student nurses pay

achapman · Sep 26, 2007

nevermind i found out. at the hospitals it's 13/hr isn't that crappy!! and to know after going through all this school i'll only end up making $25/hr doesn't seem worth it to me...ughhh...

catlynLPN · Sep 26, 2007

I am floored with your attitude.

What did you expect to start out with as a new grad anyway?

That is as in "new grad with NO experience".

achapman · Sep 26, 2007

I thought at least $30.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Sep 26, 2007

I thought at least $30.

You thought you'd make at least $30 as a newly graduated nurse with no experience??

Either way to think you would make at least $30 really isn't realistic.

As for the pay for a student nurse in the hospital, after one semester you really aren't much more skilled than a CNA/PCT. You maybe more knowledgable about A&P, the workings of the body etc, but as for down and dirty patient care, unless you are already a CNA/PCT, they have you beat hands down in terms of skills/experience.

What program are you in? LPN or RN? (did you look into the payscale for LPN/RN's before you started school.) I sure as heck checked it out before I decided to plunk down the amount of money I did, and investing all the time I am.

achapman · Sep 26, 2007

>>As for the pay for a student nurse in the hospital, after one semester you really aren't much more skilled than a CNA/PCT. You maybe more knowledgable about A&P, the workings of the body etc, but as for down and dirty patient care, unless you are already a CNA/PCT, they have you beat hands down in terms of skills/experience.>>

Well I have been a CNA for a couple of years now, so I have all that clinical experience plus my 1st semester of nursing school - I thought I'd be making at least $15/hr. I mean for example even the weekend choice CNA's at Masonic in Wallingford make $17/hr...Everyone has bills to pay and $13/hr isn't a really good incentive to get someone to come on board as a student nurse. And for the dire "nursing shortage" they say is going on, their offers and pay don't seem like they are begging for nurses..

>>What program are you in? LPN or RN? (did you look into the payscale for LPN/RN's before you started school.) I sure as heck checked it out before I decided to plunk down the amount of money I did, and investing all the time I am. >>

I am in the RN program. And yes I did look it up on salary.com and other websites like that. For example in the lowest percentile, the salary for this area is almost $60,000 (the highest percentile is almost $80,000). Even from the lowest percentile, $60,000 works out to $32.05/hr. So yes I did check it out and apparently it's WRONG everywhere!

NaomieRN · Sep 26, 2007

nevermind i found out. at the hospitals it's 13/hr isn't that crappy!! and to know after going through all this school i'll only end up making $25/hr doesn't seem worth it to me...ughhh...

Is money your number one reason for becoming a nurse or it is for the fact that you are a caring person?

If I were you, I would focus on completing the program first and then, check out the salary.

achapman · Sep 26, 2007

Is money your number one reason for becoming a nurse or it is for the fact that you are a caring person?

>>

Everyone has bills to pay and whoever says this isn't one of their reasons for going to school and become a nurse (or anything for that matter) is lying...

farmgirl_dee65 · Sep 26, 2007

as a new LPN, i am thrilled to be making the wages i do (less than $20/hr.) i didn't have the opportunity to work as a "student nurse"; i worked as an aid going thru school (pitiful wages), and upon graduation got a bump in pay (not great, but better than aid wages). when i got my license, i got some additional monies per hour. it still isn't the best in the world, but i knew that from the get go. the job i worked in my previous life paid decent wages, but i felt that something was missing. nursing has filled that "gap" because i am a caring person.

yes, we all have bills to pay (student loans, everyday obligations), and yes, i got into nursing for the money also. HOWEVER, i became a nurse FIRST so that i could make a difference in people's lives, and the monetary payoff is only a bonus.

just be glad that you have the opportunity to work as a student nurse; some of us didn't have that option.

hang in there--it will all come out in the wash, 'kay?

Adenium · Sep 26, 2007

achapman, I too initially went to salary.com and similar sites when debating if I could swing a career change into nursing. The thing you have to bear in mind, though, is that a lot of these sites provide averages. And they don't separate out nurses with varying years of experience, or those who may get overtime or shift differentials for nights and weekends. When I applied to UConn's Master's entry, they mentioned at the open house that the average nurse earns about 50-55K when they start out, and that one person earned 90K but she put ALL of her focus on earning and did an enormous amount of overtime. The other threads I've seen on this forum mentioned between $23-26 an hour for CT nurses.

I understand your concerns - I chose this profession to be able to give patients the dignity and attention to detail that I'd seen my own family members denied, but at the same time I've already spent too many naive years slaving away idealistically for employers that would never reward me for it any more than if I'd done a crappy job. Nursing is, at the end of the day, a job. A meaningful one, but a job. You need to know what the potential earnings are to arrange your finances, plan housing, education expenses, etc. I've seen many jumped on for inquiring, as it's easy to jump to conclusions when no one is familiar with the poster. I wish you the best.

achapman · Oct 1, 2007

thanks Adenium!

akwill · Oct 23, 2007

What exactly is a student nurse? Is this something I can do while in nursing school? In particular, I am concerned about being able to afford to live while I do my clinicals. Right now, I am still pursuing pre-requisites. Any input you all may have on how to afford getting through school would be very helpful!