Educator pay vs. floor nurse pay

[Aurora77]

I applied for, and was offered a nurse educator position. I'm ready to go for it. The catch? They offered me $2 less an hour than my current base. Is that typical? This is the career path I want to take, so if it's necessary, I'll do it. It just seems bizarre to me that the people tasked with educating staff would be paid so poorly. I asked to negotiate, so the HR person is going to see what she can do. If this is the norm, I'll just take it and try to pick up a PRN gig to make up the difference. If this isn't normal, I'll pass and keep looking. Anyone have insight?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Stand your ground for getting at least your present pay.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

If I were to take a full time faculty position, my pay would get cut by about $20,000-$30,000 per year. Losing out on shift differential, on call, call back (at time and a half for minimum of 2 hours), and the occasional charge pay differential would kill my salary. That, plus the in general low pay for educators, is why I am not working in education full time. If a time comes when educators are recognized as having the value they offer ($$), then I will happily move into education full time. Otherwise, I can't afford it.

In your position, a facility that values its educators should at a minimum offer at least the same compensation that a nurse is currently earning on the floor. For the added responsibility, I'd expect a higher salary than the floor nurse, but equal would be something I'd settle for. At $2/hour, that adds up to a paltry $4,160/year (assuming 40 hours per week with 52 weeks per year). You can't tell me a facility can't swing less than $5,000 out of the annual budget to keep an educator's pay the same as when working on the floor when the replacement floor nurse is most likely going to be making less.

[Aurora77]

Thanks for the replies; I'm glad I'm not mistaken. To take the job, I'd already give up my shift diff. I'm fine with that so I can live a normal life again. Taking a pay cut on top of that is insulting. In the long term the $2 is peanuts to such a big facility, but if they can't come up with that it tells me quite a lot about the company as a whole.

[firstinfamily, RN]

It seems in most positions that are considered a "move up" from floor nursing are paid at a less amount. Even being a unit manager does not equal a floor nurse pay with differentials and holiday bonuses etc. What incentive is there to keep higher level nurses?? What you are seeing is pretty much the common for most facilities whether acute, long term or sub-acute care. It kind of makes me wonder what is the use of trying to improve myself with further education or accreditation??

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Our educators make the same money as the floor nurses where I work which is between 80-90 000 a year. Don't settle for less than your current rate. It's the principle that matters.

[JWG223]

Depends on location I bet. Floor nurse makes 50k or so here. Not 80 to 90. So that right there tells me location is king. I'd stick it out for at least equal pay though.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

It kind of makes me wonder what is the use of trying to improve myself with further education or accreditation??

The notable lack of face-time with verbally abusive patients and unrealistic family members comes with the territory of these promotions away from floor nursing, which makes it all worth it to me.

[JWG223]

The notable lack of face-time with verbally abusive patients and unrealistic family members comes with the territory of these promotions away from floor nursing, which makes it all worth it to me.

This x1000!!! In another 10 years, I'm planning to maybe wait tables or something because of all of it. Money is so much less important the longer I am at bedside. The "hospital resort" mentality gets to me.

[Libby1987]

I always thought those who carried a hammer often made more money. And I never thought of educators as having more responsibility than those who do patient care. I guess it depends on how you define responsibility and work load.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Depends upon the position. There is a big difference between being an Instructor and an Educator. The former usually supports education functions (orientation, inservices, records management, etc) within a single department or service line. An Educator is responsible for a much broader scope - including ensuring strategic alignment between the organization's goals and staff competency. The latter positions usually require advanced education (usually an MSN) and relevant experience.

It's not unusual for staff development folks to get the fuzzy end of the lollipop. All the normal benefits (shift diff, overtime, specialty pay, holiday pay) are gone. We're usually exempt, which means working many more hours than we're actually paid for. Most of the time, we are not eligible for compensation bonuses (e.g., retention pay) either. But .... we love our jobs. With higher level Educator positions, there are very decent salaries equivalent to other managers - but these jobs also have a lot of responsibility. Anyone who thinks that we (staff development) have cushy jobs - has no idea of the reality.

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

The notable lack of face-time with verbally abusive patients and unrealistic family members comes with the territory of these promotions away from floor nursing, which makes it all worth it to me.

That is one rationale, as is not doing physical care (heavy lifting, risking injury, exposure to body fluids).