Nurses Are The Foundation To Our Healthcare System, We Should be Paying Them More

Nurses are vital to having a stable and well-working healthcare system.

However, the salary of nurses does not reflect what they do for our country. A nurse

is one of the most underpaid professions in Canada. Why is that? Even though they

work 24/7 to care for people in need, they aren’t getting the salary they deserve.

Throughout the pandemic, it has become evident how nurses play a crucial role in

our society. Without them helping us in this global issue, the outcome would’ve

been tremendously worse. I propose that we give nurses a salary that truly reflects

what they do for us and the healthcare system.

The average salary for a registered nurse is about $80k a year. You may be

thinking that this is a reasonable salary compared to other careers, although this

salary does not compensate for all the tasks and costs it takes to be a nurse. The

majority of nurses usually work more than 12 hours shifts daily. Due to the fact that

they work 12+ hours a day, it will likely result in an unhealthy and defective sleep

schedule. Even on their day off, they sometimes go into work with short notice. They

also get little to no vacation days. This salary also does not recompense for the time

and money it took to become a registered nurse. They have to go through an

additional 2-4 years to become a nurse. That kind of education costs thousands of

dollars. Usually, people who aspire to become nurses have to get loans to do so.

Meaning this will likely result in years of unwanted debt. Overall, this salary does not

live up to the needs of a working nurse.

Without nurses, we would have a crumbling healthcare system. They are the

first act of defence when it comes to fighting certain diseases and viruses. Especially

now, due to COVID 19, nurses are working harder than ever to help solve this

pandemic. About 16 nurses in Canada have given up their life for nursing and have

lost their life due to COVID 19. To show our respect for our fallen nurses, we should

give a salary that covers all the needs and costs for our nurses. We should show

nurses how much they mean to us and our society through the treatment and pay

we give them.