How are nurses treated in the States?

[EachandEveryone]

Just reading on here about how so many of us feel undervalued and are ready to throw in the towel. I dont feel like that btw because I am not being deployed to at risk areas. I do worry about going into the hospital for 12 hour shifts. Even just getting there worries me but I do it. Half of our staff are off self isolating, I dont know how we will run the ward in the next few weeks.

I just wondered what nursing was like in America with their private healthcare. Are nurses respected and paid properLy? Do you get hounded on your days off to go in? Do you get breaks etc?

I worked as a Nurse in home health, like the UK district nursing. Paid very nicely, worked part time. I only got a bit of bother from one boss one time. She was telling me I needed to come in, I was off. I said No, she never bothered me again.
Most of my Nurse friends there work in hospitals, one is an ER nurse, paid very very well, lots of equipment, and lots of Doctors around where she is and a steady load of patients coming through the door. We have visited her with emergencies at the hospital twice, short waits, lots of attention, nothing like you see on TV.

I'm sure innner city hospital would be very different though.

They are paid a bit more but I think the pay difference mostly goes to pay for malpractice insurance.

My malpractice insurance was provided by the company, they would give us the paperwork for it each year.

I lived in an apartment complex with lots of nurses as we were close to the hospital so got to know quite a few. I'm in the US midwest. They all loved their jobs and it's a well-paid and respected profession over here.

Median salaries in our area are around $60k (£48k) and a nurse practitioner would earn more like $95k (£77K). Their hospitals were very well provisioned and they definitely weren't as stressed as nurses in the UK.

The flip side is that there have been layoffs or pay cuts for medical staff in some areas as routine and elective procedures have been halted over here. I was quite shocked when the reports first came out:
www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-health-care-workers-layoffs.html

77k! That's what it should be here.