what is a reasonable hourly rate at a doctors office?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2011

Doctors' offices and clinics tend to pay LVNs much lower than other areas (LTC, SNF, home health, etc.) due to the daylight hours, weekends off, and the fact that you tend to get most or all holidays off. In addition, many of these jobs are filled by lower-paid MAs, so LVNs who wish to work at a doctors' office are often willing to take the cut in pay in order to work in an office-like environment. Also, Orange County tends to be a lower-paying region for nurses because, although the cost of living is expensive, many people willingly accept the pay cut to live in a desirable county with warm weather and a nearby coastline all year round.

When I was doing clinical rotations in southern CA, I asked one of the LVNs at the clinical site how much she was being paid. She said that she was earning $15 hourly. This was at a family practice clinic in San Fernando. She also had a part-time weekend job at a nursing home where she was earning in excess of $20 per hour.

notmanydaysoff · Jul 29, 2011

not only should you consider the hourly wage, but if you are going to be a full-time/benefitted employee, consider the cost of the benefit package as part of your total compensation. it is not unusual that this costs an employer approx 30% of what your wages amount to.

paid vacations, health/vision/dental insurance, sick leave, retirement contributions, and other employer-paid benefits (uniform allowance, conference attendance, etc.) don't come cheap. it's also pretty expensive to train an employee and pay taxes.

as a former employer, it always amazed me that many employees were clueless on this matter. which isn't to say that you are clueless, just be mindful of the true costs.