Comparing Wages in the OR setting

nrsbaby2be · Aug 30, 2001

Seadiverrn, when you mention receiving $22.50 for call, does that mean you only make 1/2 your salary when working? Sorry, I'm a newbie to this site and it was a little confusing.

BrandyBSN · Sep 21, 2001

1/2 time for oncall means that you are getting paid to carry around a beeper and "be available" if they need you. When I am oncall, I carry a beeper around my house, in my yard, in the car, and then if they call and need me, and I go it, I get paid time and a half.

Does that help?

BrandyBSN

rnor · May 21, 2002

In North Carolina ( very small town) where I work in the OR the pay is not bad for the area. I have 21 years experience as a nurse, 13 of these in the OR. I make 19.89/hr. Pretty low considering....rnor

mmckinneyrn · Jun 9, 2002

Hi Everyone,

I am a nurse educator in an OR in MI and we have not hired new grads in this area at this time. New grads in our hospital are earning in the early 19's. This really is good starting pay but unfortunately there is no compensation for degree or certification.

Our call pay is $2.00 per hour with time and a half when you are called.(which is often). How much call is everyone out there required to take? I am new to the forum and look forward to chatting with everyone! -

Rottie1 · Jun 15, 2002

I work in the OR in Oklahoma City, I have only been there 4 years, start pay (for all newnurses) was 14. and change 4 years ago since then I have had several pay raises due to the hospital upgrading the payscale, or annual or increased responsibilities now I get $19.46 / hour. Not really high but not bad for this part of the country. Also we only get $1.50 an hour while on call, but get this they stop the $1.50 if we come in to work then we only get paid our regular pay. I have yet to understand that one, does anyone else have to deal with this? We do get 75 cents more an hour if we are CNOR.

shodobe · Jun 16, 2002

25 yr in the OR. I make 33/hr. Take weekend call every 6 weeks for 48 hrs. Get 4.00/hr for standby then time and a half when called in. Take one night of call a week. Mike

mmckinneyrn · Jun 17, 2002

I want to go to CA and work with Mike!

shodobe · Jun 18, 2002

I live in NorCal but work in SoCal. I travel back and forth and will work 7-10 days straight then go home for nice long weekends. I have done this for five years and travel 450 miles between work and home. I couldn't stand SoCal anymore! I make good money because of the experience, 25 years, and have very little stress. I work at two hospitals that belong to a large hospital chain. I work 4 hours in the morning at one then go across town for another 10 hours. I don't mind the hours because going home is like going on a vacation. Lots of jobs in Calif for experinced OR nurses. I just can't believe the wages that some of you are making. Tantamount to slave wages. I know wages are based on the region, but some hospitals take advantage of this and most of the good nurses leave for greener pastures. Higher wages and benefits are the only way of keeping the nurses and the bottom line is the almighty dollar. I went into nursing for job security and the ones that gripe all the time about stress and job disatisfaction should get out and leave all that good money to people like me who appreciate the fact that I get paid well for something I am good at. Beats working at McDonalds or pumping gas! Look at all the college grads that spent 4 years or more and will never make as much as I make. I feel sorry for them because it is going to be a struggle for them for years just to pay off their student loans. My 2 cents worth, Mike

Becka · Jun 25, 2002

I work ambulatory surgery in a mid-size city in MI and our pts also get conscious sedation (no general here either). I have been an LPN for 10 years and currently make $12.50/hr the RN's I work with make between $17.50 and $19.00/hr

Becka

Originally posted by dmclung
I work in a small town ambulatory surgery center.There are only five of us nurses. 4 Rn's and 1 LPN. The patients who come in only receive conscious sedation. We have no general anesthesia.
My questions might be a little bold to be asking. I was wondering what kind of wages are being paid to be an OR nurse.
I am now getting 17.89 an hour. I am fairly new in this field. I graduated with a ADN in 1999. I was just curious and was wondering what was out there in terms of wages.

dmclung

rnor · Jun 25, 2002

Becka, I've been a nurse for 21 years. I work in a 64 bed hospital, small town, and there are 2 small hospitals within 6 miles of each other, they pay about the same. I work in the OR, I get paid 19.89/hr., call pay is 2.00/hr. we take call 1week out of the month. We do not get time and a half when we come back for call. If you have not worked 40 hrs. that week you do not get overtime. :eek:

natalia · Jun 26, 2002

I'm a brand new grad in the OR in a community hospital in Portland, Oregon. My wage is $20.50/hr. I looked all over the country at positions and wages, and generally found the highest wages on the West Coast (and large NE cities, i.e. NY, DC., ect)

poopsiebear · Jun 29, 2002

I work in the Philadelphia region and have been with the same hospital for almost 3 years. My base rate is $26.68/hr and we will be getting a 3.5% increase in August. ($27.61/hr). We get $2/hr for taking call and if we get called in during call, we will still get the $2/hr call time plus 1 1/2 OT.