FNA News, Lagos Nigeria, 10th November, 2026.
A United States-based lawyer, identified as Osy Palata, has announced his graduation from nursing school after four years of study, describing the high salaries earned by nurses in Northern California as “drug money” while raising questions about the relationship between financial independence and marital stability.
Palata, who says he holds a PhD in Law, revealed that he had kept his decision to pursue nursing a secret from most of his friends and acquaintances.
In an account of his journey, he explained that entering nursing was a difficult but deliberate decision, influenced partly by his observations of marriages that reportedly ended after women became registered nurses.
According to him, almost half of his friends in the United States had experienced marital breakdowns shortly after their wives qualified as nurses.
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He said the experiences prompted him to embark on an unusual personal investigation into whether nursing education had anything to do with the trend.
Jokingly, Palata explained that he wanted to discover whether nursing schools offered a course called “Leaving Your Husband After Becoming A Registered Nurse.”
Four years later, he says he has found his answer.
“After four (4) years of tedious studying, learning and being in a nursing school, I make bold to state that such a course isn’t in existence,” he wrote.
Instead, he suggested that the significant increase in earnings experienced by some nurses after graduation could influence financial independence and change relationship dynamics.
“The only thing that changed was the amount of money they started earning on graduation!” he stated.
Referring specifically to Northern California, where he resides, Palata described nurses’ earnings as “drug money”, adding that substantial financial gains could change the dynamics of people’s lives.
His remarks have raised a wider question about how much nurses earn in the United States and whether there is credible evidence connecting nursing careers with marital breakdown.
How Much Do Nurses Actually Earn in the United States?
Official labour statistics show that nursing can be a highly paid profession in the United States, particularly in California.
According to the [US Bureau of Labor Statistics, tthe median annual salary for registered nurses was $97,550 in May 2025, equivalent to approximately $46.90 per hour.
The median represents the midpoint of earnings, meaning half of registered nurses earned above that figure and half earned below it.
The highest-paid 10% of registered nurses nationally earned more than $137,470 annually.
However, earnings vary significantly by location, experience, employer and specialty.
California remains among the highest-paying states for registered nurses. BLS data for May 2025 placed the state’s average annual RN salary at approximately $150,280.
The figures are particularly striking in Northern California.
According to 2025 BLS wage data published through O*NET, registered nurses in the San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont metropolitan area earned a median annual salary of approximately $186,610, equivalent to about $89.71 per hour.
In the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara area, the median annual salary was even higher, at approximately $216,740.
These figures provide context for Palata’s description of nursing salaries in the region.
However, such earnings are not representative of every nurse in the United States. High-paying locations, particularly California’s major metropolitan areas, also have substantial living costs. Salary figures are generally reported before income taxes and other deductions.
Furthermore, nursing work often involves demanding shifts, clinical responsibilities, night duties, weekends and public holidays.
The profession’s earning potential, therefore, must be considered alongside its workload, educational requirements and professional obligations.
Do Nurses Have Higher Divorce Rates? What Research Shows
Beyond the conversation about salaries, Palata’s comments raise a more sensitive question: Are nurses more likely to experience failed marriages?
A major study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2015 examined divorce patterns among healthcare professionals in the United States.
The research, which analysed nationally representative US Census survey data collected between 2008 and 2013, included more than 159,000 nurses alongside physicians, dentists, pharmacists, lawyers and other professionals.
After adjusting for demographic and employment-related factors, researchers estimated that 33% of nurses had been divorced at some point, compared with 24.3% of physicians and 26.9% of lawyers.
However, the adjusted figure for workers outside healthcare was 35%, slightly higher than that recorded among nurses.
The estimated proportion experiencing divorce within the preceding year was 1.3% among nurses and 1.4% among non-healthcare professionals.
Importantly, these findings do not establish that nursing causes divorce.
The study measured divorce history among people working in different occupations. It did not determine whether their marriages ended before or after they entered nursing, nor did it establish that higher nursing salaries were responsible.
The figures are also based on data collected more than a decade ago and should not be presented as current divorce rates among nurses.
While Palata’s personal observations may reflect experiences within his social circle, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that women becoming registered nurses are more likely to leave their husbands because of improved earnings.
Marriage stability can be influenced by several factors, including communication, financial disagreements, changing family responsibilities, personal circumstances and work-life balance.
For nurses, demanding clinical schedules, rotating shifts, fatigue and workplace stress may create additional challenges for family relationships.
Financial independence may also change how couples make decisions, but earning a higher salary does not, by itself, explain why a marriage succeeds or fails.
From Law to Nursing: Exploring New Career Opportunities
Away from the marriage debate, Palata’s graduation represents a significant professional transition.
Having already completed advanced legal education, he spent four additional years pursuing nursing, describing the journey as challenging but ultimately rewarding.
He also pointed to opportunities that could emerge from combining legal qualifications with clinical knowledge.
Legal nurse consulting, medical negligence case reviews, healthcare litigation, clinical risk management, patient safety and regulatory compliance are among the fields where nursing and legal expertise can intersect.
Palata suggested that he could continue working with legal clients while also pursuing clinical nursing opportunities.
“After all I’m an economic immigrant and I’m here to make money,” he joked.
Although his remarks were light-hearted, his career transition reflects the expanding opportunities available to professionals with expertise in more than one discipline.
For the nursing profession, the story also reinforces the importance of recognising nursing as a specialised field that offers pathways into clinical practice, education, research, leadership, law and healthcare policy.
Palata thanked those who supported him throughout his four-year journey and invited friends and well-wishers to celebrate his pinning ceremony.
His announcement concluded with a message of Christian faith and gratitude.
Beyond the unusual motivation behind his decision, his achievement highlights determination, lifelong learning and the growing professional value of nursing education.
For Fellow Nurses Africa, the wider discussion is equally important: nurses deserve competitive compensation that reflects their education, clinical expertise, responsibilities and contribution to healthcare.
At the same time, conversations about nurses’ financial independence and marriage should be grounded in credible evidence rather than stereotypes that unfairly associate women’s professional success with marital failure.
High earnings should be recognised as a measure of professional value, not treated as an explanation for failed marriages.
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Fellow Nurses Africa is the independent voice of African nursing, we educate, inform and support nurses across Africa.
Kehinde Oluwatosin is one of the many editors here at Fellow Nurses Africa and fellownurses.com.
He is a registered nurse with a Master of Science degree in healthcare leadership from the University of Hull, United Kingdom. Kehinde is passionate about advancing the nursing profession across Africa. As Co-Founder of Fellow Nurses Africa, he plays a key role in shaping editorial direction, ensuring our content educates, informs, and empowers nurses continent-wide.
With expertise in leadership, patient flow, and healthcare operations, Kehinde brings valuable insights to nursing news, career development, and policy discussions. He is committed to amplifying the voice of African nurses and driving positive change in the profession.
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