Moonlighting Nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I have been talking to nurses in my area who are having to moonlight in other jobs due to the low wages here. Only 1 hospital in the county - low wages and not alot of clinics or medical offices. All of them pay low wages. When gas was cheaper they could drive to larger cities (very long commute and often bad weather) but now they said it isn't worth it. They can't move cause they are married and they live here due to husbands job (some are farmers). They often work in an office setting as an LPN or RN during the day and moonlight at nights and weekends in retail or such. How common is this? They don't even get insurance benefits at their jobs. Is this just the area I live in or what?

Specializes in Emergency.

Shoot one can make $7.00 hr flipping burgers at McD's and the work isnt that hard. The only way to change the pay practices in a small community like the original posters is to one day all the nurses say we are not going to take it and then back it up with action. As a matter of fact that goes for any facility. But as long as they can find help ie someone that will take those cheap wages it will continue.

Rj

Where do you get all this information? Last time I checked the nurses in the hospitals made well over $20 an hour and more than that in LTC.. I also live in Indiana and a Certified Nurses Aide makes more than $9 an hour... How do you figure nurses are only making $7 an hour???? Do you make this up as you go??? :uhoh21:

Specializes in ICU,ER.

ummm...yeah...nurse in "rural" Indiana here..... and I know for a fact new RN's get well over 20/hr.... I seriously dought LPN's get 7/hr. :uhoh3:

ummm...yeah...nurse in "rural" Indiana here..... and I know for a fact new RN's get well over 20/hr.... I seriously dought LPN's get 7/hr. :uhoh3:

If someone offered me $7 dollars an hour AFTER all the hardwork I went through to get my degree, I would seriously consider doing them bodily harm. :p

We are worth more than that.

With all the ads you see in the trade magazines and nursing journals that offer relocation assistance money in the thousands, I would move.

I believe in dedication to one's community, but I have this nasty habit I must support.

It's called eating!

If someone offered me $7 dollars an hour AFTER all the hardwork I went through to get my degree, I would seriously consider doing them bodily harm. :p

We are worth more than that.

With all the ads you see in the trade magazines and nursing journals that offer relocation assistance money in the thousands, I would move.

I believe in dedication to one's community, but I have this nasty habit I must support.

It's called eating!

So you think this woman I work with made up her pay scale and works retail just for fun? Most of the all nurses site is complaining about pay and work conditions - is it all made up? Attacking me rather than working to make life/payscales better for other nurses made you feel better? McDonalds here pays minimum (5.15 not 7.00) retail pays about the same. Pay scales are low here. I said she worked in a doctor office not a hospital and pay here is very low in doctor offices because the economy is so bad. I said rural - not Indianapolis, not Fort Wayne, not near Chicago. I said she couldn't move because she was married and it wasn't economical to commute. It is no wonder nurses are having trouble getting improvements in conditions and pay - attacking someone and saying they are making it up as they go does not show a team spirit in improving nurses pay scales. We need to stick together - not attack one another.
So you think this woman I work with made up her pay scale and works retail just for fun? Most of the all nurses site is complaining about pay and work conditions - is it all made up? Attacking me rather than working to make life/payscales better for other nurses made you feel better? McDonalds here pays minimum (5.15 not 7.00) retail pays about the same. Pay scales are low here. I said she worked in a doctor office not a hospital and pay here is very low in doctor offices because the economy is so bad. I said rural - not Indianapolis, not Fort Wayne, not near Chicago. I said she couldn't move because she was married and it wasn't economical to commute. It is no wonder nurses are having trouble getting improvements in conditions and pay - attacking someone and saying they are making it up as they go does not show a team spirit in improving nurses pay scales. We need to stick together - not attack one another.

I think you have to understand everyones reaction to an LPN making $7.00 per hour, that is unheard of- maybe a CNA, but $7.00 wouldnt even allow you to repay the student loans it took to get through school!

I dont think anyone is attacking you, I think everyone is just shocked because I know I would not work as an LPN for that!!!!! It is unfortunate that this is how it is in your area!

Specializes in lots of different areas.

I live in rural Indiana, a town of about 5,000. At the one and only hospital in town they start their nurses at around $14-16 an hour. I think most of us have a choice as to what to do with our lives. I made a stupid one after high school, to work in a factory because I was tired of school, was never taught the importance of an education. I realized the importance of it after being in a factory for 2+ years, saw there was no way to put myself through college, so I joined the Navy and served my country for 6 1/2 years. The military pays (while you're active duty) 100% tuition, so I knocked all of my gen ed classes out of the way. Before I honorably separated from the Navy, I got married and had two children. They're 3 and 1 now. Now I'm able to attend college full time, am awarded pell grant money for tuition, and receive the GI Bill every month while I'm attending.

My point is, where there's a will, there's a way. I'm sorry, but I've been through alot in my 30 years, I have a hard time feeling sorry for people when I've worked so hard to get where I'm at. And we're still struggling until after I'm finished with nursing school. I can't work this summer because I can't find anything that pays me what I get from the GI Bill, and I can't pay a sitter if all my paycheck goes to the sitter. So I'm maxing credit cards out to buy milk and bread for my kids. It's all worth it to me. Me struggling now is my incentive for working hard and being on the Dean's list through nursing school.

And FYI, the military will accept single people, married (your family can be stationed with you), divorced, all kinds of people under the age of 35. Definitely something to consider if you've exhausted all other options to put yourself through college. I agree that we need to help each other out, but I don't agree to be down and negative over our own home state, we all live here, we should try to help each other find the positive, and not dwell on the bad! Leaving Indiana and coming back 10 years later made me realize that it wasn't such a bad place after all. All the problems were with myself.

Excellent post hanesjenny.

I believe that in our lives their comes a time when we feel we must make a change. That change comes in the form of many things, school, a new job, marriage, family, you name it.

While I don't believe their is a perfect time, I do belive that when we decide we are going to make a change we are provided with what I call "windows of opportunity".

These "windows" open and close at different place and different time in our lives. They come in many forms, and are the vechicles we use. This is the help so many of use pray for.

For hanesjenny her window was the Navy. She wanted something more and realised joining the Navy would get her there. She worked hard and got it.

A window may be as simple as someone providing you with information (ie telling you about allnurses.com).

Recognise your windows and slip on through.

The rest of it is up to you.

Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
The midwest economy is really bad. I think the economy in other states will go this way too unfortunately. It seems to be spreading across the country.

$7/hr! OMG...people at McDonalds make more than that an hour, atleast here they do! How awful. I live in the midwest, Cincinnati, Ohio and new grads RNs start out anywhere from 23-30/hr and LPNs...well not too sure but I think 17-20ish...quite a few hospitals here also offer hefty sign on bonuses and great benefits..the facility in my backyard advertises 26.50 for new RN grads...thats prob where I will go. How is your cost of living? Ours here isnt too bad, its definetly less than either of the coasts...NY or CA...but I wouldnt say its cheap cheap...if you want a nice 2br apt here its about 900-1000/mo in suburbs and much more than that if you want one downtown.

On a similar note, after I grad from OSU with my BA in psych and soc, I was offered a job through the red cross, to be a caseworker on evening shift...i was offered 7.50/hr...i was amazed...that wouldnt have even paid my rent! It was soooo frustrating.....you mentioned the hospital in your area, does it pay more? just curious...sorry that you and your friend aren't getting the wages you deserve.

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