Opinions on this job offer?

Specialties Home Health

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I was offered a HH position today. Here are the basics:

Work Sat and Sun (24 hrs). Pay for 32hrs.

No call

Full benefits (pretty much the same as what everyone offers...BC/BS, 401K, disability insurance, 8hrs. PTO time/mo., etc)

Salary: 41K

It looks like I'll be doing minimal driving. Cases are confined to a fairly small area, so I don't think I'll be a road warrior.

The person I interviewed with was very nice, and we hit it off very well. Towards the end of the interview, our conversation became less formal and we talked more nurse-to-nurse than employer-employee. She seemed quite genuine and I think she shot pretty straight with me. I think she anticipated my disappointment with the salary...emphasizing the benefits, etc. She played with some numbers and revised her offer to 41K.

She told me that Saturdays would be busy, with Sundays being light...my focus on Sundays would be the charting for Saturday's work. Charting is all done with PDA's. They are switching to laptops.

There are things I like and dislike about this one. I have no problem working weekends, and actually prefer it. My plan was to do this weekend gig, and pick up a shift or two during the week at other places working via agency or PRN. I wonder if I'm being unrealistic in thinking that this position should be paying more. I know that Baylor-type positions aren't what they used to be in terms of pay, but this offer is far below the average for what I'd make if I were doing a standard 40-hr. week HH job. The position was advertised as a Baylor Plan.

I hope some you experienced HH nurses will chime in with your thoughts. Thanks!

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It depends on how deep your negative feelings about the pay are. If you feel very, very badly about the amount of pay offered, then you probably shouldn't take the job. Your discontent will most likely continue and could get worse with time. But to me, this sounds like a good situation if you plan to do hh full time. You have 32 hours guaranteed each week. You can work as many or as few shifts during the rest of the week as you choose. It sounds to me like the best of both worlds.

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I agree with the above poster. Also, it depends on the cost of living where you are. In my neck of the woods, some RNs working 40 hrs a week don't make $40K, plus, many of the employers around here do not offer health ins or any other bennies.

$41K/year, and 5 days off a week sounds pretty great to me.

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It depends on how deep your negative feelings about the pay are. If you feel very, very badly about the amount of pay offered, then you probably shouldn't take the job. Your discontent will most likely continue and could get worse with time. But to me, this sounds like a good situation if you plan to do hh full time. You have 32 hours guaranteed each week. You can work as many or as few shifts during the rest of the week as you choose. It sounds to me like the best of both worlds.

Thanks. I agree with your thoughts re: pay. The hourly rate works out to $24.63/hr. That's low, considering the average here is in the $27/hr. range for a 40-hr week job. The flexibility is a strong positive for me, but as you said, I have to decide if that's worth it. Perhaps I can negotiate up. We will be talking again next week. I'm wondering if this salary is what I should be expecting, or if the company is aiming low with me.

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Don't forget that home health salaries tend to typically be lower than other salaries. The higher rates are offered for RNs doing visits or acting as case mgrs/supervisors, otherwise RNs usually get $25/hr and up for shift work. You would be able to consider that they are trying to take advantage of you if they would only be offering, say, $15 or $16 an hour. Some agencies will try this if they think the job applicant is not on the ball. You don't want to turn down a good situation based upon unrealistic expectations. Most people are happy in hh despite the lower pay because of the other benefits of the job. Not much beats having just one patient, even if you have 5 or 6 of them in a day. Hope this works out for you.

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Don't forget that home health salaries tend to typically be lower than other salaries. The higher rates are offered for RNs doing visits or acting as case mgrs/supervisors, otherwise RNs usually get $25/hr and up for shift work. You would be able to consider that they are trying to take advantage of you if they would only be offering, say, $15 or $16 an hour. Some agencies will try this if they think the job applicant is not on the ball. You don't want to turn down a good situation based upon unrealistic expectations. Most people are happy in hh despite the lower pay because of the other benefits of the job. Not much beats having just one patient, even if you have 5 or 6 of them in a day. Hope this works out for you.

I know a RN with 2 yrs. experience who was just hired for a 40hr/week position. Salary 55K. That's about $26.50/hr. That's average for my area, and the interviewer agreed. I have 14 yrs. experience, and the offer is $2.00/hr less, or about $3000/yr. Seems reasonable that I should be paid at least equally to the average, especially since I'm willing to fill a niche (weekends) that they would likely have a problem filling. But that's just me :wink2:

Oh well, I'll mull it over this weekend...see what kind of leverage I might have to negotiate and see what next week brings.

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It sounds really good to me! I did a similar job for 5 years while my son was little. I worked two days a week and carried the beeper, but not at night. I did not have full-time benefits though. I got two weekends off per year, no sickdays. It worked out great for me. Grueling weekends, but 5 days off with my son. I was very happy. I would love to do something like this again, but most weekend jobs around here involve 24 hour call and working Friday or Monday.

Just realize up front that it is lonely on the weekend- you can't get doctors easily, you can't get help, and the worst, sickest patients are on the weekends. But, I did it withut a hitch and I learned to do things that the weekday nurses never learned. I had a lot of skills to offer when I left that job. I would do it if it works for your life situation.

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Thanks everyone for your comments. I've accepted the position, after speaking with the RN who held the position for several years before having to leave for weekday work. She loved the job, noting that support on weekends was excellent, and that the company was great to work for. Many employees have been on board for 25 yrs. or more, so there isn't much turnover. I was impressed with her comments, and although the $$ isn't what I was shooting for, I'll have opportunities to supplement this salary during the week, so we'll see how things go. I see a lot of upside to this job, and I'm looking forward to learning the ropes and getting out of the inpatient setting.

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:yeah:

Hope you love it!

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:hpygrp: Yaaay! Another soon to be happy nurse! Hope you like hh as much as most of the rest of us!:p:lol2:

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Specializes in Gyn Onc, OB, L&D, HH/Hospice/Palliative.

I do weekend baylor 10 hr sat/sundays, benies are rated as full time and thus cheaper (baylor benefit) salary is 36/hr non-negotiable , less than I make in the hospital but the weekend gig works for me, and I also pick up shifts per diem still in the hospital. I must say, for me it is the best of both worlds, I need the benies and a set schedule and don't get burned out in either place. LOVE IT

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I am new in HH, and I was offered $33.5/hr 40 hours a week (Mon-Fri) 8-5pm. 1 weekend per month, + $5/hr on weekend. $0.56/mile and no calls.

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