Nurses pay

allnurses Guide · Jan 9, 2004

originally posted by speculating
touché steph! i don't know what to tell you. from the images on that picture it looks as if you may have some time to figure it out though. what worries me most is - are we sure that the same fellows working on social security aren't the same guys working on this. if that turns out to be the case you may have to open another one of those savings accounts and start throwing your loose change in there.

ha, that's funny. i have an almost 21 year old son in college now, a 19 year old son saving money for college and working in the woods, a 14 year old 8th grade daughter and then my 2 year old son. so, i'm figuring it out now. don't make alot of money and qualify for grants.

hey tweety!! don't be wishing more taxes on me. :kiss

steph

vanburbian · Jan 9, 2004

Originally posted by sierranic
I forgot to add this in the last post, but a hospital close to me offers the student nurse internship, which pays $10/hr and once you graduate you get $1/hr for every hour you worked as a student and your base pay as a GN goes to $11/hr...... Which I can't understand why they wouldn't pay you more than that.... It makes no sense... But I guess that's corporate America for ya!!

WOW!!!!! 11 bucks an hour? here in portland, oregon, when i was a new grad in 1989, my starting pay was $12.50/hour, currently, after 14 years, i would make $30.70/hour....this was an inpatient hospital, a bit less in nursing homes, maybe 20-25 max nowadays, and clinics, etc. will be in that lower range also.

of course, this a strong city for unions, and without representation, you wouldn't make that much. are the hospitals you looked at unionized at all?

this is downright tragic if you ask me.......max starting wages at $15/hour???? i realize the cost of living is probably lower, but still, thats crazy.

sheri

sierranic · Jan 9, 2004

Originally posted by Speculating
What part of Iowa seirranic? I'm an Iowa boy born and raised- Council Bluffs. The pay sounds about right for the area. I was just looking into moving back last week. I looked into a job in a busy ER in Omaha. It was I believe an assistant director ER eves. The pay was like $21.00 an hour. I laughed and decided I'm not moving back home. A lot of the pay issues have to do with what's going on around the cities. An area like I was discussing Council Bluffs/Omaha is no New York City. Thinking back when I lived there I bet there are at least 4 colleges teaching RN programs alone. That's why the pay in that area is so decreased in comparison to others. They have a factory line kicking out student nurses.

Cb is right, And for your last response to my "Why go to college", I was refering to the fact that you can walk into quite a few businesses around my metro area with no college education and start out making more then a RN would.... Yes maybe in the long run.... years later you would come out on top, but then again, maybe you wouldn't... It's a gamble.

That was just one hopital though, and I know there are many different locations where I could work and make more... I was just stating the fact that one of our major hospitals here doesn't pay nurses the wages they deserve.

CougRN · Jan 9, 2004

well i haven't found the pay to be bad at all. i made 50K+ this year and have only been out of school for 2 years. not bad considering i don't work a lot of extras. people i work with make 80K + with two extras a paycheck, they are the ones with 15+ years experience too. the work i do now isn't all that difficult and the stress is pretty low in my opinion. i work in a pacu. compared to the icu i used to work it is really low stress. there is money to be made in nursing. registry and paid in leu opens many opportunities for people. i know a lot of young people who buy their own insurance and work registry for 30-40$ and hour. so i'd say nursing is a great way to make money and there are plenty of opportunities for further education if you get your BSN.

stressednurse · Jan 9, 2004

I have 12 years experience, started out at $14/hr as a GN. I have worked most of the specialty areas including flight nursing. I took a break from critical care for 3 1/2 years as I had burned out. I supervised in a specialty care facility with 310 beds, multiple locked dementia units and at one time a sub-acute unit. I grossed $65 in 2003 with some overtime. I am orienting in an ICU at a hospital. I suppose I could have made a lot more in the Pittsburgh PA area if I had worked in a hospital and/or did some agency work. Right now I am a single parent with a young teen at home and two young adult children who need help sometimes. I am happy with my income, not always happy with my job though. I have moved around quite a bit, traveled as a nurse for a year and am always looking for a new challenge. Maybe that is what is so appealing about the medical field, there is always a new challenge, daily and hourly at times. I never stop learning, even in the long term care setting. Always something new...End stage MS, MD and ALS are challenging. Talking to these people as they try to decide when enough is enough. Helping them enjoy what they have left.

Good luck and welcome to nursing

Sheri257 · Jan 9, 2004

Originally posted by stevielynn
I worked part-time last year and made $33,000. If my husband's and my combined income is over $70,000, the government considers us rich and won't help us pay for our eldest son's college expenses of $24,600 per year. We won't qualify for Cal Grants or anything to do with FAFSA.

If we make over $70,000 we are taxed like rich people too. Thank goodness for George Bush . . . .:kiss

Now, let the debate begin.

steph

Wow. Do FAFSA and Cal Grants pay for most of the $24,600? I guess you figured the savings with the grants etc. versus more salary, taxes, etc.

My California community college sure looks like a bargain in comparision. My entire ADN expenses for not one but three years, including pre-req courses, all books, uniforms etc., will run about $5,000, maybe $6,000.

(And people complain about the recent fee increase ... with your numbers I guess they shouldn't.)

My husband and I don't have children, but I don't mind my tax dollars going toward education. As long as they make sure the kids finish the courses (and I believe FAFSA has checks for that) it's all good to me.

Katerina · Jan 9, 2004

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kc ccurn · Jan 9, 2004

Gheez Katrina, I want to work where you work. When I started as a new grad in the ICU I started at $12.50/hr a long time ago.

Katerina · Jan 9, 2004

I'm also in California. I think starting salary ($23-30/hr) in California today considering the cost of living would be the same as $12.50/hr in Colorado a long time ago. I'm not sure what cost of living is there before and now?

OCCHCanada · Jan 9, 2004

Hospital based nurses in our health region are unionized. Wages start at 21.54 for a first year RN and top off at 32.42 after 8 years.

This doesn't include shift differential, weekend premiums, charge pay which can easily add another 5-6$ to your hourly wage.

AND if you work over a holiday you also get 11/2 times your regular pay.

Meco · Jan 10, 2004

At Baptisit Memorial Hospital in memphis Nurse Interns make $15.16 per hour. New grads I think make $18.75 and if they have pt. bed side they get another dollar, so most new grads here start out around $20.00/hour. Considering the cost of living here that is not too bad considering some of the other numbers I've heard. Our weekenders-night make $40.00/per hour, that comes to about $50,000.00 /year for 96hours a month.

They also have differentials for shifts and weekend, plus they have great benefits, they will match every dollar you put in with 2 dollars. Of course you can only put so much in a year. I am currently a nurse intern their and I am looking at possibly joining the Air force when I am done in Dec. 2004.

TNnursejane, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2004

I have been a nurse for 20+ yrs. I'm in Tennessee making around 40,000-42,000/yr. I do not work as a clinical nurse though.

I love nursing but due to "kid" care, I needed a job with "bankers hours". But for 18 yrs I did the rotating shifts, long days without lunch or breaks (some days with limited bathroom breaks) Needed a foley catheter with a leg bag! I love nursing but if you're going into it for the money, DON'T!

If I had of known the crazy hours and the crazy days & nights, fighting for holidays off, etc..... I probably wouldn't have done it.

I am a critical care nurse to the bone! Love CCU!!! I have always been a crises junkie! But going home after a 13 hour day and staring at the TV and going to sleep on the couch, sore feet and legs, constantly tired, etc.... just wasn't my idea of living but I did it and loved it. I miss it but I love what I'm doing now because I can take all of the experience I have and use it to help patients just not in a hands on manner!