betha005

We haven't had a raise in 2 years and then it was like 50 cents. I have heard rumors that we will get an across the board raise in June, but still how does that really distinguish someone with experience. I will believe the raise when I see it- this rumor has gone around before. We didn't get a raise last year because they said it wasn't in the budget but yet the lobby was remodeled. Our unit has just gone downhill as far as morale. The nurses are at each other- it really feels like high school. We have a lot of nurses with the "I'm better than you and I can do it better than you" attitude. Somebody is always talking about somebody else. I love my job- I just don't like to work in a tense atmosphere with pay I am not happy with. My only problem is that this is the only NICU around- the other ones are close to 2hours away. We also don't have a nurse manager right now (we have an interim that has never done neonatal) and our clinical educator is leaving in a couple of months. Things just seem crazy right now.

Don't be nervous. Neonatal is such a wonderful area, I couldn't dream of doing anything else. Like someone said, just take is one day at a time and don't expect to get everything. In my opinion, it takes years to become comfortable in neonatal. But that doesn't mean you always know everything, everyone always has questions no matter your experience.

I am new here and was wondering, what kind of salary are you worth? I live in Alabama and have been a NICU nurse for over 5 years and am due for a raise. My base is $19.55/hr and I get $4/hr for night shift. I have now found out that new grads make about $1/hr less than I do so I am a little upset. I think I deserve a raise. Anyway, I was wondering what other NICU nurses make in other areas. I currently work in a level III nursery and love it, but I have applied for a position in a private hospital for a well baby nursery with around 10 beds. I am not sure if I would like well baby, I just love intensive. What do you think? Do private hospitals pay more? Thanks