salary negotiation for registry position

[livingston]

Hi all,

I am being offered a registry position as a psych nurse in Normal, IL (Bloomington/Normal) at a hospital. I am new to the area and I am not sure what is fair to expect. I previously worked in New York City under a union, so I did not need to negotiate. I worked for three years as a mental health nurse in a major hospital on an adult acute care 32 bed inpatient unit that due to the location saw a diverse population from university students and faculty to homeless people and people recently incarcerated. I feel I got a good deal of experience in those 3 years. HR has told me that I will need to negotiate my salary and that the minimum salary for the position (which requires 1 year experience, I believe) is 22.10/hour. The midpoint is 27.62. The position is for a "Nurse Clinician II" on 23 bed inpatient psych unit. I am not sure what "midpoint" means. Where would someone with my experience expect to fall in this range? I am assuming toward the higher end. I was making over 42/hr in NY but I was working full time so that would be the rate if it was an hourly position. If I was doing the job per diem/registry I believe the rate would have been over 60/hr as I had a friend that did that.

Sorry for the long post! I hope someone can help! I want to be fair and feel confident discussing this issue. Thanks for any help anyone can provide!

[rn undisclosed name]

I am in the chicagoland area and it has always been my understanding that there was no negotiation on registry positions. It was a flat rate regardless of how much experience you have. So what is the max rate? I mean there should be a beginning, midpoint, and maximum. However, with 3 years experience I think you'd be safe with the midpoint. Also, I'm sure you know this but nurses in NY are gonna make a lot more than downstate Illinois. Good luck!