RN Virginia salary

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 13, 2012

tomjones200824 said:
I'm a recently new graduate nurse with approximately 6 months of experience. I plan on working at my current location, which is level I trauma center with average of 100K+ visits per year, for another 6-12months.
I'm wondering what the average income is for an ER RN in Virginia. I will most likely be applying to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
According to salary averages visible online 60-65k seems to be the average. I'm just wondering how true these figures are.
Any input is welcome and appreciated.

I don't work for that hospital, but I do work in that region -- and that figure seems too high to me. Remember, even with 1 year of experience, you will still be near the bottom of the salary scale -- just 1 or 2 steps above a new grad. That $60-64K is an "average" and is probably the neighborhood of what someone with several years of experience would make. The "average" nurse these days is in her late 40's and has over 10 years of experience.

UVA Grad Nursing · Jun 14, 2012

Virginia is big state. I have seen hourly salaries for new grads (under 1 year of experience) range from $14 - $29 an hour. The higher salaries also have the higher cost of living (DC suburbs, Tidewater) with the lower rates for the less expensive parts of the state (Emporia, Danville, Norton) where you can still buy a detatched home for under $100K.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 16, 2012

In southeastern Virginia (where Norfolk is), $40,000-50,000 is probably more accurate: as llg said, you're not much higher up the food chain than a new grad.

smn2010, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2012

regarding salaries:

as an fyi....the sentara pay scale for new grads begins at "about" $21.00 for new grads. for rn's with experience, add about $0.30 per hour for each year after that. they stick closely to this because it was determined that (years ago), many nurses with little experience (especially those coming from the central and northern areas of virginia and out of state) were coming in and making more money than seasoned/senior nurses at their facilities. the rn's max out at $32.00 (i think, it may be a little less...). for this reason, many new rn's stay for 2-3 years to get experience then move on to other, higher paying areas. keep in mind, sentara has their own bsn program so they pull their nurses from the graduating classes first then hire from the "outside." this is one of the reasons whey new grads from outside the sentara school system are not being offered jobs as often as in the past. most of the new graduates at sentara went to the sentara nursing program for free and now owe sentara two years of work to pay off their free tuition. while the starting pay is low, you do make up a big difference with the shift differential....especially if you work straight weekends....with a shift differential of $9.00 per hour. so this shift diff (for example) plus $21 hour base pay amounts to $30.00/hour for a new grad (calculation: $30 hour x 1872 hours year (3-12 hour shifts in a year) = $56,160 annually. not bad for a new grad!!!! if you don't do straight weekends (fri-sun; sat-mon or some 3-day variation of this) the regular shift differential is $4 dollas (weekdays) and $6 on weekends. also, for those thinking about where else to work in virginia, consider doing rural nursing (central virginia, western virginia, etc.) these areas have pay incentives if you have an adn or bsn...plus....they even give you credit if you were an lpn....and even credit you for being a certified nurse aide (cna)/patient care tech (pct). there is a hospital in emporia, virginia and petersburg, va that will pay $0.39 per hour above their base rate ($20 or $21, i can't remember what my friend told me) for each year you worked as an lpn, cna/pct and on top of this pay $1.00 additional for a adn/bsn....

so in response to the initial statement of $60-65k annually in the hampton roads are of virginia....no way for a new grad unless you are incorporating shift differentials and other incentives to increase your base pay rate. i hope this information helps!!!

wherever you work....don't get caught up on the (low) base rate.... consider shift differentials and other incentives along with your base pay...before you make your final decisions on an job/offer. i say this because there are facilities out there that will provide you with a base pay of $25+ hour but their shift diff is $1 to work nights which "sounds" good on paper but $26 x 1872 hours/year (working 3-12's a week) = $48,672 annually)!!! forget that!!!???

looking for hospitals in the area...for any u.s. state??? ... access this website: www.theagapecenter.com/hospitals just select your state of interest and hospitals (with their own web links) will appear!!!! don't forget the links on the top left-hand side of the page.

good luck with your job searches everyone!!!

iToniai · Jul 29, 2012

As an experienced nurse, my annual base pay at Sentara was $39,200 (that's barely $22.00/hr); I made almost the same amount when I was a medical records clerk before nursing school. In a safe/nice neighborhood don't expect a 1br apartment to be any less than 1K/month (not including utilities). It was embarrassing considering I was a BSN prepared nurse with experience. The shift differential is now $4.00/hour and NOT the $8.00 it was a few years back. It's a disgrace what nurses are making in the Hampton Roads area. Sentara spent so much money on their new hospital (SPA), now they can't pay nurses for our work. In that area, working for the federal government will bring you more money than the private sector so go that route, if you can.

Cynmarrod · Aug 9, 2012

I looked extensively for what to expect for a salary in VA for an RN. I found ranges but nothing too concrete. I have

Overall, this is considerably better than what I was making per hour in NC.

smn2010, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2012

dee tonia is so, so right about sentara and the tidewater/hampton roads area. no money for rns here in the sentara system, unless you work straight weekends and garner the $9 per hour shift differential. without that, there's no real money with sentara. base pay is too low to get any where with. i don't see how nurses can afford to live in hamton roads using sentara's base pay. chesapeake regional and riverside are not much better. sentara does not pay additional money for a assoc./bsn degree either! new grad to 5 years of experience you make less than $44k a year base pay. i too was embarrassed about my rn bsn salary while at sentara!!! sadly, i know of rn at sentara who constantly "brag" about themselves for the mere $1 per hour more they get for a certification...when their base pay is only $22.25 (with 3 years experience)!!! i do believe er and icu nurses get a dollar or so more to work in their areas but.....it's not worth it!!! too much politics with sentara and ever worse at depaul!! after graduating with my bsn, i left hampton roads to go to work at what is considered "rural" hospitals, just so i could have a better starting salary. my starting salary was over $24 base pay as a new grad. much better than the $19-20 sentara and other area hospitals were paying at that time (less than 3 years ago!). i was in central virginia, off of route 58 and i-85. the facilities in these areas truly appreciate their nurses and credit you for your associate or bsn degree by offering $1 more per hour for each. in addition, they even credit you 1-year of nursing for each year you worked as a certified nurse aide (cna), pct, ncp, etc. prior to your rn career! surprising that sentara built the spah and now plans to turn a unit at virginia beach general into a psych specialty area but can't manage to increase nurse salaries to where they should be. for this reason, i will only work for the state of virginia or on an acute care unit of a ltc now that i have returned to the hampton roads area. with the state my base pay is over $27 hour now and i have only 2 years of experience! so, with my shift differentials, my annual income is nearly $70k year (40 hour work week, not 36---work 3 days, off 1, work/off/work, off the weekend) and i don't miss 3-12's any more!!. i don't have to think about doing overtime any more either!!! my base pay now with the state/commonwealth of virginia as my employer is more than the base-plus-$9 shift diff combined together that sentara was offering me! ? years ago, nurses (and other professions) "ran away" from state jobs because they paid so little. now, the state has caught on with their thinking and nursing salaries have greatly increased and continue to rise. needless to say, the federal government (hampton's v.a. hospital and area military clinics) will pay me even better; but, i'll wait until i have 5 years of experience before going that route.

dee tonia - if you are still working with the sentara system, consider working for a long term care (ltc) facility that has an acute care unit (like a med-surg). in particular, try the kindred system (harbour pointe) in norfolk and virginia beach. the 2nd floor of their norfolk facility is acute care and consists of patients who are there for short stays (2-5 days) as they go through rehab (ortho type, hospital step-down type patients) before going home. also consider westminster cantebury in virginia beach. both start new grad rns at $25 per hour.....

wakechick · Feb 3, 2013

I just moved here from CA. Military orders. CA pay is min. new grad $48-58. I am moving back after our tour here! So what should I put in the min. salary box for nurses here? Thanks!

Ruke · Feb 3, 2013

Yeah CA pays well.....I wonder who is currently hiring here

meeep, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2013

The cost of living is also 10x higher, so you're not necessarily making "more".

LPN3RAC-CTMDSC · Feb 10, 2013

Just depends what position you land and how you handle it. I'm only an LPN, started back in '99 at $11.10 an hour, now just over $38. Whatever job you choose, just show them you're worth it!