Should I be upset? Or am I a Diva?

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We just moved to a new state and I accepted a RN position on a Med Surg Floor. I am starting at the new grad pay, because I only have 6 months experience as an RN working in a nursing position in a hospital.

I have another 1 1/2 years as a RN Research Nurse position in a large hospital.

In addition I have 20 years experience as a LPN. As an LPN I worked in the SICU, PICU and ED. I was PALS, ACLS, tele certified. They do not consider any past healthcare experience when determining pay.

I am really upset that they are treating me as a Brand NEW Nurse straight out of school!!!! Ok, you can treat me like one -- but pay me like one??? Especially, when the Director of Nursing told me during my interview she was looking forward to having a nurse which such experience working on the med/surg floor.

I fell like I am being taken advantage of. Am I just being a Diva here? How should I handle this?:no:

Thanks for you input!!

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

I'm going to be blunt and say that in this environment you are fortunate to have found a job and are being a diva. Let it go, and prove to them that you are worth the extra $$.

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Well, what other offers do you have on the table? :)

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Normally I would say stand up and fight but with jobs being scarce now take it and run. After your year sit down with your manager and reevaluate your salary.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Didn't you know the pay when you accepted the job? If you knew, you really have no room to complain because you accepted the job. If you didn't know, then you should have. They told you up front they don't take past experience into account.

It may be poor pay, but maybe after a year you can get a raise that gets you a little closer to you experience level.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

As a former LPN...I can understand the experience that one can bring to the table; especially when the experience is complex as the OPs. :yes:

However, we are stepping into a wider scope of practice, so it is prudent to be able to embrace it.

In some areas-at least in my area, after working for a 1-1.5 years, you enter the clinical ladder and that "LPN experience" will convert over and you will see the monetary benefits.

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I never worked as an LVN. I went straight into nursing school to get an RN. Understanding the difference in practice has been difficult for me, particularly when I have worked side-by-side with LVNs.

I worked in a nursing home as an RN and my boss said she expected more out of me as an RN. LVNs, she told me, are trained to the tasks of nursing, where as RNs are required to be in positions that require more critical thinking. Not that LVNs don't critically think on their jobs. In fact, in the LTC, I was doing the exact same job as the LVNs except when the patient needed IV management. But the IV certified LVNs could do that. Not quite sure where the line was. What made me different?

Perhaps you and I know don't know something that hiring managers do and it's that RNs and LVNs are not the same. I mean, I know they aren't the same but I don't know how they aren't. And since they are considering you a new grad in a hospital setting, it's obvious that they don't consider you, with LVN experience, the same as an experienced RN. So they aren't paying you as an experienced RN.

My thoughts? In my honest opinion, I would humble yourself and realize that you are an RN now. And really try to understand the difference. I bet if you come across a nurse with a year or more RN experience than you, but less hospital experience all around, you might be setting yourself up for conflicts. I think being an LVN before being an RN would make the RN new grad year a lot easier than someone like me, who went from a degree in psychology and substitute teaching to a BSN. ANd you will probably be easier to train. If I were a manager, I would hire you over a nurse with your experience who wasn't an RN.

Be thankful you have a job. I'm sure you will be paid your just rewards in no time. But you got to pay your dues as an RN. I'm guessing paid LVN dues don't count.

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We just moved to a new state and I accepted a RN position on a Med Surg Floor. I am starting at the new grad pay, because I only have 6 months experience as an RN working in a nursing position in a hospital.

I have another 1 1/2 years as a RN Research Nurse position in a large hospital.

In addition I have 20 years experience as a LPN. As an LPN I worked in the SICU, PICU and ED. I was PALS, ACLS, tele certified. They do not consider any past healthcare experience when determining pay.

I am really upset that they are treating me as a Brand NEW Nurse straight out of school!!!! Ok, you can treat me like one -- but pay me like one??? Especially, when the Director of Nursing told me during my interview she was looking forward to having a nurse which such experience working on the med/surg floor.

I fell like I am being taken advantage of. Am I just being a Diva here? How should I handle this?:no:

Thanks for you input!!

I do not think you are a diva. You have a valid point.

Nursing is the only profession where we are not rewarded for our experience, further education and certifications. And many just put up with it and then wonder why we are mistreated, overworked and underpaid.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

FYI, In my organization, LVN experience is "counted" at 50% when computing the starting salary (1 yr LVN = 6 months RN)... but that is not common practice.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

You are being a diva ;)

Hey, you suggested it.

Seriously...yes, you are a very seasoned LVN. The reality is that you have 6 months' acute care RN experience and therefore aren't much further ahead of a new graduate RN.

RNs and LVNs are both nurses but they do have different scopes of practice. Some facilities take LVN experience into account (either in whole or percent); others look only at RN experience. Also, some facilities will consider your non-acute care experience (the 1.5 years in research) while others will only focus on your work at the bedside. So given your history, this place may be considering you a new grad or just past that stage, and paying you accordingly.

Fair? Not always. With 20+ years of nursing under your belt, you'd be an asset anywhere. However, employers don't always consider that and just look at their checklists when assigning pay grades.

If you feel you are being taken advantage of, you can start looking for work elsewhere. But do consider that until you have more acute-care RN experience, you may be walking into a similar fate elsewhere.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

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Specializes in Pedi.

Honestly, with only 6 months RN experience, you'd be paid at the level of a first year RN anywhere where I've worked. If they told you that they don't consider experience when determining pay, that's just the way it is there and you accepted the job knowing what the pay would be.

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Specializes in ICU.

I think you're probably experiencing what you'd experience almost anywhere else - LPN/LVN experience probably isn't going to be counted, especially if the facility you're working at now doesn't utilize them. I'm currently working at a facility that doesn't support the LPN/LVN role, and so any experience gained while working in that role is NOT going to translate into a higher pay grade simply because the RN pay grade is determined by years of RN experience. Sure, it stinks, but I think what you're finding is not at all unusual.

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