Nurse Family Partnership Home visitor RN

SiwanRN · May 15, 2016

It will depend entirely on how the salary/hourly pay is for public health nurses in your local area and what benefits are offered. I live in Colorado, but if it helps you to have a comparison, here goes: NFP nurses are on the same pay scale as other public health nurses in my health department. Starting pay is ~$53k/year, maybe more for someone who has additional experience to bring to the table like yourself. Nurses who have been here longer make more. Our benefits package is pretty good with decent health insurance (I've never had any problems with it anyway) and a full employer match on retirement contributions (6-8% of your salary). That said, in the health department across town for the other county, pay is lower, insurance is better, the retirement package I think has an employer match up to 5%, and you get more vacation time. Either way, good luck on your interview, and let us know if you get the position!

phn529 · May 18, 2016

I am making the switch to NFP as well! I am making the transfer from a regular PHN position to NFP, and in my health department this is considered a lateral transfer, but my salary will now be grant funded instead of taxpayer funded. My salary and other details of my employment aren't changing at all. I am telling myself that it is kind of a raise though, because the amount of money invested in each NFP nurse for continuing education is so substantial. You get to go to Denver for a week of training in the beginning, and then there is a ton of continuing education after that as well. I was also told that the program helps nurses with getting additional training and certifications (such as IBCLC, for example), which is something my current position doesn't support at all. In my current PHN position I have been told that if it doesn't make the health department money, it's not going to happen. NFP on the other hand values having highly trained nurses, as the primary focus is the data and results that come out of the program. Anyone who knows the program better please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. This is just what I've been told about the program.

Would you be working for NFP through a health department or a non-government agency? Everywhere is different, but in my health department there is little to no room for negotiation with salaries. Since it is a government job everything is on a pay matrix based on experience, certifications, and education, and HR doesn't have the power to make special exceptions. If you are working for a private agency you might have more wiggle room there.

If you've heard that the benefits are really good then I'm just going to assume it's government. Again, it's different everywhere, but to give you an idea, although pay is so low I want to cry sometimes (45-65k/year, and I'm at the lowest end) my benefits are pretty amazing. I pay no premium for my health insurance (we get healthy lifestyle discounts that bring the premium down to $0 for not smoking, getting a free biometric screening every year, etc. Without the discounts it's $35/pay period), and it's an amazing policy that would cost over $1000/month in the marketplace. It's a high deductible plan with HSA but my employer puts the $2000 deductible in my HSA for me each year, so I don't ever have to worry about being hit with a huge bill and not being able to pay it. Dental costs me $1/pay period. My employer also matches my retirement contribution (11.5 percent of my pay). The retirement plan is one of the very-rare-these-days state pension plans. There are also a lot of employee discounts at stores, restaurants, museums, movie theaters, etc. Unused sick time rolls over into vacation time at the end of the year which is awesome. Hopefully this gives you some idea of what gov benefits are like!

Good luck in your interview and let us know if you get the job!

SiwanRN · May 18, 2016

Your employer matches 11.5%??? Holy smokes, that's amazing. 8% is the max here, although there is also a voluntary additional retirement savings thing (either a 457 or Roth IRA) that employees can choose to participate in if you want to. Congratulations on making the switch to NFP! I've thought about making the same lateral transfer myself, but don't want to learn a whole new job while I am still in grad school. Maybe in a few years :)

phn529 · May 18, 2016

Yeah it's kind of crazy. On the one hand it's great that they match that much, but the annoying part is that they make us all take out 11.5%. You can't choose to do less, so on top of an already low salary it's kind of tough saying goodbye to an additional 11.5%. It's a blessing and a curse when you're trying to pay off student loans!

cdgoldilocks · Jun 8, 2016

I worked for the Nurse Family Partnership program for 14 years. I helped introduce the program to our County, and it was "my baby". I liked the client centered "heart's desire" approach to Public Health, I loved that they had a curriculum and lots of handouts, parenting tool kits "PIPE", among other useful handouts. I often supplemented NFP's stuff when I had to, but it was GREAT.

I LOVED the program.

I HATED the paperwork, data forms, then NFP added DANCE assessments which was ok, but our area already did NCAST assessments that are court recognized.

You get to follow mothers give birth for the first time from pregnancy until their babies turn 2. The relationships built are fabulous!! After 14 years, I really enjoy watching the families grow up. One of my moms is currently going to GRAD School!!!!

Try not to get hung up on all the NFP paperwork and just focus on the families and you will LOVE the job.

Mia415 · Aug 14, 2016

Any update? Did you apply? I am working for a similar nurse home visiting program, just not NFP. Happy to answer questions if you are still interested!

~Shrek~ · Aug 21, 2016

I would love to have this position one day