Published Mar 28, 2001
buck227
52 Posts
What amount of money would you be satisfied with as an RN. Since nursing rates are pretty much the same nationwide (except for cost of living) from $12 to $30 an hour ($24000 to $60000/yr). Give us all an annual dollar amount. I believe it should be $50,000 to start and $5000 to $7500 a year raise up to $110000 max. That would make me happy. For that I would be willing to do some more overtime and all the piddly-ass paper work they dish out. I would still insist on an increase in working conditions that would keep me at the bedside where we all belong. I guess it is a silly question. I am sure we would all still have our complaints. :-)
buck
nursejanedough
132 Posts
The lowest I will take is $23.00/hr. As an RN that is expected to work without a lunchbreak or any break, and most likely will be working overtime (giving up valuable family time), and having to pay for malpractice insurance, this sounds reasonable to me.
Q.
2,259 Posts
I think $40,000 would be fair to start right out of college. As a new nurse, you have alot of responsibility, yes, but have alot to learn yet. I think starting at 40 would make us comparable to many other professions. From there, I think the range should be much more wide. Right now I'm interviewing for a job that the range is so ridiculously small - $16 - $18 an hour. That's only a $2,000 a year difference. Most professions offer much larger ranges, say $5 - $10,000.
I also think that maybe, this is just a thought, but specialty areas should be paid slightly higher. I know ICU nurses have differentials, but in L&D I don't. I also think nurses should be paid according to their educational level - it would offer some incentive for further education and certifications. Right now, there isn't any incentive. Sure, a brand new RN, BSN should start out at the $40,000, and would probably be making less than her RN of 7 years counterpart, but her level of raises at some point should surpass the RN of 7 years. I really feel the BSN should count for alot more. It's an investment in yourself, and I feel you should be compensated for it.
TracyRN
68 Posts
I'm pretty sure that there is a law somewhere that states that your output will always exceed your income by 10%.
I make only $15.49 per hour as an OB RN which I see some of you wouldn't even consider. I also live in an area with a relatively low cost of living. Sure, I'd like to make more money per hour but I'd hate to live in a big city. I enjoy being where I am so I guess I'll have to take that into account when I compare my wages with others'. All in all, I'm content.
Am I worth more? Sure!! Could I make more locally? Undoubtedly. Would I be as content? Nope!! I'll stick with where I am. Would I let admin know that I wrote this here? Heck NO! I'm content, not stupid.
Mijourney
1,301 Posts
Hi buck227. The question for me is what would be the lowest pay acceptable? What I would like to see disappear is wage compression and the tendency to start experienced nurses off at the bottom of the pay scale when they change to a new employer or position.
What do you think about establishing a national nursing pay scale with the scale starting at the current highest base pay in the nation and then getting additional pay for experience, certifications, additional degrees, etc.? If I'm correct, wouldn't this method have similarities to how physicians are paid? How are NPs in primary care paid?
RNforLongTime
1,577 Posts
I recently started a new job here in Ohio where I now live and I'm making 4 dollars (with a shift differential) an hour more than what I was making at my old job. The management at my hospital where I work were flabbergasted at my wages at my old hospital after 3 years of service. I think that for what I do and all of the bs I put up with I should at least be paid 23 to 25$ an hour. I work at a unionized hospital and our contract expires this October so I'm sure a wage increase will be part of the new contract especially is the face of the severe nursing shortage that all of the country is facing
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NurseMark
24 Posts
Originally posted by Mijourney:Hi buck227. The question for me is what would be the lowest pay acceptable? What I would like to see disappear is wage compression and the tendency to start experienced nurses off at the bottom of the pay scale when they change to a new employer or position. What do you think about establishing a national nursing pay scale with the scale starting at the current highest base pay in the nation and then getting additional pay for experience, certifications, additional degrees, etc.? If I'm correct, wouldn't this method have similarities to how physicians are paid? How are NPs in primary care paid?
First of all, the question is hypothetical. If I were an RN, I would want $50,000 a year, as many "professionals" are paid that sum and then some. 9 to 10 % wage increases maxing out at $75,000 a year seems reasonable.
Nurse POC
2 Posts
Hey BUCK..... I got an idea..... How about emailing me sometime and we can... talk
I feel we have a lot in common
POC
Poc, I heard about you. You are by far the most beutiful nurse any one has ever seen. I sent you an e-mail with my phone number. Can we go out sometime?
Originally posted by Nurse POC:Hey BUCK..... I got an idea..... How about emailing me sometime and we can... talk I feel we have a lot in common POC
What do you think about establishing a national nursing pay scale with the scale starting at the current highest base pay in the nation and then getting additional pay for experience, certifications, additional degrees, etc.? If I'm correct, wouldn't this method have similarities to how physicians are paid? How are NPs in primary care paid? [/b]
No offense, but I think the idea of a national anything is against the American way of life. I think free enterprise should demand a higher range of pay. The Nazi's and the Communist's had national systems and look what happened with that. :-)
buffy the vampire nurse
9 Posts
Well here in Australia we have state mandated nursing awards and we are neither Nazis nor communists. It also means we a guaranteed rate of pay related to experience/years of service, cannot be forced to work mandatory overtime, have a minimum of 10 hours break between shifts, get paid for breaks that we miss due to workload, get paid shift differentials for evening, night shift and weekend work. Its not perfect but at least we have a set of conditions that we can demand that employers provide.
I don't think we get paid enough for what we do but the guaranteed conditions help a little :-)
Originally posted by buffy the vampire nurse:Well here in Australia we have state mandated nursing awards and we are neither Nazis nor communists. It also means we a guaranteed rate of pay related to experience/years of service, cannot be forced to work mandatory overtime, have a minimum of 10 hours break between shifts, get paid for breaks that we miss due to workload, get paid shift differentials for evening, night shift and weekend work. Its not perfect but at least we have a set of conditions that we can demand that employers provide. I don't think we get paid enough for what we do but the guaranteed conditions help a little :-)
Hi Buffy. Some variation of the above could be tried, but I still would want my employer to "show me the money."
Buffy, do you have any idea of what CEOs or senior administrators of hospitals or health care facilities are paid in your country? I'm curious.
Buck, I know you have no faith in government. I don't have reverence for any political, governmental, or economic system either. But, keep in mind that the suggestion of a national program doesn't necessarily mean government-based.
By the way, if I decided to make hypothetical into a reality, I probably would choose to bill at least $75/hour for my services to cover the expense of insurance, benefits, misc., along with patient care services. I would probably restrict direct patient care services to 30 hours or less as time would be needed to attend to other aspects of my practice. Does anyone think this is asking too much, too little, or would just about cover everything?
[This message has been edited by Mijourney (edited March 28, 2001).]