I started a few months ago at a much larger, well known hospital in NJ. I'm an ER tech. I took the job for a few reasons... They pay more then my previous job, they have tuition reimbursement... and I'm told having this establishment on my resume just looks good, and their goal is to hired their employees once they finish school.
This hospital is non union...
the past couple months I have learned just how different the pay is between people of the same title and even "lesser" titles.... I dont know a better way to put it...
I'm an ER tech, including the duties of a CNA, I draw blood, do EKG's, and hook up telemetry pt's. in this hospital the RN's are not allowed to do EKG's
So it's come to my attention that the new hire ER techs were being hired at 14.75/hr. The techs that have been here are make around 18/hr. Because I had experience they offered me 16.50/hr
The CNA's make the same I do as a tech....and security makes 17.50/hr
WOW... you people took my question way-out of context and made be out to be some type of *****... thanks... ESME
I used the would "lesser" for lack of a better one, I was tired when I wrote this and I guess wasn't thinking straight....
I NEVER ment one title is more important then the next! How DARE you question my team work and make be out to to be some self person who thinks I'm better then anybody based on one silly question??? who gives you the RIGHT to throw around accusations like that?
YES I KNOW EVERYONE is vital in the hospital and EVERYONE has there job to do that is just as important as the next.... I guess my question just tiredness and frustration form a current situation I have going on in my life.
THe security in this facility DO NOT carry guns, handcuffs, paper spray, anything. THey do not require any type of degree of certification. This facility is in a very suburban area. I came from a hospital in a very urban area.. you know the kind where 98% of the traumas coming in are gunshots. They made a fraction of what they do in this new facility.
And as far as the RN's not allowed to do EKG thing.... yes I know it is a stupid rule and I already said I do not understand...
but to whoever said "a monkey could do an EKG" thanks... next time you need one go find a monkey then!!!
Nobody took anything you said "way-out of context"
They simply responded to your post and the language you chose to use (which also carried a certain tone)
You admit you used "lesser" titles. People reacted to that.
Your tone implied that "RN's can't even do what I can do" so I should be worth more than x and y. People reacted to this.
Your post carried an overtone of judging people's worth and value evidenced by your noted concern with comparing salaries with other departments.
Whether or not you meant for your post to come off as such, doesn't change the fact that it does.
I have nothing more to add to this conversation.
While I agree using the term "lesser" wasn't the best choice of words... which I pointed out in my original post...I dont agree a carried judging tone..
as far as the RN's not allowed to do EKG's.... I NEVER stated in a way the implied "RN's can't even do what I can do.".....
"in this hospital the RN's are not allowed to do EKG's"... first post.. simple states fact no judgment.
Again..
"RN's are NOT ALLOWED to do EKG's in this facility....They said it was something about proper lead placement" In response to someone asking weather there were not allowed or just dont do them....
and again...
"I was surprised when they told me that as well. I was told the reasoning behind it was "the tech have specific training to perform ekg's and their placement" Idk if it has to do with placement. Pt positioning, or being able to identify artifact( muscle, placement, lead reversal)Or maybe it was one bad egg that ruined it for the rest"
I am not clear on your issue, OP. Why wouldn't the staff who've been at their job for years make more than a new hire? I am quite certain that the most experienced nurses I work with easily make twice my salary, as well they should, they've been at the hospital for over 20 years while I've been there for 4. What I have a problem with is the fact that I've been at my job for 4 years and, because of no market adjustments and minimal raises, I am currently making just marginally more than the new grads we've just hired. I feel no incentive to stay at my job in part because of this.
As others have said, security and ER tech are two completely different jobs. Why would you even think to compare the two?
As far as the EKG thing goes... I would tend to agree with Esme that it is more likely that the facility has decided that licensed personnel's time/skills are better used elsewhere in tasks that cannot be delegated than that RNs are not "allowed" to do EKGs. I am "allowed" to do everything I delegate to my CNA but there are some things my floor has decided that RNs, in general, don't do mainly because our time/attention is needed elsewhere. For example, I work in neurology. We have many patients on long term EEGs. There are a handful of EEG techs on every day and they are in charge of placing and removing the EEG leads. Because removing them is something anyone can be taught to do, we have trained our CNAs to do this. Any nurse on my floor knows how (it's another task that a monkey could do) but we do not do this because we are needed elsewhere. Because the techs are often occupied editing EEGs or hooking them up (something that cannot be done by someone who doesn't have specific training in that aspect) they trained our CNAs to remove them. So while this is a task that the CNA does that the RNs don't on my floor, it is not because we are "not allowed" to do it, it is because we are needed elsewhere and we don't want to set the precedent that this is another thing that will be absorbed into the RN's role. My time is better spent preparing the discharge and teaching the family than it is removing their leads.
I am not clear on your issue, OP. Why wouldn't the staff who've been at their job for years make more than a new hire? I am quite certain that the most experienced nurses I work with easily make twice my salary, as well they should, they've been at the hospital for over 20 years while I've been there for 4. What I have a problem with is the fact that I've been at my job for 4 years and, because of no market adjustments and minimal raises, I am currently making just marginally more than the new grads we've just hired. I feel no incentive to stay at my job in part because of this.
As others have said, security and ER tech are two completely different jobs. Why would you even think to compare the two?
As far as the EKG thing goes... I would tend to agree with Esme that it is more likely that the facility has decided that licensed personnel's time/skills are better used elsewhere in tasks that cannot be delegated than that RNs are not "allowed" to do EKGs. I am "allowed" to do everything I delegate to my CNA but there are some things my floor has decided that RNs, in general, don't do mainly because our time/attention is needed elsewhere. For example, I work in neurology. We have many patients on long term EEGs. There are a handful of EEG techs on every day and they are in charge of placing and removing the EEG leads. Because removing them is something anyone can be taught to do, we have trained our CNAs to do this. Any nurse on my floor knows how (it's another task that a monkey could do) but we do not do this because we are needed elsewhere. Because the techs are often occupied editing EEGs or hooking them up (something that cannot be done by someone who doesn't have specific training in that aspect) they trained our CNAs to remove them. So while this is a task that the CNA does that the RNs don't on my floor, it is not because we are "not allowed" to do it, it is because we are needed elsewhere and we don't want to set the precedent that this is another thing that will be absorbed into the RN's role. My time is better spent preparing the discharge and teaching the family than it is removing their leads.
Maybe it's the fact that I come from a union hospital it bothers me so...idk...
But I understand what you are saying about the EKG thing, RN's have many other things to do with their time and I understand that....
I asked about the EKG thing and RN's not allowed to do them and this comes from my manager.."You have the training to do the EKG's that the RN's don't have"
This IS NOT me passing judgement or implying I can do something the RN's can't... I know the RN's CAN, they just aren't allowed in this facility for the reason stated above.
Upon being hired to this facility they actually test us on our knowledge of EKG's. We had to identify artifact weather is was from muscle, movement, or lead reversal, and identify certain rhythms.
First of all, while this point is beating a dead horse at this point, yes the staff with seniority will be making more $ than new hires, although they do the same job, IT IS JUST HOW IT WORKS. And not just in hospitals, but everywhere.Secondly, what you are describing as tech responsibilities that I'm assuming you mean CNAs don't do (phlebotomy, ekgs), is exactly what I did when I was a nursing assistant. Plus vitals, ADLs, I&Os, collecting specimens, etc. I worked at a non-union hospital that paid nursing staff the lowest in the city bc of its prestige and ranking and "everyone wanted to work there." If it bothers you, become a security guard. Or go back to a unionized hospital. This is why people are not supposed to discuss salaries at work.
Yes Op, sadly, here's how it goes. If your boss thinks you'll buy into it, he/she will give you the idea that you are the only one who can clean the toilet and even go so far as give you a certificate for having passed the highly specialized training involved. Off you go with your confidence and your superiority over all others in your toilet cleaning. Hey, nothing wrong with that if it works.
It's OK, as you get older, you live, you learn. You will laugh at yourself in a few years :)
I am curious, in a non-union hospital, you don't know others salaries. Where are you finding out your information?
At one facility I worked at, the security also carried guns being in an inner city area. I really didn't give a crap what they got paid, they were protecting us. I don't know why you think a security guard should be getting paid less than an ER tech..... 2 different positions, both very important.
I would only be concerned whether or not YOU are being paid properly for what YOU do. And, working int he NJ/NY metro area, I can say you get paid pretty well. That's all you really need to be worrying about.
I guess I just thought with more responsibility comes more pay, maybe thats naive. But I do understand the points you have made, regardless of weather you have understood mine.
I didn't mean to come off as if I'm better then anyone else, I in no way feel that way.
As far as the whole EKG is concerned,(you all seem so offended) I was just stating a fact of how it is in this facility. But according to you all it was just my manager pretty much tapping the little tech on the head telling me to be a good little tech. yeah thats it right?
Scary to think an ED RN can't be trusted or taught how to place EKG leads properly, but they are supposed to interpret that rhythm. And treat it. And monitor it on a screen....
Something is clearly wrong there.
How can that look good on anyone's resume??
What a wonky behind policy. Wonky means horses, and ya'all know what behind means.
It's just a technical skill ... one that has been delegated to the techs. It is difficult and expensive to keep all staff current on the various machines and specific technical skills needed in a busy unit. So they are often divied out to people in various roles. It's not that one group couldn't learn and be quite competent at a specfic skill -- just that dividing the tasks up among various roles makes it easier to maintain control and consistency.
The RN's have other things to do that keep them busy. So that technical task gets delegated to a tech. That's why the ED hires techs to begin with -- do do some of the technical tasks that need to get done.
How are you getting the other staff salaries? Are you asking them (which should be a no no) or reading the job ads?
Either way staff having been there longer is going to make more.
I worked as a CNA in the ED and when I was hired there was CNAs making close to $20 because they had been there for years.
This same facility aslo did not have the RNs doing the EKGs, not because they could not, because I could do EKGs as a CNA2, I spent 1 8hr shift with the "lead EKG tech" to learn how to do the EKG.
Most of the RNs did not do EKGs A) because their time in the ED is better spent doing other things ie-pt assessment, starting IVs, getting meds. and B) our machines required a password that was tech specific so the computer could track what tech did what EKG, and the RNs were not given one unless they spent a day training, again training=$
Now in an emergency it could be overridden and the nurses could do the EKG.
While your secuity gaurds may not carry guns, have you ever been in a room with a compative patient who had a co-worker in a headlock and broke another co-workers nose? Spend enough time working in the ED and you will come to love your security guards
On a lighter note, found a monkey to do your EKGs......Dr Bobo
Perhaps, you will learn a lesson from all this. Life isn't always fair by your standards and what some people consider "more responsibility" may differ from your personal definition. You can always apply to be a security guard if the pay is a show stopper. This apparent disparity permeates all of life. I know truck drives with less education than I who make considerably more with far less education. I can complain about it, be a truck driver or be happy that I have a job and can live fairly comfortably. Likewise, I made a great salary working as a contractor in Afghanistan while soldiers were out doing impossible missions making far less. Again, this world is often not fair by your personal standards.If you make a fair wage compared to other ER tech's, are treated well at work and have an acceptable quality of life, you really have no valid reason to complain IMHO.
mamaxmaria
132 Posts
WOW... you people took my question way-out of context and made be out to be some type of *****... thanks... ESME
I used the would "lesser" for lack of a better one, I was tired when I wrote this and I guess wasn't thinking straight....
I NEVER ment one title is more important then the next! How DARE you question my team work and make be out to to be some self person who thinks I'm better then anybody based on one silly question??? who gives you the RIGHT to throw around accusations like that?
YES I KNOW EVERYONE is vital in the hospital and EVERYONE has there job to do that is just as important as the next.... I guess my question just tiredness and frustration form a current situation I have going on in my life.
THe security in this facility DO NOT carry guns, handcuffs, paper spray, anything. THey do not require any type of degree of certification. This facility is in a very suburban area. I came from a hospital in a very urban area.. you know the kind where 98% of the traumas coming in are gunshots. They made a fraction of what they do in this new facility.
And as far as the RN's not allowed to do EKG thing.... yes I know it is a stupid rule and I already said I do not understand...
but to whoever said "a monkey could do an EKG" thanks... next time you need one go find a monkey then!!!