Job Market/wages/Ratios?

nurse2033, MSN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

As far as I know there are no mandatory ratios. That said, all the hospitals I've worked at (6 of them) all self regulated to a reasonable ratio. I think the most you will see would be 6 on days and 7 on nights (based on scuttlebutt). More common is 4-5 days, 5-6 nights. That's for hospital and obviously changes with higher acuity. The job market is tough but I got the job I wanted this year without any trouble. I believe starting pay is around $23 for new grad but varies by system. Wages are generally on the low side in Colorado and living expenses not really all that cheaper. But the quality of living is awesome...

DamailaRN · Sep 2, 2011

I work nights on a Med/Surg floor at a big hospital in Denver. Our unit is very fast-paced and can be higher-acuity so they have been trying to get the ratios down to more like 1 nurse to 4 patients on days and 1:4-5 on nights, though there have been times when a nurse needed to take 6 (thankfully very infrequent times). I would guess with your experience that you would start in the $24-25/hr range for regular full-time employment, but can't say for sure, and it would depend on the system, as nurse2033 said. I've heard HCA/HealthONE (for-profit) is among the higher-paying, though Centura (non-profit) has more hospitals overall around Colorado. There are some others - Kindred, Denver Health, VA, etc. - but I don't really know how those compare. Good luck!

RN2BKS · Sep 3, 2011

I work for HealthOne/HCA and we are one of the lowest paying hospitals in Colorado. Our new grad nurses start out between 21-23 an hour. Just to give you an idea, my last raise was 8 cents. :eek: That was really awesome.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

For Med Surg: I think Exempla is 4:1 or 5:1 on days, 5:1 or 6:1 night. Centura anywhere 4:1 to 6:1 days. VA is at least 5:1 days. Childrens 3:1 to 5:1. Dunno for Health1/HCA or University.

But my numbers could be wrong.

DamailaRN · Sep 7, 2011

I work for HealthOne/HCA and we are one of the lowest paying hospitals in Colorado. Our new grad nurses start out between 21-23 an hour. Just to give you an idea, my last raise was 8 cents. That was really awesome.

Maybe it depends on which area/hospital? My hospital is also HealthONE and I started at more than that as a new grad nurse, though I have CNA/Nurse Tech experience. I am also assuming by your screen name and raise amount that you aren't yet working as an RN. When we had our reviews we were told that due to the economy everyone was getting something like a 1% raise across the board, but thankfully that was still a lot more than 8 cents (I don't mean that as a dig, I just want to be fair and clarify whether that was 8 cents on a nurse's wage).

I haven't worked for any other hospital so can't speak from personal experience, but I have spoken to other nurses in other hospitals and was told that HealthONE pays better than Centura and that the UCH doesn't pay as well as other hospitals but has a great New Grad Residency Program. I've also heard that the southern Colorado hospitals (Colorado Springs and down) don't pay as well as the northern/Denver-area ones. I've heard in general that most hospitals start inexperienced new grads around $22/hr around here. But unless all the new grads want to come together and declare their system and starting wage it's all still hearsay

RN2BKS · Sep 8, 2011

Maybe it depends on which area/hospital? My hospital is also HealthONE and I started at more than that as a new grad nurse, though I have CNA/Nurse Tech experience. I am also assuming by your screen name and raise amount that you aren't yet working as an RN. When we had our reviews we were told that due to the economy everyone was getting something like a 1% raise across the board, but thankfully that was still a lot more than 8 cents (I don't mean that as a dig, I just want to be fair and clarify whether that was 8 cents on a nurse's wage).
I haven't worked for any other hospital so can't speak from personal experience, but I have spoken to other nurses in other hospitals and was told that HealthONE pays better than Centura and that the UCH doesn't pay as well as other hospitals but has a great New Grad Residency Program. I've also heard that the southern Colorado hospitals (Colorado Springs and down) don't pay as well as the northern/Denver-area ones. I've heard in general that most hospitals start inexperienced new grads around $22/hr around here. But unless all the new grads want to come together and declare their system and starting wage it's all still hearsay

I'm a CNA/Tele Tech and I work at Medical Center Of Aurora(going to school too)and I just hear many nurses complain about their salary. I just think that what they are paying me if very low compared to some of my friends that work at other hospitals. I have a friend that just got her CNA and she is (going to school for nursing as well) making 2.00 more than I am. It was a slap in the face when I got my last raise. I'm glad that you are getting paid well, can I ask what hospital you are at?

DamailaRN · Sep 11, 2011

I'm at P/SL in Denver.