Offensive Raise Structure

2 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

This is exactly why I left my employer of my entire career. I found out that even though I was 2 pay levels above a staff RN in my role, I was only being paid about $4 more than a brand new grad. I left, and went to a new employer with a nearly 25% raise, better benefits, and a better environment.

Sadly, it appears loyalty to an employer is no longer worth anything. So I chose to be loyal to myself.

How long had you been a nurse?

I only make about 4 bucks more than a new grad despite having seven years of experience. It really pisses me off and is one of the reasons I am leaving bedside completely. 

I currently make $4 less than double my first nursing job rate. I'm not going to complain...

2 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

17 years with that same employer

Ouch.

That would have peeved me off too.

It just seems so bizarre, especially compared to a union/contract system where raises are clear, equitable, and based on years of service.

To clarify, I'd actually fall into the newer-middle category that would receive one of the higher raises, and I still think it's a crap thing to do. Any raise is much appreciated (and well-deserved), but doing it in this way seems like they're telling a whole subset of nurses 'we don't value you.' Even for the experienced nurses who chose to stay, I'm sure that they're going to be pretty resentful toward the administration, and they sure won't have any incentive to go above and beyond for the unit. ??‍♀️

I can't tell if they're doing this to try to force out the more expensive experienced nurses, or if they're just so out of touch that they didn't realize screwed up it was, but I think they really shot themselves in the foot.

10 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

17 years with that same employer

time to go to a new employer! 

8 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:

I can't tell if they're doing this to try to force out the more expensive experienced nurses, or if they're just so out of touch

Likely both. Google your CEO's salary, your hospital has more than enough money to pay nurses what they are worth. They just probably don't value them. This is not a unique problem to your hospital, it is literally the root of the problem that the nursing profession is in and why we are losing so many qualified bedside nurses.

I worked for a well known hospital and they determined it was better financially to keep hiring new grads than to pay people who stayed longer. And people wonder why us millenials keep job hopping.

Wow that is crappy.  When we get a market adjustment raise all the RNs get the same raise regardless of experience.  Usually it's not much, maybe $1 or $2 an hour.  

We got bought out by a great not-for-profit company about a year and a half ago that gave across the board raises.  Then after a few months of analyzing staff salaries and the market gave adjustments to experienced nurses in an effort to retain us in a tight market during covid.  I didn't get much but they raised me to their max and I won't get a raise until they adjust the max upward (but got a cash bonus instead).  Some experienced nurses with 10 or more years at the facility got significant raises.  

I'm at a point where I won't job hop for more money but I see younger nurses do it all the time.   Hospitals have to keep salaries up to keep the younger nurses from job hopping and to retain experienced nurses.  In some ways it's a good time salary wise for nurses where I'm at.    On the other hand it sucks being short staffed all the time.

Where are you located? All of those salaries seem low for inpatient!?

A few years ago at a place that I had worked for 13 years, this happened to me.  I was training the new employees that not only was given a $5,000 sign on bonus, but was making 2 bucks an hour more than I was.  Not only was I training them, but once they got out of orientation, I had to clean up their slackingness, if that is a word...........If it isn't a word, I think I just made up my next favorite word.  Anyway, once I found out that the new hires got paid more than I did, I went to the DON.  She told me that the reason they were making more was because they had "an increase of cost of living expenses".  I told here that I too had an increase to my cost of living.  She wanted to argue with me.  I told her that I had not gotten a raise in 5 years, and that being loyal to a company should ensure you get a raise before they start paying new hires a "cost of living raise" and a sign on bonus.  I explained that every time they hire these new people that us oldtimers had to train them, which is not a piece of cake; then they usually quit anyway.  (They all quit as soon as they got their final installment of that bonus).  Anyway, I didn't get an increase for another 6 months, and it was just up to the amount that they were hiring the brand new nurses.  I had been a nurse since 1984, and was making the same as a nurse that graduated in 2015 or maybe 2016.  Being left out really sucks, especially when the amount of your groceries, utilities, gas, etc went up at the same time as everyone elses.