Decreased pay during orientation?

[blah_blah_blah]

I just accepted my first nursing job as a per diem nurse in a psych ER. During my orientation process (6 weeks) I am going to be paid a dollar less an hour and that dollar goes to the nurse precepting me. i also won't be getting shift differential when I work overnights during my training period.

I guess this doesn't really bother me as its only a dollar and the differential really isn't that much anyway, I just don't understand why it's my responsibility to pay my preceptor to train me. Is this the norm? Do your hospitals do this too? Thanks!

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

I've heard of a decreased pay rate during orientation but my orientations were for agencies that staffed hospitals and it didn't last six weeks, usually just a few hours. If I was getting six weeks orientation and the rate was only a $1 less I wouldn't be upset over it, but the facility turning around and giving it to the preceptor, now that you mention it, it sounds like they had you help pay her to train you. I haven't seen that one before. The shift differential I view as a gift now. I haven't seen it outside of the hospital and I miss it when I'm working odd hours or on the holidays or weekends as I always get the same rate (and it's not a premium rate, it's the same rate across the board).

[pixiestudent2]

It wouldn't bother me really... Your preceptor is doing extra work...

I don't know though... I got my full rate during orientation. And I don't think my preceptors are getting paid extra.

[Awesomocity0]

Hospitals incentivize preceptors. Some do this with an increase in pay, some do it with extra PTO, etc. Precepting is hard, and (take no offense if you have) it sounds like you've never had to do it. Precepting slows down your preceptor, puts extra work on his/her plate, and adds a whole new level of responsibility which you can't even fathom if you've never precepted someone before. It is hard, hard work, and it costs the hospital money. They're literally paying two people to do the same job. If you paid one person $20 to mow your lawn, would you then go on to pay $40 for two people to do the same thing in the same time, except less efficiently? The only reason the hospital is willing to foot that bill at all is because they expect you to pay them back over time with your work.

It's common practice here to pay people less during orientation (especially if they're residents, since residents require long term training) or they're PRN (because who even knows if you're going to stick around past orientation long enough and work enough hours to recoup their losses?). So don't look at it as you paying your preceptor. Look at it as, the hospital is trying to take less of a hit on training you, and they're compensating someone at an increased rate to do something tougher than what they normally do. Look at it as two separate parts.

[blah_blah_blah]

It doesn't bother me that they get paid extra and I totally get the incentive thing. I know precepting is hard work and no, I haven't ever done it before. I was just wondering if it's the norm for nurses in training to get a decreased hourly rate during their training period. Thanks for the responses!

[Everline]

No, the hospital where I work does not do that. I got my full pay during orientation. I believe they also paid my preceptors extra.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I haven't seen nurses on orientation paid less hourly, but they are not allowed to work shifts with differentials, overtime or holidays ...so in a way, they are paid less. Even night nurses orient on days until their last shift, or two.

A lot of places also seem to give a marginal increase once a nurse makes it past probation.

Your employer may be more direct about what they're doing, but I don't think they're doing anything unusual.

[klone, MSN, RN]

It doesn't bother me that they get paid extra and I totally get the incentive thing. I know precepting is hard work and no, I haven't ever done it before. I was just wondering if it's the norm for nurses in training to get a decreased hourly rate during their training period. Thanks for the responses!

Yes. At a hospital at which I worked, the new grads got paid a certain rate during their residency, then their salary increased by about $2/hour after they finished the residency program.

You could look at it as a decreased rate during training, or you can look at it as a raise when you're done with your training.