Clinical Care Technician, am I being taken advantage of?

[li.la.lo'13]

Hi all,

A few days ago I had an interview at TUFTS as a clinical care tech, they're offering me to start at $12.60/hr. Most other CNAs I've talked to have gotten around $14...I'm still a student and I've completed a clinical rotation. Does this seem fair to you, especially for a hospital in Boston? I'm not sure why I'd be making so little, and the patient load they said can vary from 10-15 patients and I'd be in a CCU, ICU, Med/Surg rotation.

[juliaann]

By "still a student" do you mean you don't have your CNA yet, or do you mean you're a nursing student? If it's the former, did they say if your pay would increase when you're certified? Some places do that. If it's the latter I'm not sure that having had nursing school clinical experience should have any bearing on your pay rate...it doesn't at my facility. It just means I'm usually more tired than my coworkers, LOL.

Often hospitals have a set rubric they provide salary from...all CNAs with 0 experience = $x, all CNAs with 0-1 year experience = $y, all CNAs with 1-2 years experience = $z. Most likely they are not taking advantage of you...most likely the pay rate is set and there is no flexibility - although you can always inquire! Ask when you go in to HR to do your paperwork and/or formally accept the position.

I know Boston has a much higher cost of living than I do in Oklahoma, but when I started as a CNA in my hospital I made $9.25. After 3 years of experience, cross-training as a monitor tech, unit clerk, EKG tech, stress lab tech, and float pool CNA I still make under $10.00 - and that's WITH yearly raises! Working as a CNA is a lot of work for not a lot of money...that seems to be a universal truth. If you feel like you can get a better starting wage, it's worth asking or finding another facility.