Nursing Salary Hall of Shame

Trauma Columnist · Mar 20, 2004

I work in central Illinois at a large teaching hospital and our start rate for new grads is $16.50/hour with $1 shift diff for evenings and $2/hour for nights. I'm an RN with 12 years experience and I make approx $55K/year.

eagleriver · Mar 20, 2004

OMG!!!!!! C'mon up to Detroit area and make 21.00 as a 1st year RN. I make 25.25, 5yr RN pay scale. We top out at 28.00. This is at the largest hospital group in S>E. Michigan, we have like 8-10 hospitals to choose from!

I grew up in and around Detroit. Tell me something, if you become snowbound at your facility, or others can't come in to relieve you, do you get paid for as long as you're there?

eagleriver · Mar 20, 2004

OMG!!!!!! C'mon up to Detroit area and make 21.00 as a 1st year RN. I make 25.25, 5yr RN pay scale. We top out at 28.00. This is at the largest hospital group in S>E. Michigan, we have like 8-10 hospitals to choose from!

I grew up in and around Detroit. Tell me something, if you become snowbound at your facility, or others can't come in to relieve you, do you get paid for as long as you're there?

redwinggirlie · Mar 20, 2004

Ok, not a salary response, but what I've had trouble with since becoming an RN. Still a new grad, but nevertheless.... do nurses all over really cower at the docs and have to put up with their crap all over? Is it not our license? I work nights and see what the nurses I work with do and have done. And then, I see what the day nurses have to put up with. Two questions: As long as I'm in the right, do I have to kiss aXX? And if I do, and my fellow nurses do as well, are we getting paid for it? I make the minimum, have no idea what they make. But this doctor issue really gets under my skin.

redwinggirlie · Mar 20, 2004

Ok, not a salary response, but what I've had trouble with since becoming an RN. Still a new grad, but nevertheless.... do nurses all over really cower at the docs and have to put up with their crap all over? Is it not our license? I work nights and see what the nurses I work with do and have done. And then, I see what the day nurses have to put up with. Two questions: As long as I'm in the right, do I have to kiss aXX? And if I do, and my fellow nurses do as well, are we getting paid for it? I make the minimum, have no idea what they make. But this doctor issue really gets under my skin.

mandykal, ADN, RN · Mar 20, 2004

I can't believe with all the knowledge and education people put in......Companies simply don't give a cr@p...

mandykal, ADN, RN · Mar 20, 2004

I can't believe with all the knowledge and education people put in......Companies simply don't give a cr@p...

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2004

I grew up in and around Detroit. Tell me something, if you become snowbound at your facility, or others can't come in to relieve you, do you get paid for as long as you're there?

I don't know but if your facility gets hit by a hurricane, or a tornado and others can't come in to relieve you, do YOU get paid for as long as you are there? What happens when you get stuck in a sinkhole at the local mall?

As a former Floridian, whose family helped found two counties in the state, I am embarassed to see what the beauty of Florida has come to in the last 20 to 30 years. And they should be embarassed by what they pay nurses. And, no, the lack of state income tax and slightly lower standard of living does not make up for it. The lack of state income tax translates into lousy infrastructure. The standard of living is not that much lower. And the BON is a bureaucratic sinkhole to deal with.

I take an ocasional assignment there, to spend time with my mother. She would leave in a heartbeat, if her brothers and sisters were not there. I can't wait for the day that I can ditch that overpriced PIA license.

You can keep the sunshine - it just leads to cancer.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2004

I grew up in and around Detroit. Tell me something, if you become snowbound at your facility, or others can't come in to relieve you, do you get paid for as long as you're there?

I don't know but if your facility gets hit by a hurricane, or a tornado and others can't come in to relieve you, do YOU get paid for as long as you are there? What happens when you get stuck in a sinkhole at the local mall?

As a former Floridian, whose family helped found two counties in the state, I am embarassed to see what the beauty of Florida has come to in the last 20 to 30 years. And they should be embarassed by what they pay nurses. And, no, the lack of state income tax and slightly lower standard of living does not make up for it. The lack of state income tax translates into lousy infrastructure. The standard of living is not that much lower. And the BON is a bureaucratic sinkhole to deal with.

I take an ocasional assignment there, to spend time with my mother. She would leave in a heartbeat, if her brothers and sisters were not there. I can't wait for the day that I can ditch that overpriced PIA license.

You can keep the sunshine - it just leads to cancer.

eagleriver · Mar 20, 2004

Ok, not a salary response, but what I've had trouble with since becoming an RN. Still a new grad, but nevertheless.... do nurses all over really cower at the docs and have to put up with their crap all over? Is it not our license? I work nights and see what the nurses I work with do and have done. And then, I see what the day nurses have to put up with. Two questions: As long as I'm in the right, do I have to kiss aXX? And if I do, and my fellow nurses do as well, are we getting paid for it? I make the minimum, have no idea what they make. But this doctor issue really gets under my skin.

If you are the only one willing to require decent treatment from the doctors, you may not succeed in changing things. Also, to what extent will your supervisors support you?

There is no status disparity among any category of worker that justifies "ass kissing." Anyone who is expecting that kind of treatment is exposing their immaturity and insecurity. Therefore, don't take it personally.

Consider also that doctors, like all of us can become cranky and stressed. They may not realize how much of an ass they are being, especially if nobody "calls them" on it.

eagleriver · Mar 20, 2004

Ok, not a salary response, but what I've had trouble with since becoming an RN. Still a new grad, but nevertheless.... do nurses all over really cower at the docs and have to put up with their crap all over? Is it not our license? I work nights and see what the nurses I work with do and have done. And then, I see what the day nurses have to put up with. Two questions: As long as I'm in the right, do I have to kiss aXX? And if I do, and my fellow nurses do as well, are we getting paid for it? I make the minimum, have no idea what they make. But this doctor issue really gets under my skin.

If you are the only one willing to require decent treatment from the doctors, you may not succeed in changing things. Also, to what extent will your supervisors support you?

There is no status disparity among any category of worker that justifies "ass kissing." Anyone who is expecting that kind of treatment is exposing their immaturity and insecurity. Therefore, don't take it personally.

Consider also that doctors, like all of us can become cranky and stressed. They may not realize how much of an ass they are being, especially if nobody "calls them" on it.

eagleriver · Mar 20, 2004

What some people don't factor in is that you might make the big bucks, but how much is the cost of living?

The American Chambers of Commerce Researcher's Association has most of Florida in the 96-98% range of the national cost of living index. Tallahassee is .1% higher than the national average. Major cities like Miami and West Palm are at about 104.5% of the national average.

Another "calculator" indicates that if you make $100,000 in Decatur Georgia, you'd need to make $132,185 in Jacksonville to maintain the same standard of living. By the way, Jacksonville's cost of living is 5% lower than in Tallahassee!

In Florida we have the SMALL bucks and the BIG cost of living!