Re: Florida's 1st prize in the "Salary Hall of Shame"

Published

For those that didn't see it before it closed, after over 60 responses, Florida came in 1st place in the "Salary Hall of Shame" thread on the general discussion board.

This is really a reply to Eagleriver's suggestion in the aformentioned thread (that is now locked) about sending the compiled responses to the FL legislature. I have a better idea of where to forward the information (and outrage) from this thread--the Florida media outlets! There is so much in the media now about nursing shortages, maybe they should do a story about the real reasons why, especially in FL. Let the public know how poorly FL nurses are compensated r/t the rest of the country. Many nurses stay away from FL due to high licensure costs/requirements and the very low pay (compared to other states). I would work elsewhere too, if I didn't miss it so much and didn't still have my family there ( I grew up in and lived in FL for 21yrs, before becoming a nurse). I went to nursing school in Illinois and have worked only here (SW Chicago burbs) as a nurse, but will be moving back to FL at the end of this year. After calling a few hospitals in Jacksonville,FL today, I realized that I will have to take almost a $10/hr cut in pay to move there--much bigger difference than the 3% state income tax (80cents/hr) that I will save by moving to FL. The cost of living used to be much lower in FL than up here, I was amazed by that difference when I first moved up here (9yrs ago). It is not that way anymore. My parents still live in FL and I know what their utilities, food, etc. cost; and the housing market has increased dramatically--I was recently there home shopping. The hospitals in FL can't keep using these reasons/excuses for why they pay so little. I will make the move, but ONLY b/c being near my family again is so important to me (and the warm weather doesn't hurt). Most nurses from other areas of the country will go elsewhere, where they are paid better, unless they have a strong personal reason to move to FL. This is not good news for FL, who has a nursing shortage worse than most states. And the answer isn't recruiting nurses from other countries that are willing to work cheaply, which I have been reading more about lately. Nurses in FL deserve better. None of us (or few of us) went into nursing for the money, but why should FL nurses be treated/paid so much more poorly than those in other states? No wonder the shortage is so bad in FL. I can help people and care for the sick (why I really went into nursing) here in IL and still make a decent wage--why can't the same be said for FL? Instead my family will suffer financial hardship so I can care for the sick in FL instead. I know I have made that choice, but my point is, it shouldn't be that way.

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

cllrn writes: "why should FL nurses be treated/paid so much more poorly than those in other states?"

Why? Because they will take these jobs and accept this pay, simple enough. And the healthcare facilities in FL are willing to leave vacancies open instead of raising pay enough to fill them--which, in other words, means that these nurses are also willing to work "short" day after day, as well as accept low pay.

Remember:

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At one time I was REALLY excited about the possibility of moving to FL, however, after doing a little research we decided against it d/t what was, in our opinion, very low pay. I was hoping that the cost of living would be lower to justify the lower wages, but I found the cost of living to be much more expensive than I imagined. Interestingly, some friends of ours were considering a move to FL because of family there, but they decided against it for the same reasons that we did although the husband is an electrician. Although I was a bit disappointed b/c we'd been considering FL for about 2 yrs., we just didn't think it would be worth it in the end. Just my 2 pennies.

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This was an interesting thread to me because I recently moved to FL from CT I have found the same thing...my salary is about $10.00 an hour less than I made in CT and the cost of living isn't all that much lower here. I am looking for a house and I do think that, at least in Volusia County, I can get more home here for my buck than I could in CT but otherwise my bills are pretty much the same.

I am an OB nurse and the birthing culture here has not kept up with the times so that is discouraging but I am also finding that because of my experience with more evidence-based practices I am going to be able to be a pretty big fish in this small pond! I love the weather, the people are wonderful and there is lots and lots to do here so all in all things are pretty good! :)

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Can we talk a little about the differences in the "birthing culture" in Florida? Maybe we can get some Florida nurses to add their comments. I worked with Karen (above) and am always interested in hearing the differences in birthing trends thwe longer she is in Florida.

Betsy

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Can we talk a little about the differences in the "birthing culture" in Florida? Maybe we can get some Florida nurses to add their comments. I worked with Karen (above) and am always interested in hearing the differences in birthing trends thwe longer she is in Florida.

Betsy

Hi Betsy,

You should probably start a new subject thread for this if you want people to find it. I will have to get back to you with my thoughts on this subject as I am very busy today (putting a bid on that house in Orange City!) and heading into three 12 hour nights in a row...I won't be able to think to clearly until the end of the week but I will get back to this. Of course, by then I have a new class starting so homework will come first! But, I will keep in touch with this subject thread and add what I can.

Karen :balloons:

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This was an interesting thread to me because I recently moved to FL from CT I have found the same thing...my salary is about $10.00 an hour less than I made in CT and the cost of living isn't all that much lower here. I am looking for a house and I do think that, at least in Volusia County, I can get more home here for my buck than I could in CT but otherwise my bills are pretty much the same.

I am an OB nurse and the birthing culture here has not kept up with the times so that is discouraging but I am also finding that because of my experience with more evidence-based practices I am going to be able to be a pretty big fish in this small pond! I love the weather, the people are wonderful and there is lots and lots to do here so all in all things are pretty good! :)[/quote

]:rotfl: I cant wait to move to florida. I am 50 and an OB nurse. i WONDER IF ANY HOSPITAL HELPS THE HUSBAND find a job within the area/or hospital.

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I am planning on moving to Florida this summer. If I were to make $10/hr less then I do here in Missouri, I'll be working for free :uhoh3: Honestly after what I have read here, checking into Florida fees and checking other jobs in Florida I doubt I'll be working in nursing there. I will maintain my Missouri license since I do spend time working in Haiti as a nurse there. It doesn't matter what state my license is from so long as it is current for the work I do in Haiti. I will miss nursing :o and may some day return to nursing in Florida, but I do not think that is what I'll be doing right away in Florida.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Most profressions pay less in Florida. I have a friend who worked in bookkeeping and moved from Chicago and had to find another job, because here bookkeepers make nearly minimum wage. Same in quite a few other job descriptions.

I took about a $2.00/hr cut moving from North Carolina here.

I've heard in Conn. LPNs make what RNs make here. But Conn. has the highest per capita income of all the states.

Florida sucks when it comes to pay. We accept it because it's a growth state, people moving here provide a steady stream of competition and suppress the wages.

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Most profressions pay less in Florida. I have a friend who worked in bookkeeping and moved from Chicago and had to find another job, because here bookkeepers make nearly minimum wage. Same in quite a few other job descriptions.

I took about a $2.00/hr cut moving from North Carolina here.

I've heard in Conn. LPNs make what RNs make here. But Conn. has the highest per capita income of all the states.

Florida sucks when it comes to pay. We accept it because it's a growth state, people moving here provide a steady stream of competition and suppress the wages.

I long to live in Florida but will have to work as a labor and delivery nurse. Does any hospital help the spouses find a job? We may keep our home in se indiana and buy a small cheap mobile home in a community somewhere where we can make ends meet. Any suggestions for a place on the gulf west coastal area or central?

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I long to live in Florida but will have to work as a labor and delivery nurse. Does any hospital help the spouses find a job? We may keep our home in se indiana and buy a small cheap mobile home in a community somewhere where we can make ends meet. Any suggestions for a place on the gulf west coastal area or central?

I don't know about hospitals helping a spouse find a job, unless the spouse is also a nurse! I know that they do that for doctors but I haven't heard of that for nurses. They might stand on their heads for you if you wanted a job in the ICU or ED or even med-surg because they are critically low areas. L&D is not really critical here in terms of filled positions.

I live in Central Florida but that covers a big area. Can you be more specific when you say Central? Do you mean West Central like Lakeland?

Karen

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I long to live in Florida but will have to work as a labor and delivery nurse. Does any hospital help the spouses find a job? We may keep our home in se indiana and buy a small cheap mobile home in a community somewhere where we can make ends meet. Any suggestions for a place on the gulf west coastal area or central?

I live in the Tampa Bay area and can recommend the area highly. I've visted Southeast Florida and find it to busy, and in some areas you need to be bilingual in English and Spanish.

There's lots of very nice mobile home parks in Pinellas County. Don't know of any other areas, but I'm sure there are nice mobile home parks everywhere.

While the hospitals will reimbure you move, I'm not sure they have job locators for spouses. Good luck.

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