Compensation is an extremely important aspect for the overwhelming majority of people who must work for a living, including the nurses who claim to do their jobs for purely altruistic reasons. Salary surveys can empower nurses because they unearth valuable information.
As we welcome the dawn of a propitious new year that is brimming with plenty of promise and new beginnings, I wanted to bring up a topic that is influential to most people. Of course, the topic at hand is compensation.
While job satisfaction, personal gratification, altruism, achievement of individual goals, a love of science or a fondness for helping patients heal are all deeper reasons why many people might enter and/or stay in the nursing profession in the face of an increasingly challenging era in healthcare provision, it would be disingenuous to deny the significance of pay.
Salary is an important component for the vast majority of people who must work for a living, including those who claim to do their jobs for purely altruistic reasons. As much as we may love the work that we do, most of us would not continue to show up to work each day if our employers suddenly declared, "You will no longer receive a pay check every two weeks. Instead, we will repay you with compassion, compliments, gratitude and appreciation for a job well done."
To be perfectly frank, compassion does not pay the rent, gratitude will not fill the fridge with food, and caring will not prevent the utilities from being disconnected for lack of timely payment. The truth is that we all need appropriate compensation for the vital services that we render, so I wonder about the occasional person who states, "I love nursing so much that I'd do it for free!" I challenge these people to resign from their paying jobs and volunteer their nursing services for free for the remainder of their working years. Only the well-off can pull it off for an extended time.
With that having been said, informal salary surveys can be worth their weight in gold. The salary survey is a tool that benefits nurses because it gleans valuable information:
It makes us more aware of the average rates of pay for others in our profession.
It enables us to be reasonable when pursuing a fair pay rate from a potential employer.
It takes other factors into account, such as geographic variances and differences in specialties.
It regards the fact that salaries can be a tricky topic - some employees would never even dream of disclosing their pay to colleagues, and many organizations have policies in place that prohibit open discussion of wages. In other words, salary can be a very touchy subject.
If you wish to participate in the informal salary survey for 2014, please list the information in the following order:
Geographic location
Pay rate
In which area / specialty do you work?
What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)?
What type of degree and/or certification do you have?
How many years of experience do you have?
Are you full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN status?
What shift do you work?
Do you receive any shift differential?
Are you a manager or supervisor?
And if you do not want to provide any salary information, that's perfectly fine, too. Thanks!
In which area / specialty do you work? Public Health
What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)? RN
What type of degree and/or certification do you have? The usual BLS. I have my BSN although I didn't when I started, I'm also a tobacco treatment specialist and certified lactation counselor.
How many years of experience do you have? 1 1/2
Are you full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN status? Full time
What shift do you work?Do you receive any shift differential? 8-5 Monday through Friday. I make about $600 extra the month I carry the on call phone, if I have to go in I get special pay but can't recall the amount
Just got a new job, but I think I am going to search for another before I actually start because of the pay...
Geographic location: N Florida
Pay rate: $20.51/hr (+$0.50 for BSN)
In which area / specialty do you work? ICU
What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)? RN
What type of degree and/or certification do you have? BSN
How many years of experience do you have? Slightly under 1 year
Are you full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN status? Full time
What shift do you work? Nights
Do you receive any shift differential? 15% nights
Are you a manager or supervisor? No
I realized pay was low in Florida, but I was hoping to get at least a dollar more than I made as a new grad in Georgia, especially since the cost of living in this city is a lot higher than the place I was living making $20/hr...
I was just offered my job yesterday, and they offered $22.50, and I asked for $23.00. They called me back and agreed to the $23/hour. Then everyone I told asked why I didn't ask for $24 or $25 initially!! I regret not asking for a little more, but now I know for next time! I think you should always ask for at least a little extra, the worse they can say is NO!!! It doesn't hurt though!!
Anyone in the Pensacola FL area? I'm a couple of months away from graduation and would like to know what the rates are locally for new grads. I'll be a RN
In which area / specialty do you work? Same Day Surgery in the Hospital
What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)? LVN - currently taking ASN/BSN pre-req's for RN
What type of degree and/or certification do you have? BLS & IV Certified. IV Cert is a must for any LVN/LPN
How many years of experience do you have? 3 yrs as an LVN but I have worked about 24 years in the medical field (as nurse & non nurse)
Are you full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN status? Full-time (Mon-Fri no weekends or holidays)
What shift do you work? 12:00pm to 8:30pm which leaves my mornings open for school
Do you receive any shift differential? Since I work till 8:30pm, I receive evening differential. About $60 a month & I have full benefits including 401k. Most of which is paid for by my employer.
Are you a manager or supervisor? Neither
I love the people I work with (ok, most of them) & I love the people I serve. I just wish my employer offered tuition reimbursement but I am grateful for my job. I received an opportunity to learn from some of the greatest nurses and they are what makes me a better nurse.
toomuchbaloney
16,046 Posts
Alaska
$94k/yr
salary FT
RN
ADN, BS, MS
35 yr experience
hospice/home care
day shift, no weekends, no holidays, no call
not a supervisor