RN Per Diem Wages in Waterloo

[Shasta18]

Hello all!

I just moved to the area from out of state a couple weeks ago. Now that the boxes are receding, I'm starting to look for a job. Since my husband carries our health insurance, I don't need benefits and would like per diem work. At an interview yesterday at a Waterloo hospital, I was told that the starting rate for a RN in a PER DIEM (no benefits) hospital position was $18.83, with a midpoint (?) of $23. Does that sound right??? The girl that interviewed me wasn't the nurse recruiter, so I don't know if she really knew what she was talking about. I left a message for the nurse recruiter this morning to verify this info. I have 8 years nursing expirience, and this just seems low to me. This particular hospital has 29 openings for RNs... maybe they need to increase their pay. Can anyone validate this???

[AnneDNP]

Welcome to Iowa...where nurses' salary averages are last in the nation. Iowa has historically been a state which "export" nurses. Most hospitals in Iowa don't seem to think that there is a nurses' shortage out there; and they definitely don't care to prepare for it! Very few hospitals have unions, unlike our neighbors in Minnesota and Wisconsin, where hospitals have to compete with higher salaries to recruit and retain nurses. In Iowa, the race is to the bottom of how low salaries can be and still compete in the local market.

[ekianurse]

I work in a Waterloo hosp. and this sounds about right. Great, huh? I know a couple of nurses that drive out of state to work for that reason. Good luck!