I received a message from a nurse in Israel in response to my promoting my book about occupational therapy. Within the content of a long message was something that bothers me. She expressed that the job situation is Israel is generally bad and salaries are low across the board. She continued to share a few thoughts of nursing in Israel which were quite concerning.
She asked if an OT earns more than ₪35 an hour continuing to say that a nurse working in a hospital will be treated like a slave. This is not only in terms of pay but denial of sick leave. I was particularly alarmed to hear that a nurse might be expected to come to work even with a raging temperature. How can that be? What about risk of infecting those around her especially the patients? Is this an isolated incident? I'd love to hear from other nurses, I hope this nurse was just having a bad day. Expecting a nurse to work when ill is a problem on many levels.
Some of the discussion came back to low salary and reminded me of a dietician stating that if an OT is offered work at ₪40 an hour, that would be more than what she receives with well over 25 years experience.
Low salaries is the reason one OT shared as to why she gave up being an OT after 18 years in the profession. These facts are the reason that organizations for Olim tend to recommend cleaning houses which can bring in ₪40-60 an hour. Why are salaries so low for health professionals?
What are your thoughts about professionals in Israel? Do you agree they deserve better salaries? What about working conditions? Have you experienced being expected to over work? I'd love to hear your experience. If you have a story you would like to share as a guest post, do be in touch.
Wishing you a blessed week.
This post is prepared for you by
Occupational
Therapist, healing facilitator, certified infant massage instructor, freelance
writer and co-author of "Tuvia Finds His Freedom" and
author of "Healing Your Life Through Activity - An
Occupational Therapist's Story"
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