. This results in unplanned overtime, and nurses being at risk for fatigue which may hurt patient care. According to a study done on nurses’ shifts half of the nurses in the study worked more than 12 hours in a shift and 39% of the shifts had nurses that worked 12.5 hours consecutively. This shows that there could be an increase in error when working because of the long hours (Rogers, Hwang, Scott, Aiken, Dinges). 

On average a registered nurse can make up to $40 an hour. In some low-paying states, nurses can receive as little as $20 per hour. When compared to other healthcare providers like physicians, this is very low for the amount of responsibility they have. Nursing pay is highly dependent on what type of specialty one is. For example, a nurse anesthetist will earn more than an ICU nurse. Both have huge responsibilities, but the anesthetist has more schooling. This shows while some nurses are making great money, others are not earning enough for the work that they do just because they have not had an extra couple of years of education. A nurse anesthetist can earn up to $160,000 a year, and this is 5 times more what some LPNs make (Tuten). According to the New York Times, a lawsuit was filed against hospitals in Chicago, Memphis, San Antonio and Albany, accusing them of holding down nurses’ wages. Hospitals agreed to not pay their nurses above a certain amount and trade information to different hospitals about the wages they were paying. Lawyers found out that they depressed wages by hundreds of millions of dollars. Nurses that were interviewed about this lawsuit are no longer standing for unfair wages given the work that they do (Greenhouse). 

The location where a nurse works is also very important in determining the wages. In a highly populated city, the wages are higher because there is more of a need for nurses; also, the cost of living is higher, but in states such as Alabama the salary is a lot lower. The salary depends on where the nurse lives and where nurses are needed the most. There are more than 3 million RNs, meaning nursing is the most common profession in America. This makes nursing wages vary greatly around different regions. 

Many nurses are so angered by these low salaries that they are switching to different professions. This is bad for the hospitals because they are losing employees. In an article by Mark Brown, Michael Sturman, and Marcia Simmering, the staffing levels and wages affecting the lengths of stay at a hospital were studied. The study found that increasing wage rates increases an employee’s length of stay at that work place. The study compared increasing wages to increasing staff, and seeing the effect on the length of stay. Increasing RNs in the workplace did not improve the length, but rather increasing the wages did improve the length of stay a nurse has at a work place. This shows how increasing pay for nurses can result in improvements for health care management practices (Brown, Sturman, Simmering). 

According to USA Today, researchers said “considering a nurse's education level, devotion to the medical profession, and the extent of her duties, some of which may be dangerous, nurses deserve more pay” (Rawes). Nurses have a physically demanding job where they walk on average 4 to 5 miles a shift on a regular basis. They also must lift, turn and roll their patients. This can take a toll on one’s body and can shorten their careers because of injury. Patients have been known to be confused and violent, putting nurses in harm’s way. Lifting patients, transferring patients, or even following protocol can all be very dangerous. The long-term effects include back pain, knee pain, and foot pain. This all makes for a reason to raise the salary. Most nurses are overworked with long shifts and few breaks. The hospital would take a huge loss if there were no nurses. Nurses also spend the most time with the patient after a doctor has made rounds. Many patients’ outcomes are closely related to the nurse they had. The patient has most of their trust not in the doctor, but in the nurse because that is who they are spending their time with. If a patient’s condition changes, it is the nurse that informs the doctor first (Ashworth College PAGE). The hospital is about caring for people around the clock so without nurses, there is no 24-hour care. Without nurses, there would not be any use for hospitals. All of this evidence shows the necessity for raising the salary in the nursing profession. 

It is hard to believe that in 2017 there is still a pay gap between men and women and discrimination in the work field. Unfortunately, this is especially true for nursing. Since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the salary gap has narrowed in jobs, but still happens in fields such as nursing and medicine. The Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay men and women the same amount for doing the same work. However, there is still a 20% wage gap between genders mostly because if a woman asks for better wages it is presumed that they are being pushy, but when a man ask for a raise it is more ambitious. For example, women would have to work about three extra months to earn what men earned in one year. On average, women earn less than men in almost every occupation, and this is even worse for women of color (Miller). The gender gap in nursing has mostly remained the same through the past decade. Female nurses will earn about $155,000 less than male RNs in a career (Maier). Women dominate this profession, but there is still a huge pay gap between men and women because the place of employment might offer higher pay to a man because they want more diversity. Out of the 2 million nurses nationwide, only 10% are male. The largest gender pay gap is in the specialty of nurse anesthetists. It is the highest paying nursing specialty and attracts men. Even though female and males receive the same amount of education and training, there continues to still be a pay gap in this field (Jimenez). This is bad because employers believe they have to pay more to men to attract them to the job, but because they are doing the same work this is unethical. 

The nursing profession is not only a female dominated career, but also a white dominated one. Over the past 70 years, 77% of nurses have been white (McMenamin). While America is evolving to increasing diversity, the health professions are not moving as fast, which may end up hurting the profession. Understanding and diminishing workplace discrimination will benefit health workplaces and professions (Baptiste). Diversity in the workplace is important especially in nursing because they are working with such a diverse population. This will promote quality care to each patient so that they are satisfied. The gender pay gap impacts women of color even more. Diversity in the workplace is so important and by diminishing the wage gap, more minority groups will want to go into the nursing profession (Ayoola). Diversity is important to this profession because nurses work with everyone. This will help nurse-patient care to be more relatable and comfortable.  

The pay gap is caused by many different reasons. First, some women take time off work to have children, and when returning their male peers will have a higher salary because they continued working during that absence. Another reason is that males have been known to be better at negotiating pay raises.  There is also gender discrimination in the nursing field that can lead to a pay gap (Press). Women are almost looked down upon approaching management about their salary; however, when men do this it is seen as more positive. According to an article by Sallie Jimenez, men work more hours in nursing which is an important factor since they are paid on an hourly basis (1). They are also more likely to practice in a popular geographical region. There is also a theory of the “glass escalator” where men tend to move up the career ladder faster than women. This is because they are working in a female dominated profession (Press).

There are many different solutions for closing the gender wage gap. If employees start talking about their salaries with each other, then they can decide whether to approach their management. Workplaces strongly discourage talking about salary, though, because they may not be all paid the same. This might cause the workers to complain, costing the employer more money by having to raise the salaries. This should be stopped so that workers are fairly compensated. Employers need to have more transparency when talking about salaries (Jimenez). Women need to learn how to negotiate better as well; women tend to ask for less money than men when negotiating. This is because of employers looking down upon women when asking for a raise. Being confident and having a positive attitude can help with negotiating. Speaking out about the pay gap with social media like Facebook and Twitter is a great way to educate people about this. This will cause people to start talking about their wages (Vagianos). 

Only 10% of nurses are men, so this could be an argument that since there is not many men in this profession they should get paid more to bring more diversity. This is unethical because of the same education and training they both receive. An article by Hillary Thomas spoke about how nurses should not be “glorified.” Thomas talks about all the responsibilities nurses have, but that people should not perceive them as heroes. Thomas did not make a good argument because she explains all the tough things she goes through in a day. This just gives more evidence on why nurses need to be paid more (Thomas).

All of this evidence is why nurses need to be paid more, and why the gender gap should be eliminated. Why does this matter to you? One day someone you know or yourself will get sick or hurt. You will have to be in a hospital and probably will not feel very comfortable. Nurses will be all around you trying to make you feel the best you possibly can. They will be changing your IVs, and helping you get up from your bed. You will want someone that is caring and educated. Increasing salary of a nurse will not only benefit the nurse, but also the hospitals. By putting the word out that there is a salary gap problem, more nurses will be willing to talk about their salaries. This will start a conversation, and if needed they can go speak to their management about it. Female nurses need to have the conversation with their management, so this ends. The hospitals could not survive without a nurse, and that makes them so valuable.  When employers start paying nurses more, the quality of care a nurse brings will increase so much.
