Surgical1968

I do not work for a union hospital however most of the hospitals in this area are unionized and yes I do think it does make a big difference. I use to be anti-union but there is a clear correlation between how nurses are paid and their working conditions in California versus the other states. I attribute a lot of that to the strong union representation out here. Perhaps I am wrong but when I hear and read how nurses are treated and paid in other states, there is a big disconnect. I cannot believe an OR Nurse can be expected to be on-call (putting plans on hold) with a pager over the weekend for $2.00 per hour. That is just wrong!

I know Sandra it does seem like I was bragging, LOL, but truthfully it makes me sick how most Surgical RNs have to put their lives on hold and get paid such a low rate to be on call. How is it that we as a group allow to be treated so low? RNs, we/you have to stand up and demand more!!

Sertoli11 If you work more than 8 hours, most states require that you are paid overtime at time and a half. I don't know what state you are in, but if you have a union, I would contact the union right away. It sounds like your employer might be violating labor laws, but I do not know the entire situation. Some hospitals get around this if you agree to work 10 or 12 hour shifts I think. But I don't know all the legalities. It sounds fishy to me and since you mention you have a union, you should contact them right away. In California, they would not even try this because they would be in huge trouble with the state labor board. Let us know what happens.

I always reply to these on-call posts because I cannot believe how low these hospitals get away with RNs putting their life on hold to be on call overnight and on weekends. I live in the San Francisco Area, and work for a hospital. I get $30.16 per hour to be on call (50% of my regular hourly rate). If I get called in, it is time and a half for hours worked with a minimum of three hour pay guarantee. If I don't get a break, I can charge an hour penalty pay for not getting a break.

VA is the only employer that I know of that really pays you significantly more for a BSN or a Masters degree. I really think an RN should be required to have a BSN degree in the future. I think this is how the healthcare industry has been able to keep nursing pay so low. Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists for example have to now have Master degrees. If RNs had to have at least a BSN, the job would be more respected and the salaries would go up. Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to criticize anyone who has an Associates Degree and is an RN. They should be grandfathered into the system with no other requirements. I am saying going forward though it would do a lot for our profession and the pay and respect we receive.....Just my opinion.

Yes Mdfog10 I agree it is because Northern Cal is unionized so strongly. I actually work at a non union hospital but they have no choice but to compete with the union hospitals so they offer us just as good of a deal. I assure you they only offer this high pay because they have to, not because they want to. Northern California is one of the few places in the country that nurses are paid what they should be and are given a great deal of respect. I hope this trend goes elsewhere in the U.S. Nursing is a very hard job but hosptials and other employers will pay as low as they can for us. For some reason, they want to pay us low for the job we do. Yes we can work overtime and make decent money, but who wants to work 60 hours a week, especially in a physically demanding job like this. Most nurses I know cannot work more than 32 hours because of the demands of the job. I don't really believe that hospital administrators and HR departments understand how difficult our jobs really are, nor do I think most really want to know. We as a group need to respect our industry and get the pay up for our profession. By the way I don't know who you work for with hospitals across the state but I do know Kaiser pays nurses in Fresno and Sacramento the same as their nurses in the Bay Area. I know that UC Davis Med Center in Sacramento pays their nurses well too and they have fantasic retirement benefeits. It is not uncommon to to make $60 per hour in the San Francisco Bay Area with ten years nursing experience and $50 plus per hour in Sacramento and other parts of the central valley of Northern California. These are day shift hourly rates without differentials. I wanted to move to Southern California at one time but I was astonished at how low they pay in all of Southern California. Nurses down there need to demand more. They are not being paid right for the cost of living down there.....just my opinion.

linRdsNay you have observed something that I have also carefully looked into before. California pays very different salaries for RNs, but the difference between Northern Cal and Souther Cal is striking. Southern Cal has many areas with very high costs of living but the nursing pay is somewhat low. I have never understood why they pay nurses so low in LA, Orange Cnty, and San Diego compared to up north. I have observed that in Northern Cal they pay very well in the Bay Area which is a very desireable place to live (but expensive). The central valley of California also pays extremely well and it is probably the best financial option when you look at nurse pay versus cost of living. Others have mentioned that this was because it was not desireable but I do not think that is the whole story. There are plenty of areas in the U.S. that are not desireable but the nursing pay is quite low. I have nothing to do with the nursing union but I think that is part of the reason why. The California Nurses Assoc. is very strong in Northern Cal and I really think that is part of why the pay and benefits are so high there. I work in the OR for example and only in Northern Cal do OR Nurses get paid 50% of their salary to be on standby (on call). No nurse I work with has ever been paid that in any other state or area they have worked. This is just one example. We make more here being on call than nurses make in other parts of California for their hourly rate. I am not bragging, I am trying to make a point that nurses in Southern Cal and elsewhere are not paid enough.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, we get 50% of our base hourly rate (not including eve/night differencials. If we get called in, we get time and a half with a minimal of three hours for being called in, if less than 3 hours. Since we make great money out here, our on call pay is about $30.00 per hour to be on pager (1/2 of my regular hourly rate of $60 per hour). I hate to see how much nurses in other areas are taken advantage of, especially when it comes to being on call. I have worked in other states and got $3.00 per hour to be on call.

Yes we do get our breaks in California. If I miss a break because of a surgery, I get missed break penalty pay which is one hour pay for a missed 15 min break. It is sad that nurses around the country in most other areas have to fight for this. I am in the San Francisco Bay Area where we are also paid a professional and respectful wage....yes it is expensive here...but we are paid so much better and have such better working conditions, than other high cost areas (and all areas) of the country. I came here as a traveler and stayed! I am not working in a union hospital, but I truly believe it is the CNA (California Nurses Association) that got nurses to be where they are here. I am not affiliated with them at all, but by doing a lot of research, they seem to be a common dinominator. Nurses in other states have to fight as a huge force in numbers for the rights we deserve. There is no reason why we all have to move to California to get the respect we deserve nationwide!

I use to believe union representation was bad too until moving to the San Francisco Bay Area and seeing first hand what is does. This area has the highest nursing pay in the country and it is because IMHO the California Nurses Association is based here and is so strong. I actually am not a union member and have no affiliation with them. But the bottm line is that we do not have a nursing shortage here in this area because we are paid well, even when you consider the cost of living. We make tons more than nurses in New York City, Boston, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Washington DC and ohter high cost markets. I have done the research. We have great benefits as well, must better than nurses I know in other areas. I make a base hourly rate of $60 per hour (this does not include shift differcials either) and for on call I am paid 50% of my hourly rate to be on standby and time and a half when called in. This is common in the San Francisco area. I am not telling all this to brag, but to let other nurses know that we need to stand up for what we are worth including on call pay.

I am curious what OR Nurses out there are making. I have eight years experience and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was planning on relocating but I cannot believe the difference in pay outside of where I live. Granted it cost a lot to live here, but real estate prices have drastically gone down, and rentals are still fairly reasonable considering the amount of pay we get here and how we are paid to be on call. I am just curious about hourly pay in other regions and pay to be on call. Thanks!

Valerie, Actually my specific question about how much the VA Hospitals pay for on-call and standby pay was not answered anywhere in this thread. I looked again. Please tell me where it is if I am wrong. My question specifically is about how VA pays for Standby and On-Call when you are on a pager and may be called in like we do so often when working in the operating room. I hope somone can tell me how VA does it. Thanks.

Does anyone know if all the VA Medical Centers pay the same for on-call and standby pay for units needing call? I have a friend who works for VA in San Francisco and gets 1/3 of her hourly rate for on-call pay and time and a half if called in for those hours worked. Do all the VA Medical Centers offer 1/3 of your hourly rate for on-call pay or is it done differently? Thanks for the hopeful replies.

Anyone know how VA Long Beach pays for on call or standby pay for the Operating Room? Do they pay 1/3 of your hourly rate for on-call or is it done differently. I heard they paid 1/3 in San Francisco and was wondering if all VA Medical Centers are the same. Thanks.