Catchy title, and true, except that was a PA who negotiated that wage to fill an empty ER provider shift. The docs and mid-levels who staff my ER work for a company that contracts with the hospital. They refuse to hire enough providers, then constantly hit up the docs, PACs and ARNPs for more shifts.
One of the docs I work with told me that he and his wife discuss what it'll cost the company for him to come in for a particular shift. These guys regularly negotiate for generous bonuses for coming in to fill a vacant spot.
Meanwhile, back in the world of nursing, the most we get is double time. If we are union, we just have a set scale. If the slot can't be filled, the company actually wins out.
They aren't mandated to pay the nurses bonuses for working short staffed and carrying a heavier patient load. They get to squeeze more work out of their nurses and blame it on a sick call or a nursing shortage.
These companies have a financial incentive to create nursing staff shortages the same way heavy industry saves money by dumping industrial wastes into our water and air. Meanwhile, our ever busy regulatory agencies, and the government, turns a blind eye.
