OB office vs. hospital

[cherokeesummer]

I'm sure this is a no brainer but I'll ask anyway - is the pay really super different from hospital nurse to office nurse? I ask b/c a local office is advertising an RN position and its an office I really enjoyed (when I was preggo LOL) and I'm just wondering what kind of pay cut that would be. I imagine from all I "hear" it would be pretty bad. But who knows. I just hate to go and apply for something if its really bad.

Plus I kind of like having four days off in a week to spend with my son. That would not be the same if I were a five day a week person in an office setting.

But I figured I'd ask.

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

Its hard to say exactly how much less per hour it would be but another thing to also consider is the benefits. From what I've seen and heard, office benes aren't nearly as good as hospitals, I think because it gives hospitals a better edge in attracting nurses, whereas office environments aren't nearly as shorthanded therefore don't need to offer as much incentive to get people on-board (correct me if i'm wrong here). Anyway, I guess my point is to try and look at the whole package, not just the hourly wage, which I'm assuming is at least slightly lower. Good luck in whatever decision you make!

[KT-Jay731]

Another thing you may want to consider:

I'm not sure what shift you work at the hospital, but you'd most likely have all weekends and holidays off with the office position...

[ranna&nessas mom]

In my area of the midwest,the differences between office and hospital are significant in re: to salaries. Office nurses are lucky to get $11-13/hr,as opposed to $19/hr for hospital RNs. Additionally,offices here are are phasing out RN's and LPN's and hiring Medical Assts.,mostly as a way to save more money. MA's make $9-10/hr. I'm assuming that this move is happening here, b/c compared to other parts of the US, my state does not have the shortage problems other areas have.

[hikernurse]

Another thing...A lot of times nurses will have to stay at the office until the day is done. I know my OB nurse rarely left until after 1800--and if the doc was out of town, her days were even longer.