$12 an hour?!

Nurses LPN/LVN

Published

I used to work at a nursing home in Food Services (supervising staff cafeteria), and I went back to visit and get my face out there again. My aunt is an LPN there, and I went upstairs to say hello to her and I overheard two ladies on the elevator talking about the "sucky" paychecks they just received and thank God for the upcoming holiday pay. I told one lady I was starting my LPN program in a matter of weeks and she gave me a sympathetic look and said "You may as well get a management position at McDonald's or spend the next year at RBI getting your medical assistant certification. You'll make more." Word for word. (BTW, RBI [Rochester Business Institute] is a business college that accepts EVERYONE and certifies ANYONE). I asked the lady if she were serious and the other lady said "Unless you get in here or at St. John's Home you will be making about $12 an hour with minimal diffs, and it's not much more here to be honest."

I am mortified. I thought for sure we made closer to $17. That additional $5 an hour could really help this family get from under the "poverty line".

Any insight? Could this be true? :nono:

Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

I live in the DFW area and make 20.89/hr and have made well over 30.00/hr doing agency. I would starve on 12.00/hr.:p

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RN4NICU,

I am thinking you have never been and CNA, because if you were you would never make some of the statements you are making. We all make a difference in this profession and we are all accountable for our actions no matter what our job title is.

____________________________________________________________

"Can't wait til its over Dec 04 RN 2 be"

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RN4NICU,

I am thinking you have never been and CNA, because if you were you would never make some of the statements you are making. We all make a difference in this profession and we are all accountable for our actions no matter what our job title is.

____________________________________________________________

"Can't wait til its over Dec 04 RN 2 be"

Whether or not I was ever a CNA has no bearing on the facts. As an RN, I am legally responsible for the patients under my care. I never said that CNAs do not make a difference, DID I? I did point out that they do not carry the same level of legal accountability as the RN - and they do not. It is a fact.

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RN4NICU,

I am thinking you have never been and CNA, because if you were you would never make some of the statements you are making. We all make a difference in this profession and we are all accountable for our actions no matter what our job title is.

____________________________________________________________

"Can't wait til its over Dec 04 RN 2 be"

Whether or not I was ever a CNA has no bearing on the facts. As an RN, I am legally responsible for the patients under my care. I never said that CNAs do not make a difference, DID I? I did point out that they do not carry the same level of legal accountability as the RN - and they do not. It is a fact.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
I value the CNAs as well, but I disagree about them not being rewarded enough financially. It is not about the work, it is about the level of ultimate responsibility. They do not have it.... Yes, they are knowledgeable. But I think they are appropriately compensated for their level of education and responsibility. JMO.

I respect your opinion and understand your rationale. This is mine. I take blood and run EKGs, as well as perform general assistive tasks, all of which, if done incorrectly or negligently, can result in a poor patient outcome. Even though I have no license to lose (I am an unlicensed tech), the responsibility is nevertheless mine to perform my job with skill or I will not have a job. There is also talk of us unlicensed personnel taking some reponsibility for medication administration.

Now consider this. A barrista at a Starbucks starts off at $7 per hour, plus tips. A tech at "X" hospital starts off at $9. I don't believe the responsibilities can be compared yet the pay scales are very similar. I do not believe we are compensated adequately for our work IMO. If I make a poor cup of coffee, what's the harm. But if I incorrectly move a new hip, ????? There is skill and education involved.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
I value the CNAs as well, but I disagree about them not being rewarded enough financially. It is not about the work, it is about the level of ultimate responsibility. They do not have it.... Yes, they are knowledgeable. But I think they are appropriately compensated for their level of education and responsibility. JMO.

I respect your opinion and understand your rationale. This is mine. I take blood and run EKGs, as well as perform general assistive tasks, all of which, if done incorrectly or negligently, can result in a poor patient outcome. Even though I have no license to lose (I am an unlicensed tech), the responsibility is nevertheless mine to perform my job with skill or I will not have a job. There is also talk of us unlicensed personnel taking some reponsibility for medication administration.

Now consider this. A barrista at a Starbucks starts off at $7 per hour, plus tips. A tech at "X" hospital starts off at $9. I don't believe the responsibilities can be compared yet the pay scales are very similar. I do not believe we are compensated adequately for our work IMO. If I make a poor cup of coffee, what's the harm. But if I incorrectly move a new hip, ????? There is skill and education involved.

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LOL...I started at $7.75 six years ago...I got a few raises and ended up making $13.76. Then we all got a cost of living adjustment and there was an error discovered on my rate of pay and i got bumped down to $13.65. A few raises later, I'm at $14.75 with a $2.00 differenetial for nights and a $2.00 differential for weekends.

We're also starting to get "hardship" pay...anytime we work short staffed, they take the amount that the "missing" nurses would have made and divide it among the staff that was working that shift. Makes working short a little easier to bear.

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LOL...I started at $7.75 six years ago...I got a few raises and ended up making $13.76. Then we all got a cost of living adjustment and there was an error discovered on my rate of pay and i got bumped down to $13.65. A few raises later, I'm at $14.75 with a $2.00 differenetial for nights and a $2.00 differential for weekends.

We're also starting to get "hardship" pay...anytime we work short staffed, they take the amount that the "missing" nurses would have made and divide it among the staff that was working that shift. Makes working short a little easier to bear.

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I respect your opinion and understand your rationale. This is mine. I take blood and run EKGs, as well as perform general assistive tasks, all of which, if done incorrectly or negligently, can result in a poor patient outcome. Even though I have no license to lose (I am an unlicensed tech), the responsibility is nevertheless mine to perform my job with skill or I will not have a job. There is also talk of us unlicensed personnel taking some reponsibility for medication administration.

Now consider this. A barrista at a Starbucks starts off at $7 per hour, plus tips. A tech at "X" hospital starts off at $9. I don't believe the responsibilities can be compared yet the pay scales are very similar. I do not believe we are compensated adequately for our work IMO. If I make a poor cup of coffee, what's the harm. But if I incorrectly move a new hip, ????? There is skill and education involved.

The cable repair guy makes $30/hr. I make the same. I don't believe the responsibilities can be compared yet the pay scales are very similar. If he doesn't fix my wireless internet connection, I'm inconvenienced. If I give a baby 1cc of a med rather than 0.1cc...could mean no more baby.

No one in health care is compensated adequately for the work. (I was referencing the CNA salary being appropriate within the current salary "tier" system - I thought that was understood). We are dealing with the lives and well-being of other people, after all. But to listen to some folks talk, it seems that they feel that CNA's/techs should make as much as the RNs, if not more. Well, if that is the case, what did I throw away all that time and money earning a degree for? Someone argued that the tech's work is physically demanding - I made the point that most professions pay more for formal education that for physically intensive labor. I still believe this to be true.

Of course one must be skilled and knowledgeable to be a tech (or to be a good one, anyway), but do you think that your skill and knowledge equals that of the RN? Do you not feel that formal education should be recognized and rewarded?

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I respect your opinion and understand your rationale. This is mine. I take blood and run EKGs, as well as perform general assistive tasks, all of which, if done incorrectly or negligently, can result in a poor patient outcome. Even though I have no license to lose (I am an unlicensed tech), the responsibility is nevertheless mine to perform my job with skill or I will not have a job. There is also talk of us unlicensed personnel taking some reponsibility for medication administration.

Now consider this. A barrista at a Starbucks starts off at $7 per hour, plus tips. A tech at "X" hospital starts off at $9. I don't believe the responsibilities can be compared yet the pay scales are very similar. I do not believe we are compensated adequately for our work IMO. If I make a poor cup of coffee, what's the harm. But if I incorrectly move a new hip, ????? There is skill and education involved.

The cable repair guy makes $30/hr. I make the same. I don't believe the responsibilities can be compared yet the pay scales are very similar. If he doesn't fix my wireless internet connection, I'm inconvenienced. If I give a baby 1cc of a med rather than 0.1cc...could mean no more baby.

No one in health care is compensated adequately for the work. (I was referencing the CNA salary being appropriate within the current salary "tier" system - I thought that was understood). We are dealing with the lives and well-being of other people, after all. But to listen to some folks talk, it seems that they feel that CNA's/techs should make as much as the RNs, if not more. Well, if that is the case, what did I throw away all that time and money earning a degree for? Someone argued that the tech's work is physically demanding - I made the point that most professions pay more for formal education that for physically intensive labor. I still believe this to be true.

Of course one must be skilled and knowledgeable to be a tech (or to be a good one, anyway), but do you think that your skill and knowledge equals that of the RN? Do you not feel that formal education should be recognized and rewarded?

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Specializes in Geriatrics, DD, Peri-op.

RN4NICU, I agree that CNAs shouldn't make what LPNs or RNs do...however, do you think it is fair for them to get paid not much more than minimum wage? Most nursing homes might pay CNAs 50 cent more than min wage. I think McDonald's does better than that. :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Geriatrics, DD, Peri-op.

RN4NICU, I agree that CNAs shouldn't make what LPNs or RNs do...however, do you think it is fair for them to get paid not much more than minimum wage? Most nursing homes might pay CNAs 50 cent more than min wage. I think McDonald's does better than that. :rolleyes:

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