It all comes down to money....

ewattsjt · Aug 18, 2007

I have to vent a little... I make a decent wage but they are bringing in new grads, no experience for about 3 bucks less than I make now after being in the OR 8 years. I don't think that is really fair. I have to do the more difficult heavy duty cases and cover their butts when they make almost as much as I do. Management does some kind of research to see where all the nurses' wages stand. Sometimes we will get a little raise but most of the time not.
Another vent... all the actors and actresses and sports people making insane money and we make crap. WE SAVE LIVES! These people throw balls or dance around.
There it is off my chest and I can move on.

It does all come down to money........but if they make $3 per hr less and it doesn't seem quite fair. Here is a different way of looking at it.

Management probably isn't looking at how much per hr you make but how much per year then it is divided down to a $ amount. For you 8 years experience you are making $6,240 per year more without overtime, shift diff, or bonuses figured in. They probably figure that it isn't bad.

On ours side, it is extremely frustrating when you have to "remind" them of simple common things and they make almost as much as you.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Aug 18, 2007

This is why people shouldn't stay in one place too long-unless you have a union that can negotiate good raises. It will always be like that, I've talked to nurses with 20 plus years of experience that are PO'd because new grads start at a decent wage instead of making 7.00 an hour like they did. You are in demand now and your 8 years of experience would get you a good job where I am. I don't think new grads should start at a crappy wage just because they are new and hey, we all started out green and making silly mistakes. None of us were born knowing this stuff. Just my 2 cents.

shodobe · Aug 19, 2007

All wages should be adjusted to experience and not necessarily need and demand. I have always stated that nurses with 30+ years of experience should always make no less than $50 per hour and up. Every part of the country is different in wages and of course California leads in high wages so in my opinion with my 30+ years I should make at least $100 per hour. I think I'm worth it!

TallBlondie · Aug 20, 2007

As a somewhat-new nurse I would just like to say that I appreciate what experienced nurse have done for the profession. Not only have they turned nursing into more than just a 'job', they have molded it into an art. It is because of nurses with many a year behind them, doing their job well and turning nursing into the profession that it is that we younger, less-experienced nurses are able to command better pay than those nurses did 'back in the day'. I just want to say that I appreciate this.

It is also because there is a nursing shortage that we are able to make more nowadays. I know that it can be frustrating though when you see nurses making about the same as you do but as more nurses come into the market I think that you will probably see less of this.

On the other end of this argument are two other things that I would like to point out. What is the salary for many different professions? While there is no pricetag big enough for the job we carry out there is a minimum for which we feel we are owed. And while older, experienced nurses can bring this to the field, we newer nurses also bring the most advanced training. We have more experience with computers and were trained using the latest information available which also counts for something. We have to realize that we are all nurses and we have to stick together and not fuel into the "nurses eat their young" and "younger nurses have no respect" fight that we all know all too well. It is this kind of topic that does help to feed this behavior.

kcorny · Dec 6, 2008

I realize that and I was just griping. You may do the same in a few years. As far as the latest technology aspect. In the OR technology moves so fast in the OR that we are constantly learning new techniques, equipment, etc.

I wasn't meaning to bust on anyone just griping. I guess I am also mad at myself for being too "comfortable" in the establishment that I work. Its hard to leave a place that has pretty much raised you.

kcorny · Dec 6, 2008

LOL. Almost as soon as I posted my thread I received a job offer that came with a $5 raise. I was just venting.

shodobe · Dec 6, 2008

LOL. Almost as soon as I posted my thread I received a job offer that came with a $5 raise. I was just venting.

Feel better now!:wink2: I still make almost $26 per hour more than a new grad, but I do feel for you.

linda2097 · Dec 7, 2008

Pro athletes deserve their pay because they are the best in the world. We all have the opportunity to become a pro athlete, but most of us will not.

Scrubby · Dec 7, 2008

I get annoyed when I have to work with nurses who make more than me, yet are incompetent. We have a nurse who has been doing theatre for 30 years, makes about 13$ an hour more than me.

Fun2, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2008

I completely understand, and believe you should be making way more than me...a new grad.

However, in my favor, I can say a new grad's education cost more than yours did 8+ years ago. We deserve, in that sense, to be starting out a little higher.

In your defense, and in mine for years to come, I have always heard that you have to 'leave and come back' in order to make the money your worth in most hospitals.