$$58.50 PER HOUR!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So far, the highest rates in the nation I have been able to research on the internet for regular time/nonstrike nursing is an assignment in Portland which pays 50-58.50 per hour for a 26 week commitment. Can any agency, Per diem, travel or fulltime RN beat this rate?? I'd be particularly interested in hearing about what the highest rates are in the lame paying state of FLORIDA. Thankyou

123lisa

60 Posts

Cant help you in Florida. However, I just came on board with an agency and they pay up to 47/hr for 11-7 ICU charge position. That's quite a lot of money! $$. They pay 33-36/hr for hospital med surge. I only do LTC and get 27-31/hr. Not bad! I have no health insurance though. Can buy it for 120.00/mo with 3000 deductible.......

PhantomRN

299 Posts

Yah Lisa, I have already signed on with the same agency. They are very nice, but no benies unless you want to buy them. If agencies offered benies there would be no regular staffers.

Originally posted by PhantomRN:

Yah Lisa, I have already signed on with the same agency. They are very nice, but no benies unless you want to buy them. If agencies offered benies there would be no regular staffers.

Consider this...form your own professional practice group, provide your own benefits, operate a business and command the rate of pay you need to cover your benefits and make a better wage....ummm start your own business. Many others have and are somehow making a great living off the overhead they charge for YOUR work...this means hospitals, nursing homes, agencies....cut out the middle layer and increase your financial worth and enjoy nursing again...email me for an introduction to indendent practice/entrepreneurship.

regards

chas

hoolahan, ASN, RN

1 Article; 1,721 Posts

Specializes in Home Health.

I CAN beat that!! A staffing agency, no strike involved, no bennies, but I have worked for them at least one day a week doing time in ICU/CCU's, called today and offered me $63/hr to work in a CT ICU 7pm to 7am. I had to commit to at least one day a week. I said YES, to any Monday, Tues, or Wed, since I work q F-S-S for my HH agency. This is b/c all the night staff have resigned, various reasons, I know them all, so I'm not going in blind, I have worked as staff in this unit in the past. I personally left d/t the verbal abuse of a doc there.

I am not looking forward to going back, but for that $$ I think I can afford to suffer a little. They have promised we won't be pulled, and even if the census in their unit is zero, we cannot be cancelled!! They must be desperate to agree to that!!

Why would any hospital agree? Simple, without staff in the CT unit, they can't do surgery. No CT surgery, no $$!! So they NEED us....bad!!! I plan to ride this gravy train all the way to the station!

LoisJean

214 Posts

Good to hear from you again, Chas--

As I have said before and will continue to believe, the great day is coming when Independently owned nursing practices will not be an exception to the rule.

Wish you would come over to the Entrapeneural Board once in awhile Chas and give us some encouragement!

Peace and Brightest Blessings-

Lois Jean

mother/babyRN, RN

3 Articles; 1,587 Posts

Specializes in cardiac, diabetes, OB/GYN.

Many travelers and agency nurses make this much plus housing assistance. Bugs me big time to work along these people for so much less, but they have a difficult job too...

ratchit

294 Posts

Mother/Baby- I was a traveller for years and can tell you that I NEVER made that much money. The most I ever made was $32 an hour plus housing. I know travellers can make $35 an hour and that one company had a couple assignments for $40 an hour a while ago. That company dropped their rates a few months ago. I haven't heard of anything over $35 in a long time. It might be out there, but it is certainly not the norm. Agency pays a bit better- about $40-$44 an hour where I live, but with no bennies and with the downside of being the first to be cancelled.

Yes, travellers get their housing paid for. But only if they pay housing expenses at home. So those travellers who are getting free rent to work at your hospital are paying rent at their home. Either that, or they are risking huge IRS trouble.

Yes, travellers do get paid more than staff nurses a lot of the time. But there is a whole lot more to the picture. If a traveller misses a shift, he/she gets BILLED. No sick time, no vacation time. You get charged for the cost of your housing if you miss time. Travellers often get the worst schedules, the worst patient assignments and get floated first and to more places than staff nurses do. If a traveller finishes a contract and takes a week to move to the next one, that week is unpaid. If you don't extend anywhere, that's a month a year without pay. There has been a growing trend of hospitals to cancel contracts, too. The nurse gets threatened with huge financial loss and even loss of license (which is BS but is still scary) if he/she leaves a contract, but hospitals can say "we don't need you, census is down" and the traveller has little or no recourse.

I'm not trying to tell you to feel sorry for travellers. You said it yourself- travellers have a tough job too. I did it for years and it was great. You certainly can make money at it, too. But it's not all peaches and cream. It has some very definite downsides- not the least of which is dealing with staff nurses who resent you for reasons that are rumors.

Travellers can certainly do well financially. But unless you've talked to the companies yourself to verify the salaries, I wouldn't believe those numbers. Those numbers sound like Independent Contractor rates to me- the nurse isn't employed by the agency but acts like a company herself. The rate is much higher but ALL the employer and employee taxes come out of it.

KELLYGIRL

89 Posts

CAN ANYONE POST SOME LINKS, NAMES & #'S OF AGENCIES, ETC. IF YOU DON'T MIND??? I AM INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT TRAVEL NURSING......I LIVE IN THE SOUTH EAST REGION OF THE U.S. ...... I HAVE HEARD ATLANTA HAS SOME GOOD MONEY....BUT CAN'T FIND OUT ANY MORE INFO.....THANX, KELLYGIRL ;)

Gromit

821 Posts

Specializes in ICU-Stepdown.

Lame paying state of Florida? No need to get rude. And I seriously doubt Florida is the lowest paying state.

ratchit

294 Posts

Originally posted by KELLYGIRL

CAN ANYONE POST SOME LINKS, NAMES & #'S OF AGENCIES, ETC. IF YOU DON'T MIND??? I AM INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT TRAVEL NURSING......I LIVE IN THE SOUTH EAST REGION OF THE U.S. ...... I HAVE HEARD ATLANTA HAS SOME GOOD MONEY....BUT CAN'T FIND OUT ANY MORE INFO.....THANX, KELLYGIRL ;)

I would suggest going to http://www.delphiforums.com/travelnurses It's an active site with thousands of travellers. Tons of conflicting opinions there.

You can also look in the back of nursing journals like RN, AJN, Spectrum, and Advance- they have ads. Or do an online search. Lots of different companies out there that offer different things. Most travellers suggest talking to and signing up with several companies before taking a job with any one.

Georgia is actually not a great place for travellers. It's getting better, but Atlanta has fewer contracts and lower salaries than a lot of other places. I wanted to go there but the money just couldn't compare. The money is really in NY/NJ/New England and CA. But it all depends... sometimes a nice salary will pop up.

cargal

411 Posts

Originally posted by Charles S. Smith, RN, MS

Consider this...form your own professional practice group, provide your own benefits, operate a business and command the rate of pay you need to cover your benefits and make a better wage....ummm start your own business. Many others have and are somehow making a great living off the overhead they charge for YOUR work...this means hospitals, nursing homes, agencies....cut out the middle layer and increase your financial worth and enjoy nursing again...email me for an introduction to indendent practice/entrepreneurship.

regards

chas [/quote

This needs to be brought back up again.

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