Compensation for BSN?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Operating Room.

Hello All,

Would anyone ask their direct supervisor about additional compensation after just completing a BSN degree? I contacted HR about this at my hospital and they said that if there is additional compensation for the completion of the degree then it will be through when my position changes from an RN to a RN, BSN in the HR system and then it will be brought to my supervisor's attention and if compensation is provided that my supervisor will be the one to reach out to me about it. I would like to also say that my position has changed (received an e-mail about it) and there was still nothing brought to my attention from my supervisor about compensation.

I already received a raise in March of this year that was hospital wide for all allied health staff so I am wondering if I am in the wrong for possibly asking about this. I do not want to look unprofessional to my supervisor but it is in fact something I am curious about. What is the best way to go about this - follow the advice of HR or inquire with my immediate supervisor? Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

My hospital does not differentiate between degrees for RNs beyond the fact that as of 1/1/18, you must have a BSN to be hired and as of 12/31/19, those already employed who do not have one will no longer be employed on 1/1/20. Are you sure that your facility offers any kind of a differential?

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Hi Rose,

I was told that compensation for BSN nurses would be a little bit more when I was first hired but that they would also accept ADN nurses as long as they were enrolled in a BSN bridge program, which at the time I was. I just was unsure if I should be probing around and asking for it, since it wasn't offered to me after I completed the degree. I will contact HR on Monday and see if I can get a little more information about this since it still seems cloudy to me before I talk with my supervisor.

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

My hospital's policy is the same as Rose_Queen's with the benchmark dates. I believe it has something to do with Magnet status? I don't mind it, I'm only 5 (almost 3) classes away from my BSN and will finish the program in October.

I would remind your manager that you obtained your BSN but not mention the pay increase. At my last job, if you were given a raise and were awarded another merit increase within 365 days, such as taking on extra duties, you would not qualify for both increases so I'd check to see if your company has a similar policy. However, we were not awarded increases for obtaining our BSN so I was never in that situation.

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I would ask, and can't imagine how that would be perceived as unprofessional. I would start by asking my immediate supervisor if I could have a moment of her time, then go from there.

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My hospital does give extra for a BSN, but it's not much.

I was told I'd get an extra 70 cents/hr when my bachelors is finished in August.

I went through HR for that and had it written into my contract just to cover myself. 70 cents more is better than 0 cents more :)

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My hospital pays the same no matter what the degree is.

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I see no reason why you should not ask your supervisor about this, especially since it was a discussed issue when you were hired. If you don't speak up it is likely to be left along the wayside as it gets closer to the time of implementing the new rules.

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It never hurts to ask your manager especially since, from what you say, HR is saying it up to his or her discretion. The worst they will say is no. It doesn't make you look bad to inquire about any raise you might be eligible for.

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Specializes in ICU.

One place I almost worked offered a $0.75/hr differential for a BSN. These unicorns do still exist.

From what I understood from people I knew who worked there, it did not change their base pay - it literally just added a new line on the paycheck in the same way that night/weekend/holiday differentials were accounted for. Something like BSN - $0.75 - 72 hours - $54. If it's accounted for this way, it also doesn't count as a "raise" because your base pay doesn't change, so you could still be eligible even if you already got a pay raise this year.

It's definitely worth asking about.

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