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Discussion

Nursing salary

Hi,

someone told me that nurses get paid differently...by this i mean that some may get paid more in one area of nursing than another...im not sure this is true because i always though all the nurses get paid the same regardless of what department your working in...and then of course the number of years you have been working do count...but not the department...

what do you guys have to say about this? is it true?

and i am not only worried about the money...but i think the average nursing salary is $60,000 right?

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    Nurses get paid the same weather you work ICU or a med/surg floor. Salaries can be different based on years of experience, we have clinical ladders which can increase your base pay. 60K is about right depending on what state you are in.

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    Nurses do get paid differently in the outpatient and chronic or long term spectrum of care. Do not expect to find the same compensation packages in SNFs and in acute care hospitals. CHC is paid by task in some areas...so many $ for a routine visit, more $ for a start of care, etc.

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    Yes, in my hospital the more specialized you have become, the more pay you get. The more experience, of course, the more pay., etc.,

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    As you are finding ... it varies from place to place. Employers are free to develop whatever system of compensation thay want. Somem employers pay nurses who work in some specialties more than others -- usually on the grounds that some employees are harder to replace than others.

    Also, nurses who work for different employers are paid on different pay scales (at least in the US). There is no set standard. Any figures you read are "averages" based on calculations of a range of specific figures for individual cases.

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    Even within region, it differs from each facility. A local hospital pays all unspecialized the nurses the same amount for the number of years they have worked there (regardless of years of previous experience). Another pays differently per 'department' depending on the responsibilities. The majority of LTC compete on a pure per-hour basis in an effort to capture LPNs and floaters that they need. It honestly depends on what state/region you live in, what area you work in, and if you have specialties - or any combination thereof.

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    CA bay area pays the highest.. $43/hour starting. I know some experienced nurses working in postpartum getting $43+5 dollar diffferential for night time= $48/ hour :eek: bay area salary is really nuts..... they can make up to 90k per year. no wonder new grads cant find a job

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    • Expert

    Pay rates are also regional. For example, the new grad RN in Oklahoma City can expect to be offered a starting pay rate of $18.50 hourly in most of the major hospital systems, while the same new grad RN can expect to earn more than $40 per hour in the San Francisco Bay area of California.

    Generally, low cost-of-living cities offer lower pay rates, and high cost-of-living cities offer higher pay rates.

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    CA bay area pays the highest.. $43/hour starting. I know some experienced nurses working in postpartum getting $43+5 dollar diffferential for night time= $48/ hour :eek: bay area salary is really nuts..... they can make up to 90k per year. no wonder new grads cant find a job

    I work in the San Francisco Bay area so I can tell you what I know about the salary levels.

    For new grads, the starting range is $32/hr to $40/hr . . . I've never heard of $43/hr for a new grad, but I guess it's possible. I'm not adding in all the differentials and such because they vary a lot by hospital.

    Experienced RN's = that's a whole different story. I have no idea what the average would be, but RN II can easily make $50 - $60/hr (100K - 125K per yr).

    The salaries sound pretty high, and I guess they are . . . keep in mind that the cost of housing is very high, so the salary doesn't go far . .

    rent for 1 bedroom apt in SF area is $1500 - $2000 /month

    to buy a house: say 3 bedroom, 1500 sq ft in a decent area: $600K to 1 million! And banks are requiring 20% down, no more "creative" financing.

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