NP salary range starting at 26.00 per hour!

Nurses General Nursing

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i was shocked to see an ad in a washington newspaper wanting an NP in their hospital starting at 26.00 per hour! i mean that seems really ridiculous when i see the starting range at hospitals in my area (a few hours away from the aforementioned one) starting RN's at 23.00 per hour. I have no plans to become an NP but still that is really disappointing for the amount of responsibility an NP has and their level of schooling. :o i thought they would at least be starting around 33-35 per hour. my goodness!

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

Ya that does seem low. Maybe that is just the base salary because I have 2 friends who are NP here in Oklahoma where I live and they both make around $100K a year total but I am not sure how common that is, I think it depends on a lot of things....who you know, who you work for, etc They both work is really good practices on the rich side of town, practices most people can't get into.

My friend said she has a base salary and then she gets 10% for each procedure she performs...she works for an OB/GYN and does paps, etc. But those jobs I am sure are few and far between. I have also heard that the job market for NP is oversaturated, but I'm not sure how true that is.

Marilyn

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Good Lord.........I make more than that, and I'm just a hospital nurse (ADN) in Oregon where the economy has been in the toilet for years. Is it worse up there in Washington than it is here, or are they just cheap?

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well im in vancouver and although not a nurse yet i do check job openings pay scales and stuff to keep myself apprised of the employment situation while in school. The area around here is starting RN's in the 22-26 dollar range for the most part which is why i was shocked to see the NP rate, but perhaps as another poster said they get a percentage of procedures etc.. but still!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

It does seem low. I'm fairly sure NPs here don't make much more than hospital staff nurses. Doesn't seem worth the extra education. I guess it's just a matter of demand and supply though.

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as a side note perhaps i am naive but it bugs me that practitioners (and i am assuming doctors PA's etc) get a percentage of lab tests ordered. It just seems like a recipe for overbilling through the use of unnecessary labs. Are there measures in place to protect against this? or at least confine it some? (not saying that any of you fine NPs PA's docs etc.. are doing this but it seems like some dishonest people could rack up a ton of money this way)

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

Our practitioners don't make much more than we do and they have 10x the work load! And get treated like crap by some of the attendings!

Our NP's can't even bill for a consult, so they quit going, where as the fellow goes and he gets paid! And ours don't get any percentage of anything.

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Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

Actually, in the Seattle area, hospital RNs start out at around $20 to $21 an hour which seems low compared to other areas in WA.

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I have heard that the FNP market is really oversaturated in Washington, esp. Seattle, but that it is better for specialist NP's.

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Actually, in the Seattle area, hospital RNs start out at around $20 to $21 an hour which seems low compared to other areas in WA.

I about spit my water out reading this! it is so expensive to live in seattle that is just too low! i live in Vancouver (just across the river from portland) and I would say the average of starting wages that i have seen is around 23.oo per hour and our cost of living is substantially lower. :uhoh21:

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I have heard that the FNP market is really oversaturated in Washington, esp. Seattle, but that it is better for specialist NP's.

ok i hadn't thought about this but that could account for the low starting pay.

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