2.5% annual raise - should I be as irritated as I am?

[iLOVEbees]

I am an ICU nurse with many years of experience.

I very rarely call in. I think I called in once in the last year, but that may have been last year. I work extra shifts frequently.

I do not get involved in unit politics or drama. I work hard and do not get written up.

Other nurses treat me as a resource person.

With all of that, I got graded a 2.25 on a 1 to 4 scale. The person doing my evaluation is brand new and said my evaluation was done by "charge nurses" but would not name who did it.

I am getting a 2.5% raise due to this. This means I am really getting a pay cut due to inflation.

Putting my vexation about the review aside, do I have a right to be as irritated as I am about a 2.5% increase? What are y'all getting?

I'm trying to breathe deeply and get my head straight before I talk to the unit director.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

In this economy, any increase for the cost of living (which has been "negative" per Social Security for 3 years) is a blessing.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Thats why I think its not worth it to go above and beyond. what, so you can be slapped in the face? Just do the bare minimum. We are all just numbers to the shirts anyway. They could care less if we were there or not. they know they can replace us with cheaper help. unfortunately in this financial climate- it is what it is. I suppose we ahould be happy we have a job and havent been fired in favor of a cheaper worker.

[SoCalRN1970]

Get a clue. Hospitals DO not care about anything about reputation, and $$$$$$$ it is a business. They will hire nurses and staff at the lowest $$ possible to work the business. You are a monkey on a conveyor belt, but you have a license and a degree.

[winterbot428]

Find somewhere that will pay you what you are worth, that is the only way. The more of us that do that, the better for all....

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Get a clue. Hospitals DO not care about anything about reputation, and $$$$$$$ it is a business. They will hire nurses and staff at the lowest $$ possible to work the business. You are a monkey on a conveyor belt, but you have a license and a degree.

you know, this is so true now. I feel more like a factory worker now than when I was a factory worker. Its a human production line.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I am an ICU nurse with many years of experience.

I very rarely call in. I think I called in once in the last year, but that may have been last year. I work extra shifts frequently.

I do not get involved in unit politics or drama. I work hard and do not get written up.

Other nurses treat me as a resource person.

With all of that, I got graded a 2.25 on a 1 to 4 scale. The person doing my evaluation is brand new and said my evaluation was done by "charge nurses" but would not name who did it.

I am getting a 2.5% raise due to this. This means I am really getting a pay cut due to inflation.

Putting my vexation about the review aside, do I have a right to be as irritated as I am about a 2.5% increase? What are y'all getting?

I'm trying to breathe deeply and get my head straight before I talk to the unit director.

no. call me cynical and a conspiracy theorist but maybe everyone got a "lower" grade in order to save the hospital money!!!!!! some places where I came from hadn't had raises in over a year and were trying to lay employees, including nurses, off!

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

didnt even get a 1% raise. and i was one of the ones who got a raise!lol

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Get a clue. Hospitals DO not care about anything about reputation, and $$$$$$$ it is a business. They will hire nurses and staff at the lowest $$ possible to work the business. You are a monkey on a conveyor belt, but you have a license and a degree.

hahahahaha. funny and true. a dime a dozen . next year nine cents a dozen

[PediNurse3]

Where did you lose points in your evaluation? If you really feel like you consitently went above and beyond (including precepting, committe involvement, etc) and don't agree with your evaluation, dispute it.

I received an unfair evaluation once- that truly was unfair, and I left the hospital and went to one that paid me 11K more a year. The healthcare system that I work for recently capped raises at 3% which sucks, for lack of a better term, but it seems to be the trend. It's one of the higher paying organizations in the area, and IMO, the best one to work for, and has the highest retention rate. So, right now, I deal with it. And I will continue to go above and beyond for my patients because I became a nurse to help people, and while the organization might not care much about me as an individual, they do care about the well being of our patients, and so do I. Can you imagine how awful public education would be if teachers only met the minimum standards? It would be worse than it already is.

If you really feel like your evaluation was horribly unfair and you can support that, it might be worth speaking with your manager, director, or whoever is next in line. It sounds like you're in the same boat all most of the rest of us though.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

As others have said 2.5% is not bed compared to what many others have received in this stagnant economy.

The only issue is if you received a fair evaluation & raise in comparison to your peers at the same institution.

[NoviceRN10]

I'm pretty sure I have seen the grading scale you are talking about and you'd have to be on several committees, routinely bringing in educational posters or literature for your fellow coworkers, always assisting fellow coworkers with their customer service skills as well as being superior with your own to get a score of 3 or 4. Be happy that you got a smidge over 2, that means you do your job and don't suck at it ! I don't think that the percentage of your raise was based on your score, you were either elgible for the raise everyone else got, or you were not. I am sure it was across the board for the whole staff (as in other nurses and direct care workers, not management).