Nurses Make More Than Doctors?

Since I had my first hospitalization this week (not including the birth of my son) - I will be spending some time on the financials of health care.

I was speaking with my neighbor a few weeks ago - who is head of Pediatrics for one of the Bay Area Hospitals and he said that his new staff doctors (those who just finished their internships) ...

(by the way my emWave just hit GREEN! I must like this topic).

made less money than some nurses. He went on to include that a lot of doctors in other countries are coming to the US to be nurses because of the great pay.

Simple equation here ---> high demand = high pay

My husband, Hans Bukow - CEO of www.eWork.com sells software that manages a flexible work force like hospital nurses. He says he has seen top nurses make $200,000 a year. I am assuming they get paid around $50 an hour and do A LOT of overtime. Not a bad living. Except for the fact you have to "live" in a hospital which has it's share of negative experiences.

I know about the negative vibe at hospitals - I just came out of one where I spent the night. I certainly don't want to go back there any time soon. Not because of the staff - almost everyone was terrific and enjoyed their company. It was the fact they tend to want to take a lot of blood (all the time) and like hooking you up to IV's not just one arm but 2! And then the reality that they won't let you sleep.

I remember when I was 16 years old and I was deciding what my college major would be, I looked down a list of professions and saw the one I wanted to be -- "professional dancer" which made an average of $8,000 a year and decided that just wasn't going to cut it for me. So I went to the top of the list and saw computer engineer. Guess what I enrolled in at college? Yup - computer engineer. And even though I didn't complete that degree, computer information, design and programming have been the cornerstone of much of my business success.

So I have to wonder, how many young ladies (and men) are looking at that list of professions right now and deciding nursing might even be a better option that medical school?

I think I read somewhere that we still have a shortage of 100,000 nurses. With an aging population, that number is destined to get even larger. Hans says the bottleneck is in the accredited nursing programs - there just aren't enough schools to churn out nursing graduates to meet the high demand.

Now don't let me give you the impression you should pick a career just for the money. I am still a big advocate for following your heart and your passion and sticking to that and the money will come. I didn't decide to be a computer engineer just because it paid the most, I also chose it because I had a real love of all things cool and electronic. In a way ... I was following my passion. Even today - I still get an endorphin high when a new piece of technology arrives at my home, whether a video iPod, a new sleek computer , the latest graphic software or the totally cool emWave.