Negotiation...is it a thing?

[DNS.RN78]

My husband is retiring from the military next year and we will be relocating from the Oregon coast to Jacksonville, FL (where 95% of my family resides) next summer.

My current hospital, along with most in my area, are unionized. NOT including the PIB I receive (pay in lieu of benefits - 20% on top of base pay), I earn approximately $10/hr more than the starting salaries I've been quoted at the few non-union FL hospitals I've spoken with in the area where we'll be moving.

Are salaries generally negotiable in a non-union environment? Do hospitals regularly provide PIB? Is it a reasonable request, if PIB is not part of their routine? As we will still have military (or retiree) benefits at a great rate, I don't intend to take advantage of benefits provided by my new employer (PTO included) and this is a financial benefit to my future employer.

At the time of our move, and even though I'm "old" (38) for a new nurse, I'll have two years' experience in LDRP with a BSN from Oregon Health & Science University and have earned a membership with Sigma Theta Tau (The International Honor Society of Nursing). While I'm not naive enough to think that these mean anything to anyone outside the nursing education world, do they mean ANYTHING to anyone else? Aside from achieving exemplary grades, I'm truly passionate about what I do; I love my job, and am committed to learning as much as I can about my chosen field, regardless of my physical location.

What can I do to improve my chances of a) choosing a desirable facility, b) landing an LDRP job at such a facility, c) negotiating a salary that is at least somewhat comparable to what I make now, and d) having more negotiation leverage in general (leadership, participating in unit-based practice councils, extraneous education, courses, certifications, etc.)? I hold certs in BLS (of course), PALS, and NRP, and will have Basic EFM and AFM before my relocation.

Clearly, the matter of most import at this point is my hourly rate at a new position, since I'll be the main breadwinner for my family. I'd like to note, however, that my long-term goal is to attend Frontier Nursing University and become a Certified Nurse Midwife, working at, or starting my own, birth center. This long-term goal is anecdotal at best, although my previous personal history and bone-deep passion for this field means the world to ME.

Any advice or suggestions?

[Atl-Murse]

You can negotiate but you will not be getting close to your old pay. Florida hospitals pays low hence extra pay in warm weather and beautiful beaches. Why would they pay you any more than thousands of other nurses with eons of experience willing to take the warm weather pay ?

[quazar]

It depends on how flexible you are and how long you can wait. I once turned down a job because they didn't offer me enough, and said so. They called back a month later with a higher offer. *shrug* I had the luxury of being able to wait and not *needing* that job, though, so there's the rub.

[Stacilator]

I work in the northwest region of the panhandle, so I'm not hugely familiar with Jacksonville area hospitals. However, I know that HCA hospitals (which I believe Memorial is)have a cap on nursing $ per hour, at 32.00. I recently requested PIB in a nonprofit, and was refused, their reason being that ACA made that "impossible to do" (*their words, not mine) and you get no compensation at all for declined benefits. You might consider finding out their staffing needs, and considering a PRN position, that allows you to pick up FT hours. That is what I'm currently doing, and I end up with the base +20%, with no option for benefits, which works for me, and get all the overtime I can handle.