A nurse has gone viral online after people discovered just how much registered nurses (RNs) earn in the United States — sparking widespread discussion about healthcare careers, salaries, and global pay gaps.

What began as a conversation about nursing salaries has quickly become part of a much larger debate about the value of essential workers, the financial realities of working in healthcare, and whether the rewards of a demanding profession reflect the responsibilities that come with it.

For many people outside the United States, the figures associated with American nursing salaries can seem almost unbelievable. In countries where nurses earn considerably less, discovering that registered nurses in parts of the US can make tens of thousands of dollars more annually has prompted questions about how healthcare professionals are compensated and why the differences can be so dramatic.

At the same time, others have pointed out that American nurses often face substantial living expenses, demanding working schedules, expensive education, and the emotional pressure of caring for patients during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

The discussion has therefore become much more complicated than simply comparing salaries.

It has raised an important question: how much should society pay the people responsible for caring for others?