No Upward Mobility

[motor_mouth]

The hospital where I work has no clinical ladder. Everyone gets the same 1-2% raise every year, unless you're on some sort of "improvement program." Even though I've only been a nurse for a little over a year, I'm starting to think about where I'd like to be in the future, and this place doesn't have many opportunities.

Problem is, I really like my unit and my coworkers. Would you stay some place with no incentive to better yourself and no upward mobility opportunities, except management I suppose? I still plan on getting certifications in the future, but the initial cost as well as the cost of continuing education is a little off putting.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

Clinical ladders are usually only worth $1/hr or so, max, at least at the places I've worked at, and the number of research projects and total BS you have to do to earn your whole whopping dollar is usually ridiculous. Moving up the clinical ladder has not even remotely been worth it at any facility I have worked at.