Salary for new nurse in St. Louis

Maltese2000 · Sep 15, 2004

Ok...thats JUST plain wrong.....we bust our butts in school ,get through boards and then have the crap to deal with when we GET our RN...and you get 15.00 an hour???!!!!........just WRONG.....factory workers make more than that, no CPR required....geeez. well, at least where I am , the starting pay is this.......21.00 per hour....then if we work 64 hours a pay period its "critical staffing" so we get an extra like 400.00 on the check....5.00 more per hour on nights or something like that...and an extra 3.00 per hour on weekends...if your on the 12 hour program its even more....so, if you work 12 hours on the weekend on nights 64/a pay period...well, its decent cash....my suggestion......MOVE....hehe

hospitalstaph · Sep 28, 2004

Hi,

Wow I am suprised that St L hospitals start out so low. In KC the figures that I have heard are 19.50ish an hour with a 10% diff for nights.

Tracy

PreggersRN, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2004

The hospital pay in st louis is right aroung $17/hour for a new RN grad. It is true that all of the hospitals basically pay the same thing. I have done my research. It is all politics. If one hospital raised their hourly salary the others will follow. Just this summer St John's raised their hourly salary for new grads and so did Barnes-Jewish.

As far as which hospitals are best. It depends on where you live and how far you want to drive to work. For Peds I think Cardinal Glennon and Children's Hospital are both excellent. (Just my opinion.)

sunnyjohn · Apr 7, 2005

Ok...thats JUST plain wrong.....we bust our butts in school ,get through boards and then have the crap to deal with when we GET our RN...and you get 15.00 an hour???!!!!........just WRONG.....factory workers make more than that, no CPR required....geeez. well, at least where I am , the starting pay is this.......21.00 per hour....then if we work 64 hours a pay period its "critical staffing" so we get an extra like 400.00 on the check....5.00 more per hour on nights or something like that...and an extra 3.00 per hour on weekends...if your on the 12 hour program its even more....so, if you work 12 hours on the weekend on nights 64/a pay period...well, its decent cash....my suggestion......MOVE....hehe

Where is this??? I wanna put in an advanced application!!!

JaimeeG · Apr 17, 2005

Hello all

I am a new RN grad currently living in the central valley area of California. As of next July, I will be a Missouri resident. We just purchased a horse ranch in Rogersville but aren't moving until next year.

When we made the decision to move to the Springfield area to be closer to my grandparents, I immediately began researching the job market for RNs and ORTs, which is what my husband is. I was VERY disheartened to learn of the pay scale in Springfield. One hospital told me that the starting RN wage was $15.47/hr, and another hospital was just under $16. The hospital in Branson was $15.50/hr.

Let me share with you just why this was so disheartening. As a new grad/IPN, I am starting my first job on a neuro step-down unit at $26.10/hr. Once I have my license in hand, I will be raised to $27.10 per hour.

Bonus shifts are plentiful at the hospital where I will be working, and that is where the REAL money is made. Bonuses are paid as follows: The first four hours after your 36 per week (we work 12s) are paid at time and a half. Anything over 40 hours per week is double time PLUS $30 per hour. My friends who work at the same hospital usually do two bonus shifts per pay period and see about $1000 extra on their paycheck, after taxes.

The pay difference in Missouri almost made us change our minds about moving. After doing some heavy thinking and weighing of the pros and cons, we decided that, in the longrun, this will be a better choice. I am definitely concerned about busting my butt for 12 hour shifts and only making $16.00 an hour though. I will be doing the same work I am currently doing, and it's tough..as you all well know.

Does anyone know what the registries in the Springfield area pay? I was told to check into that as another option for better pay.

Have a good day all.

Jaimee

JaimeeG · Apr 17, 2005

I forgot to add one more thing. In addition to the huge pay difference, the hospitals here also offer sign-on bonuses. I will be receiving a $5000 bonus for agreeing to one-year of full-time employment.

The nurse recruiters I spoke with in Missouri said that they don't currently offer bonuses either.

Jaimee

Happy-ER-RN, RN · Apr 19, 2005

Both of the hospitals in Springfield, MO are currently hiring new grad's for $16.50 per hour. No sign on, no weekend shift diff. .50 for your BSN and 2.35 for night shifts. Yeah, it is petty much insulting, and extremely frustrating. Last I heard Branson is about a dollar more--staff are wonderful at Skaggs by the way, I had clinicals there and it was fantastic.

Springfield is a wonderful place to live though. I have lived in 4 different states and this is my favorite place I have lived.

I would also love to see what I can do to help change the wages in MO, after I get on my feet as a new grad that is....

JaimeeG · Apr 19, 2005

I am so anxious and happy to be getting out of California that I am willing to take the cut in pay. We were able to purchase our home outright so we won't have a house payment, which will help tremendously.

It will be interesting to see if the salaries start creeping up over the coming years. My friend has been a nurse here in CA for about 8 years, and she started at just over $15 per hour but is now making almost $30.

Jaimee

salvati08 · Jun 12, 2005

I actually just spoke to a woman in the HR department at Missouri Baptist hospital and she said that starting june they are paying there GN's 17.00/hr with 3.00 night differential and 1.50 weekend diff. She asked me when I would be graduating and I said in a year and she said the good news is that RN salary is constantly increasing and in a year it will proboly be 18.00/hr. I know St. Louis Children's and Barnes Jewish are starting out at 16.00/hr (I go to school at Barnes Jewish College). Hope that helps! :)

salvati08 · Jun 12, 2005

And Barnes Jewish was currently doing a $6,000 sign on bonus! :)

PreggersRN, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2005

Yes, the starting pay for all BJC hospitals is now $17/hr. That includes Childrens, Barnes, MO Bap, and Christian Hospitals. The new grad pay was just increased last year as well. It was around $16.75 last summer. So it will probably go up again in a year. I also go to Barnes-Jewish College of nursing. I graduate in August and work at Childrens Hospital. At Childrens shift differential is $2 for evenings and $4 for nights during the week. But on the weekends it is $4 for evenings and $6 for nights.

daisysn2001 · Jun 23, 2005

You think the pay is bad for a New Grad? Just wait until you are actually in the profession for a few years. I have Eight years of experience and am only now making $18 an hour. So if it is insulting as a new grad you can imagine how insulting it is to be told that the across the board cost of living increase is going to be 0.15 cents this year and no offense to all you new grads, which we are very glad to have, but very insulting to only be making ONE whole dollar more than you with eight years of experience. Something just isn't right there.

Daisy