Negotiating Pay?

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Hi there,

I'm an ER nurse-turned-nurse-educator, and am gearing up for my talk with my students about the nuts and bolts of taking a professional nursing position.

My question for nurse managers out there:

Can a new grad use his/her externship experience to negotiate a slightly higher starting wage? Surely this depends on multiple factors, including one's geographic area.

Thanks for any feedback, folks!

If they have any other healthcare experience I would say go for it. When I was a "new grad RN" I had over 10 years of experience as an LPN. I negotiated my pay. Had I not I would have been making 4.50 less an hour. I think having real work experience is the difference though. Externships are a nice way to get your foot in the door somewhere, not something I would consider "working" experience. I wouldn't be insulted or mad if someone tried to use it as a negotiating term, I would just inform them of the difference between work and externships.

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