Do you get paid enough for what you do?

Id venture to say that there a many nurses out there that think that NO amount of money could be worth doing some of the things nurses have to do and put up with. Specifically, the politics that goes on in the workplace.

nope

I'm happy with my pay, which nudges $50/hour when shift differenential is factored in. It's time and a half if called in off call, plus $4.00 per hour for weekend hours.

So yes, I am happy with that. HOWEVER, it's taken 31 years to get there and alas! I wanting to retire. My husband just retired so the last thing I want to say is, "oh, honey we can't do that. I have to work."

In addition, I think working conditions are abyssmal. We have a pretty strong union, but working conditions are hard to change. I think our administration sees us as property, to do with as they please, and I've even heard some say of Per Diem nurses (that would be me): "The per diems can do that (night shifts, holidays, etc.). That's what they're for."

To put that pay amount in perspective, I think I got $5.84 per hour when I first got out of nursing school in 1976. By 1992 or so, I was getting $24 per hour as a per diem nurse. All our per diems got the same thing, regardless of years of experience of area of expertise. We slowly got that changed and 7 years ago, the per diems went on our grid, (years of experience adjustments and annual adjustments, not based on hours worked.) That made a huge difference, and all of a sudden, I was making over $$40 an hour. Too bad it took nearly all my years to get that done. But I like to think that I've helped (I am on our union negotiating team) make it better for those who come after me.

The work we do is priceless. I am happy with what I get paid but realistically who wouldnt want more!

No. I'm an LPN and get paid half of what RNs make, but I do the same amount of work. Granted, I do have to rely on RNs to help me with procedures that are outside my scope of practice, but overall I'm just as busy as they are. I am not eligible to join the union, and so the hospital is getting cheap labor out of me. However, I do make more than I did as a CNA (barely), and I am learning so much and gaining so much experience that by the time I am an RN, I'll already have gone through the "reality shock" phase and be more prepared to get down to the nitty gritty. While the hospital is benefiting by employing me, I am also benefiting from having the opportunity to work and gain valuable experience.

I think its pretty sad what I get paid. $2.50 more than my old job as a CNA and $1.50 more than someone I know who works at the mall.

Where on earth are you located that you get paid so little?

I don't think any nurse feels that they are paid their worth. But, what gets to me is that I can get paid more for three days as an agency nurse than I do in two weeks at my regular job. But, agencies have no sick time, unions, pension or medical benefits, which takes a portion of my salary, anyway.

In my last job in a LTC I felt I wasn't paid enough, not even $20 an hour for 30+ residents. Some were there for rehab fresh out of the hospital. I don't understand why they won't give the staff more money instead of paying agencies tons of $$$$. I think they could cut their agency use to almost zero if they paid better and had a reputation for paying well. Oh well

Current job in home health; I feel I am paid enough for what I do. Sometimes I feel guilty, like today when we went to the movies!

When I did home health nursing, it was rewarding financially and physically. I do plan to go back to it once I get more med-surg experience. I was well rested, always had a good book to read and the money was nothing to sneeze at.

When I first graduated my paychecks seemed huge because I was used to making near to nothing. I would pick up overtime shifts and loved the extra money plus with all the charting and overload of work I would usually have to stay over 1-2 hours every night to finish anyway. But after working 50-60 hour weeks in LTC and Rehab for a year, I got really burned out. So yes I felt like I was getting paid well, but in perspective I was only getting paid so well because I was always working!

I started working in a hospital where the base pay is a little lower, but have much more generous shift and weekend differentials, plus bigger pay raises. I never HAVE to work OT here. Needless to say my paychecks are smaller because I work many less hours (32-40 hours a week now), but I am MUCH happier. The RNs I work with now (who have equivalent experience) basically do the same job as me and get paid about $5-6/hr more plus they have higher shift differentials. I also feel for my geographical area's cost of living, the LPN pay is not high enough.