I have a question that has been gnawing on me for about a year. I have been a Med/Surge nurse for about 17 years. Always in a nursing union.
In our hospital, as a whole, the managers make less than the union nurses. Well, up to this point, I thought that was fair!
Now I am in a position where I know I am going to be moved to non-union. Some sort of management type position. I am doing the computer system for our hospital. I got chosen when the original team of 8 management members fell apart...mainly because they didn't have any computer background, and they didn't have time to devote to the building of the system after they were trained. So, since I have a computer background...of sorts.... they asked if I would take over for all 8 of them!
I am currently in the official position of a 12 hr MSP nurse. But in the past year, have been in an office or training room doing the computer system. I have been sent to Boston for computer training in the LAB, and Pharmacy modules, I have been sent to another town to train with the IT department of another hospital. I am currently in charge of the Order Entry system, the Radiology module, the main support for the Pharmacy module, and will be building the whole Nursing module. I have had to pull several all night shifts (and two 48 hour shifts!) at our hospital while we had Go-Live with several computer systems. This is all way out of my original job description. I now have an office, and although I still punch a time clock, I come and go as I please. I get called at home all the time, and never log in any of those hours. I am a 72 hr per 2 week pay period employee, but most times have 100 to 120 hrs punched in. I am basically on call 24-7, although I never get on call pay. :typing
So the question.... If most of the management positions are making less than the staff positions, would you accept it? I wanted to just stay at my regular pay rate, and have them build in something to account for my on call. I don't see them going for that! I have also been offered jobs in other hospitals close by us for a lot more than I make at my current job. But I don't want to leave the hospital I have been at for 17 years.... and I have sucked up a lot of expenses. I had to buy my own airline ticket to Boston and Back for one training session, and never got a penny from the hospital.... I had to purchase my own Lap top comptuer to use in the training room... I had to get my own projector screen, and was able to borrow a projector from the Elementary school to use in the training room. I purchased my own office chair, since they don't have a budget for my *Department* and I purchased my own (and I am talking a lot of them!) folders, binders, files, paper, etc, to make my floor manuals. I purchased two hand-held computers to trial out in the hospital. ...the list goes on. no reumbusment, but I do write it off on taxes!
I could allways do a put-up or shut-up stand, and if they didn't accept what I want, just go back to my old floor job. I gave them a contract, and it pretty much says, Pay me based on exactly what I made in 2008. I don't want to take a pay cut, but I don't want to loose this new job.... I know Im doing a good job at it. My trainers say so, and I was elected Employee of the Year this year for my hospital. Yea, a pat on the back is nice...but that doesn't pay the bills!
