Offered job in QPS - negotiating fair salary - help!

Specialties Quality Improvement

Published

Hello all,

I am currently negotiating a salary for my new position in quality & patient safety at a major hospital located in NYC. The official job title would be Quality & Safety Patient Specialist. There are managers & directors above me, so I would be at the bottom of the hierarchy.

I currently hold a Bachelors degree and a have 7+ years of bedside experience. I told the hiring manager when I initially interviewed I was OK with a salary of $90,000. She kind of caught me off guard, and I should have thought more carefully before answering, or told her I could answer that question after more thought. But now I think that's too little.

As a bedside nurse with 7+ years of experience in this same hospital I would make more than $90,000. I have a friend who is a nursing supervisor in the same hospital who has the same work & education experience I do and she makes $120,000 (obv not the same job title, but only stating this for comparison purposes)

If any of you QI/QPS people could let me know what salaries you make or provide insight as to what salary you think would suit me, I would greatly appreciate it. I know talking about money can become a tacky subject, but I strongly believe in equal pay as I once was paid less than a male counterpart. I have scoured through Glassdoor.com and can't really find a salary that best represents this job title. I've tried going on indeed.com to find QI jobs with salaries listed, but no luck.

Thanks in advance!

I know salaries can vary widely based on cost of living, education, years of experience, etc. For frame of reference, I've been a nurse for 15 years, 10 years of quality and safety experience, CPHQ, SSGB, and CPPS certified, and hold two masters degrees. I was making 90k at a large teaching hospital in a similar position a few years ago, a masters degree and CPHQ were required for the role along with some related experience. I have heard that many staff take a pay cut to work in quality/safety if they are leaving the bedside. That was not the case with me 10 years ago. I am now in a director role in a suburban community hospital between Baltimore and Philadelphia, my manager equivalents are making 90k, both have over 10 years experience in their areas. Again, I know that cost of living can have a great impact on salaries awarded, but it seems that 90k seems fair especially as an entry level position in the field.

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