Comparing Wages in the OR setting

feiying88 · Jan 21, 2008

but how about the stage? is it ok in there? in china ,low ,too.

somttimes i want to drop it, but maybe better going abroad.

aquarius1 · Jan 21, 2008

Does anyone out there have an idea about the working condition of OR/Theatre nurses in New Mexico? salary? on-call pay? etc....

Hope you could help me with this?

Many thanks......

richardsrl · Jan 21, 2008

I work in a major hospital in the Northern KY/Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) area. I have almost 25 years nursing experience with 10 in the O.R. We get approx $32/hour. No call. We are considered specialty nurses and are paid higher than the floor nurses.

umakemesmile · Jan 26, 2008

WI

16yrs exp.

37.25/hr + beneies

1.5 x call back

3.00/hr call pay weekday

5.00/hr weekends (can't figure that one out)

1.5 after 40 hr worked

I guess I'll stop complaining. Except to say that we can't tell a surgeon that elective call case's won't fly.

kookinitreal · Jan 29, 2008

I wouldn't even consider a job paying less than $35/hr regardless of where I live. It's only 70K/yr. Truck drivers make that much. (nothing against truck drivers). Never understood why someone would go through 4yrs of college for a job that is "critically undermanned" for $20/hr. I made that much at Home Depot renting tools without a degree. Forget nursing, save yourself the ulcer...costco will pay $20/hr to work the night shift stocking shelves...

Charon · Jan 29, 2008

I know that this is an old thread but the subject of salary never gets old. We all have to live, eat and support loved ones. I have been a Surgical Technologist in the OR for the past 14+ years and have exclusively done nights for the past 11+ years. I recently graduated from nursing school and my hospital is willing to offer me a lateral transfer in salary to take a position in the OR. Am I being petty because I feel insulted?

I currently make $30/hour with a $2.50 night differential. If I can make $30+ as a surgical tech why would I accept the same pay as a nurse? I would think that my versatility is now more of an assett to the department and my training would not be as extensive (time-consuming) as someone totaly new to this environment. I work with an excellent group of nurses on nights who have basically trainied and tutored me since before I started nursing school. Should I take the lateral transfer and be grateful or should I negotiate? The starting pay for new grads at my institution is currently $26.50, so HR thinks that allowing me to keep my current salary is a huge compliment. Please share your wisdom. :bow:

brainnurse · Feb 3, 2008

Yeah...it is a huge compliment, and a concession on the part of HR. Unfortunately, hospital pay structures are very rigid. You are in a nursing compensation category based on how many years you've held a license. Your years contributed to the organization in another job category are n/a.

This happened to me when I transitioned for ST to RN 20 years ago. I had to take a $5/hr pay cut from the top of the range for ST, to the bottom of the food chain for RN. I, too, made the argument about how valuable I was to the organization, required no training time, etc., they understood my points, but couldn't go outside of that box. So, I had to eat it, and now, 20 years later, I've far exceeded that ST pay ceiling.

Consider yourself highly complimented by this concession, go forth and kick some circulating butt! Before you know it, you'll be making more than ever.

BTW....you'll really miss scrubbing :-(

Brainnurse

kookinitreal · Feb 4, 2008

Assume more responsibility for less pay? You're freaking kidding right? Give me a break!

I guess if I try to see the silver lining...THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE...There is a shortage of people willing to work in crappy condition for minimum compensation. Anyone out there saying they took a pay cut from ST to RN is doing more to hurt the profession than help. Only a field dominated by women would be asked to assume more responsibility for less pay. Next time your in the HR office ask the HR rep if "they'd like to assume more responsibility for less pay?" May be they should go to school get an MBA get a "promotion" but work for less money. In fact, why don't we ask all our male friends who are not nurses if they'd even consider taking a job with more responsibility "where you get sued" for less money. It's laughable...

brainnurse · Feb 4, 2008

This isn't about levels of responsibility, liability, or personal value and worth. Hospitals have very rigidly designed hierarchal pay structures for job description categories or lisencure, and new grads RN's start at the bottom. The years put in as CNA or ST or even CEO do not apply. It's stupid, it sucks, it's been that way for 50 years and will never change....it is what it is. If the hospital has clinical ladders, and the this poster is ambitious, she might get back to where she was financially rather quickly, and then exceed it...which she would never have done, assuming she had hit the ST ceiling.

I don't know how it works in other professions...for example, if a paralegal graduates from law school, and passes the boards, do her years with the firm entitle her to a higher starting salary? Or does she start over as a new hire? Anyone know?

The nursing shortage is real, and without definitive action, in 15 years it will upgrade to crisis, when the bulk of us 45-55 demographic workforce retire.

Brainnurse

Charon · Feb 5, 2008

Thanks for the valuable imput guys; I can see where you are both comming from.:innerconf I think that the reason that men have a tendency to make more money is because they go into their interview with confidence and no intentions of backing down. I think that this is the stand that I will have to take; more work for less pay is insulting, especially because the level of expertise in my unit is currently acceptable at best, due to a huge influx of new hires with no prior OR experience. This means that those of us with many years of experience are working twice as hard doing our assignments and picking up the slack for others as well. There are also the coworkers that "don't know how to do that" and get away with it:madface:, while those of of who do have a level of expertise in the area get screwed. This system is broken and leads to resentment among coworkers.

Since I am not planning to build my mansion this year, I am simply asking for a token increase in my salary; a $3-$5/hr increase says to me that I am appreciated. I am not trying to be obnoxious or greedy; I just don't want to start out my nursing career being resentful of others doing less work for much more pay.:angryfire The fact is that I am a valuable resource in all areas of surgical specialty and I am always happy to teach others; so I don't see why I can't be compensated for these qualities. Just because we have done things the same way for over 20 years, doesn't make the system right or just. I think that it's time for a change. :twocents: I will definately keep you guys updated on my progress.

richardsrl · Feb 5, 2008

Hey guys,

I wanted to throw my 2 cents worth in on this....I was an LPN for 22 years when I got my RN (Dec. 2006). I worked in my hospital for about 8 years at that time. Through HR, I had been told I would have to take about a $3/hr pay cut to start out at a new RN hire pay rate. I was outraged. I told my nurse manager I would look for another job (and I meant it). She just said that was the rate. No help there. Long story short, the manager over my entire department (my nurse manager's boss) came through with a raise to keep me. So 14 months later, I make about $10 more per hour and next month am due for my evaluation and more money. There IS a nursing shortage. I know my hospital has hired nurses from the Phillipines to ease things, but I don't think that worked out too well for them. We ALL had to take a "cultural differences" course. But I think the problem was they could not function as a full RN, there were alot of things they "couldn't" do and also the language barrier. People are comig out of nursing school, but have no experience and as was stated earlier, make more work on everyone else. Gone are the days where a grad HAD to work med/surg for a year prior to transferring anywhere else. I agree, our profession is sadly behind the times. But we are the only ones that can change it.......the question is: HOW??????

kookinitreal · Feb 15, 2008

This isn't about levels of responsibility, liability, or personal value and worth. Hospitals have very rigidly designed hierarchal pay structures for job description categories or lisencure, and new grads RN's start at the bottom. The years put in as CNA or ST or even CEO do not apply. It's stupid, it sucks, it's been that way for 50 years and will never change....it is what it is. If the hospital has clinical ladders, and the this poster is ambitious, she might get back to where she was financially rather quickly, and then exceed it...which she would never have done, assuming she had hit the ST ceiling.
I don't know how it works in other professions...for example, if a paralegal graduates from law school, and passes the boards, do her years with the firm entitle her to a higher starting salary? Or does she start over as a new hire? Anyone know?
The nursing shortage is real, and without definitive action, in 15 years it will upgrade to crisis, when the bulk of us 45-55 demographic workforce retire.
Brainnurse

OK. Here's the deal...I'm obviously a murse and have a very different perspective from 95% of the people on this site. I've been in the workforce for the pas 20yrs and took on nursing as a 2nd career. I CAN tell you how it works in other fields. Don't be deceived by the "HUGE NURSING SHORTAGE". This is simple advertisement to get people to go to nursing school, so hospitals have more of a selection to pay less money to. It took me about a year to figure this "nursing shortage" out. Yeah, there are a ton of nursing jobs out there and I can tell you there are a ton of people with RN degrees that refuse to work them. I'm not saying this to make anyone mad...nurses are at the bottom of the pecking order at hospitals. We are the most critical link in the healthcare chain and the most undervalued. Why? Because we undervalue ourselves. "We're grateful to have a job. Hospitals have rigid pay schedules." Give me a break. Total BS!!! When looking for a job I took what they offered x 1.5/hr for a counter offer plus bennies. I went to 6 interviews. They all told me "how rigid their pay schedules were", and wouldn't be able to pay me what I wanted. Two weeks later the 2nd hospital offered me a job. Most people spend months looking for a job that pays as well as mine. You get what you pay for. I don't work for cheap but I'm also not looking for another job. I say hospitals should hire all the philipino's they want to. If they're willing to get treated like a dumb a##, wipe old nasty a##, clean up foul smelling goo, be the go to resource for everything for less than $35/hr. Let them...i don't need the ulcer that bad. There's a shortage for lots of job in the US...the only problem with nursing...it requires a license. Trust me if legislators could figure out a way to convince the public illegals could do the job they would. New grads will never get, and don't deserve $35/hr. Once you vested 5yrs in the field you should be able to get $35hr and $1/hr raise per year. Try it. What do you have to loose.