Wages and incentives

PhantomRN · Jan 16, 2002

i think travelers and pool nurses will always be needed secondary to the influx of nursing staff on the floors. it is not uncommon to go from a fully staffed unit, to be being down 5 or ten nurses in a few weeks time.

it is impossible to hire and orient nurses as fast as they quit. so there needs to be a stop gap and it sounds like your pool covers that. i think it is better to have a pool (in house- where these nurses know the paperwork and routine) than to run short.

would taking the money from the pool and eliminating their jobs going to solve the staffing problem? i personally dont think so. people will always change jobs. period.

i am going to assume that the pool nurses get paid more but get no benefits. is this true? just remember that getting benefits from your facility is like adding 25-33% on to your salary, because that is what they are worth. so to be fair those pool rns should make 25-33% more than you. do they?

i know at my hospital the rns who work pool or prn make exactly the same rate of pay as staff, but they get no benefits. so, what is the incentive to put up with filling in holes and not having a set salary per week? i am amazed that our rns put up with it.

prmenrs, RN · Jan 17, 2002

Our hospital has a per diem pool, we use registry, but we also have a registry that only staff nurses can sign up for in oder to work @ 2x or 1 1/2x regular salary (depending on how desperate they are that day).

This enables those who already work for us to make the big bucks, and we get people we know, so the quality is there.

This is a very popular option among staff members.

CTnuse · Jan 31, 2002

I totally agree!!!!! More money is spent on sign on bonuses, travelers and in-house agency! A lot of these nurses take these jobs because they pay more. Hello!! What is that telling you?

Why doesn't administration get it? :confused:

thisnurse · Jan 31, 2002

what kills me the most is that they do everything BUT get it...lol

plumrn, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2002

Our hosp recently realised it pays to keep the regular staff happy. It keeps them from wanting to move on to greener pastures or go into agency nursing, as so many have. They chose a select group of nurses from each shift on each unit, and made them the core group. The core group never gets sent home for low census and they gave us a significant pay raise. We only work 3 12's a week and we get a 3 day weekend, every other week. Some days we work heavy, and some days we work short. (They will call pool if we are too short.)

This will hopefully cut down on orienting new nurses just to have them move on to someplace else that pays better. We are trialing it now. Hope it continues to work. We are getting near agency pay, plus benefits!

wrightgd · Jan 31, 2002

I have been on the other end of this issue... In the past I have worked "regular" prn in ICU at a local small town hospital... I was practically part time, in that my hours were almost guaranteed, and I worked almost every weekend. The pay difference for prn vs regular staff was minimal, maybe $2-3/hr more than some of the less experienced nurses, but probably quite a bit less than the certified ICU regulars. Agency nurses also helped fill the staffing needs, and their pay was significantly higher than my pay as prn.

I worked prn for a couple of reasons. First, I already had a FT nursing job in industry. Second, I needed the experience of hands on patiend care that I couldn't get by filling out paperwork behind a desk at my regular job.

As prn help, I accepted the fact that I would be pulled or sent home when ICU census was low. I felt the ICU "regular staff" had the expertise and the "right" to maintain their territory. Because I was paid less as prn vs agency, I at least had some level of "seniority" before being pulled or sent home.

Overall, I agree with most of you... Hospitals need to open their eyes to several needs. One, the need to provide consistent quality, safe, and competent care for patients, which includes adequately staffed units. From the first need is where you see the need to keep staff consistent and happy. There are so many ways that big organizations "waste" money. From the eyes of a consumer, you know we all pay for that waste. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.

Just my humble thoughts...

George