[pincush23]

Originally Posted by WindwardOahuRN

One might also note that the hospitals in the Islands are shooting themselves in their collective foot as far as nurse retention goes.

When they hire a new grad that new grad is often paid at a rate that is substantially lower than new grads are being paid in other areas of the country with COL's similar to Hawaii. At one of the largest hospitals here a reduced pay rate continues for 18 months until the nurse reaches "job rate." The job rate is approximately $10-14 more per hour than what the new grad makes for 18 months after hire. That is pretty disgraceful, IMHO.

Even more sad is how low census days are handled here. The lowest in seniority is put "on call" and receives about seven dollars per hour. They schedule so tightly that you may be put on call for the very next admission. Heaven forbid they should have an "extra" nurse. One cannot even grab a shift somewhere else or take an agency assignment because you must be on call and available. For seven dollars an hour....

And the nurses with lowest seniority are repeatedly placed on call. I've seen new hires lose entire weeks of pay due to low census. I've also seen new hires head to the mainland after they've had enough.

For all the talk about how nurses are so very valued by our hospitals one cannot help but think we are nothing but numbers and chess pieces.

Why not head somewhere else for the money and the experience?

I'm nearing the end of the tunnel as far as nursing goes but I really feel for those who are just starting out in Hawaii. Hard to watch, sometimes.

As always, thanks for what you bring to the boards!!! Sounds like you know your stuff and have compassion for those of us that had/is having a rough time getting started...

Mahalo nui loa!

[pRNss808]

I finally got a job, but it's only on-call. Hey, it's better than nothing right? But yeah, I'll keep trying. And thanks to everybody for the posts. At least i know that it isn't just me...

[mcubed45]

Originally Posted by WindwardOahuRN

Even more sad is how low census days are handled here. The lowest in seniority is put "on call" and receives about seven dollars per hour. They schedule so tightly that you may be put on call for the very next admission. Heaven forbid they should have an "extra" nurse. One cannot even grab a shift somewhere else or take an agency assignment because you must be on call and available. For seven dollars an hour....

And the nurses with lowest seniority are repeatedly placed on call. I've seen new hires lose entire weeks of pay due to low census. I've also seen new hires head to the mainland after they've had enough.

ouch wow that's pretty harsh. would you mind sharing which hospital was doing this?

[WindwardOahuRN]

Originally Posted by mcubed45

ouch wow that's pretty harsh. would you mind sharing which hospital was doing this?

All of them, dear. I've worked in two of the "Big Five." I would take an educated guess and say that all of the hospitals follow the practice of "low census, dump the nurses."

I would bet that the CEO's secretary never loses a day's pay when the phones aren't ringing. Priorities rule. @@

[mcubed45]

Originally Posted by WindwardOahuRN

All of them, dear. I've worked in two of the "Big Five." I would take an educated guess and say that all of the hospitals follow the practice of "low census, dump the nurses."

I would bet that the CEO's secretary never loses a day's pay when the phones aren't ringing. Priorities rule. @@

wow that's pretty hard not having consistent hours as a new grad tryna pay off loans and make a living... lol is it a bit cynical to be hoping more people get sick so you can get paid?

[kcalohagirl]

I heard that the hospitals on Oahu are in a "hiring freeze".

Can anyone confirm or deny?

[krazeazn]

Originally Posted by kcalohagirl

I heard that the hospitals on Oahu are in a "hiring freeze".

Can anyone confirm or deny?

my classmate that just got hired at queen's told me the exact same thing..i just grad in dec. 2007 and waiting for new graduate programs to open up again. how is everybody else fairing?

[Pualehuanani]

I don't know about that "freeze." It really seems that Queens is hiring ONLY new grads. Everyone sees it as a money saving move. The new grads do not reach the job rate pay level until they have been here for two years I think so it is a budget smart move to hire them.

[Slobgob]

If you do the math... =)

...Its more expensive over that two year span to train a new grad than to simply hire a fully trained, experienced nurse.

Problem is... maybe that fully trained, experienced nurse isn't applying... just a bunch of kids fresh from UH/HPU/KCC/Mainland.

And yeah, the new grad market is tough right now.

[krazeazn]

Originally Posted by Slobgob

If you do the math... =)

...Its more expensive over that two year span to train a new grad than to simply hire a fully trained, experienced nurse.

Problem is... maybe that fully trained, experienced nurse isn't applying... just a bunch of kids fresh from UH/HPU/KCC/Mainland.

And yeah, the new grad market is tough right now.

the new grad market is super tough especially with another batch of new grads that just came out last month