Duke pay for nurses is shameful

riagant · Jun 25, 2012

What is Duke's starting salary for newly minted BSN? Anybody know?

Ria

Loque, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2012

I'm not an RN yet, but live in the area, 'word on the street' is that a new grad can expect something in the $23/hr range, base without any differentials.

luckybella · Jun 28, 2012

I was offered a new grad position but declined. Starting for a new grad is 20.45 with $4 for nights and $4.5 for weekends.

stylishgurl · Jul 26, 2012

Duke really pay way less than any hospital in Raleigh even their differentials are not matching others way lowwww!!! At then end of everything benefits and hourly pay will win your heart rather than just being DUke

AP0525 · Sep 1, 2012

Duke pays less because they are research/academic medical center. They always pay less...this is the case in FL where I used to live as well.

It is not just nurses. My husband is a Duke physician and makes far less than he would at a private hospital, but again it is because it's an academic hospital. But, he really likes working there.

Also, I work at WakeMed and started there with a BSN and 6.5 yrs experience and was started nowhere near $32/hr. (Not to mention I'm per diem so they don't even have to give me benefits and pay that low).

alvn23 · Nov 6, 2012

I think the questions about Duke came from the huge expansion Duke has made in the last decade or so. To North Carolinians, the issues with the heart transplant (wrong blood type,) washing surgical instruments in hydraulic fluid... stuff like that makes it seem that Duke has done a great job at attracting stars, but has not done so well in keeping up with the details that make up much of nursing.

Here's an article about the Heart Trans fiasco:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,425201,00.html

There used to an article on the Duke site about the hydraulic fluid : hydraulicfluidfacts.dukehealth.org, but I think it's gone.

And as regards your closing dig about UNC and Rex, there reason you can't say the same for UNC is you don't work there. Many people from North Carolina, like myself, would only go to UNC if I had something complicated wrong.

sftbllbe · Mar 19, 2017

I don't know about Duke but I can tell you NC needs to step it up when it comes to pay for nurses. I live near and around Charlotte and I have come from California as well. Iredell memorial tried to offer me $21 an hour as an ICU nurse with over 2 years experience. I started as a new grad in California at $34 an hour and moved up to $37 in two years. I really believe if nurses started expecting more they would have to raise the pay. This is more than 1/3 of a pay cut. California may be expensive to live but NC is not that cheap. Yes housing is cheaper, gas is cheaper but that is it. Wake up nurses and realize you are worth more. Don't settle. Don't get me started about the benefit comparison either. California health insurance offered in the hospital setting is fantastic. I was paying $32 a month for PPO coverage and $1000 deductible. I believe if we expose the hospitals we can ask for more. Unless North Carolina has an MRI machine that is cheaper than the one in California? Or maybe their hospital bills for patients is less? I think this would be an interesting discussion and would love to hear opinions. The bottom line is NC is hurting for nurses and many don't stay. They are offering sign on bonuses all over but after that is done the nurses leave or start traveling around (local travel or out of state travel). How do you get them to stay? You pay and offer great benefits and work environment.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 20, 2017

I just noticed the original date of the original post.

Things have changed a LOT since the first post.

All 4 hospitals are about the same. benefits at Duke, from what I know are better than some. They are paying most of my tuition to get an advanced degree from Duke. Wakemed and Rex don't do that even though Rex is affiliated with UNC. UNC is the only other hosp I would consider. Both WakeMed and Rex send their level 1s to Duke or UNC.

I guess it depends on the experience you want to have as a nurse: more money or cases that you will only see at the types of hospitals liek Duke and UNC. I love working at Duke and I love the cases we see, the doctors I work with, the other nurses I work with. There is a lot of hospital hopping, I believe because people are looking for something that is not there.

I grew up in Chicago. The cost of living there is less than CA, and I would not have the house in either place that I have here. Education has tanked a lot, but kids are smart and I am involved in making sure they get what they need. The South is notoriously anti-union. Good luck with that.

I would like to address the turnover-part of it is hiring people that are invested in the area. When you hire a 22-23 year old from 1000 miles away, they get homesick. they work a year or two to get a great nursing education (there is value in a Duke experience) and then go home. The ones that are hired locally, tend to stay longer (I was a nursing retention committee)

They are trying. We are not treated like crap, I promise you.

WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 20, 2017

All 4 hospitals are about the same. benefits at Duke, from what I know are better than some. They are paying most of my tuition to get an advanced degree from Duke. Wakemed and Rex don't do that even though Rex is affiliated with UNC. UNC is the only other hosp I would consider. Both WakeMed and Rex send their level 1s to Duke or UNC.

This is a very important aspect of why I chose Duke over the area hospitals. One reason was that I did 85% of my clinicals within the Duke system. The other was that they are the only hospital in the area offering tuition reimbursement for my nursing education up to $25k, so it's VERY difficult to turn that down. They also offer 90% tuition paid at Duke after 1 year of employment. You just can't beat that. I was offered $23.15 + shift differential as a new grad and there are rumors they will be doing an increase in July (albeit a rumor). I just can't beat the student loan aspect in addition to having Duke on my resume.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 21, 2017

there will be your yearly raise and if they think we are falling behind, they will do a "market" increase to catch us up to be competitive with the others. I am an orthopedic nurse and I love the fact that I get to be involved in very complicated cases and groundbreaking ones too. We have an INCREDIBLE ortho oncology team that is doing great things. We also get a lot of off-service patients with obscure diseases. Things that are not seen at other hospitals. We get the sickest of the sick and the opportunity to treat them and, most of the time, save them. I find it an honor to work there.

PopsRN · Nov 13, 2017

While I don't doubt your passion for working at Duke, the focus of the thread is pay at the three area hospitals. I would like to share numbers. I have worked at WakeMed and UNC REX, and interviewed with Duke recently. All three are magnet hospitals. I previously did a nurse residency at Vanderbilt, and the pay was less than other area hospitals, but VU occupied a market position in Nashville similar to Duke in the triangle. I moved to Raleigh and started on an oncology floor at $24.20 with one year of experience (2015). I also received the yearly "market" raise into the $25 range. I then transitioned to the M/S float pool for two years at UNC REX and at WakeMed. Both hospitals have great staff, and are rewarding places to work.

I recently looked to transition back to a floor for benefits reasons, and looked at UNC REX, WakeMed, and Duke. I received offers from all three. Wakemed & UNC REX were in the low $26 range, which I assume is market for someone with my limited number of years of experience. After my first interview, a Duke recruiter asked me to sign a document that listed the pay at $25.32 ("set in stone" said the recruiter). It was less than the other two, but as you mention there are other factors to consider, so I continued with the process. When Duke extended a formal offer, the pay rate was actually $22.98, not the one they offered earlier. I was stunned, and I declined.

I have no doubt that Duke is a great place to work and I really liked the staff that I met there, but it is a FACT that Duke pays nurses substantially less than UNC and WakeMed. I have several friends that work at UNC REX and at WakeMed now that shared similar experiences. There is more than pay to consider as many have mentioned, but if pay is a factor, then Duke comes in third place.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 14, 2017

I certainly hope that pay is not what is driving someone's desire to be a nurse.

The conditions that I have seen, the things I have learned about certain conditions/injuries, etc is worth it to me. Anything that is really bad, goes to Duke or UNC. Both Rex and Wake Med send their severe level 1 traumas out. Duke and UNC are the only ones with the highest level of NICU. We do 100s of transplants a year. I could have gone to another hospital that does ortho, but it was strictly joint replacement. I would get bored with that in a month. We have some surgeons that are the top of their field and the patients come from all over the country to have their procedures done at Duke. They paid for my BSN and 90% of my MSN at Duke.

I admit I am a Dukie through and through. I can't put a dollar value on the experience I am getting. I was offered a prn job at Wake Med as an Orhto certified nurse. it was about 30 cents more an hour than I am making. That was not impressive.

I think all of the hospitals here are fine hospitals, we are very lucky. When it comes down to it, I still think that one is not necessarily better by a huge longshot. It is where the best fit is for each person.

I did 16 weeks of clinical at Rex, it is a nice hosp. I have been a pt there as well. Wake Med is closest to my house so when my kids were smaller, and before I was a nurse, we used their Ped ED-great experience there. Wasn't impressed with UNC as a pt. it's all what you are looking for.