The state of nursing now

Sour Lemon · Jan 25, 2018

What does "surge pay being cut" mean? Employer pay? If so, I'd start looking for the exit door.

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2018

Surge pay is the extra money you are paid on top of regular pay + time and half.

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2018

Regular pay: (IE) 20.00

Time and a half: 30.00

surge pay: 10.00:

Total of 40/hour for an overtime. Surge pay being cut to 5....so 35 instead of 40. Problem...no? yes?

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 25, 2018

The same thing happened just recently at my son's LTC, where he works as an LPN. The nurses used to get nice bonuses on top of time-and-a-half for OT, but now the bonuses have gone away and there's no real incentive to work extra shifts (except of course for the time-and-a-half) so now they're chronically short-staffed again. That's healthcare in the modern age for you...it's pretty much the same all over, so a lateral move to another facility probably wouldn't do much good. Just my opinion.

Sour Lemon · Jan 25, 2018

Regular pay: (IE) 20.00
Time and a half: 30.00
surge pay: 10.00:
Total of 40/hour for an overtime. Surge pay being cut to 5....so 35 instead of 40. Problem...no? yes?

I could go either way. I'm not one to volunteer for extra hours, so unless it was somehow mandated, I probably wouldn't care very much.

OldDude · Jan 25, 2018

The whole nursing industry started the down hill slide when patients became "customers."

dec2007 · Jan 25, 2018

Wow! I thought maybe it was just my facility! Following anew contact with an "efficiency" expert, we have been cut to bare-bones staffing. I guess in the short run they will save money, but those sacred "patient satisfaction scores" will be dropping!

Davey Do · Jan 25, 2018

Interesting... I remember back in the mid '80's with the advent of DRG's- Diagnostic related Groups- and the scare at WRTH (Weed Rover Township Hospital). The CEO said not to worry, we would overcome.

There were two big layoffs thereafter, I was laid off in the second one, but called back to work 2 weeks later.

I worked at WRTH until the end of 1991, after a 7 year stint. The hospital closed in 1999, but I believe it was due to something about the CEO did selling junk bonds for a new addition and the fact that they lost some high admitting physicians to medicare fraud, a sex scandal, and death.

WRMC (Wrongway Regional Medical Center) where I've been employed for the past 15 years is going through the same sort of thing, making big cutbacks. However, last year I made one of the biggest pay raises of my career which brought my take home pay to an additional $1,000 a month!

I don't understand all this stuff, so I go in, work, get paid, and set aside some for a rainy day.

I am hoping to soon call that rainy day "retirement"!

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2018

I would at the very least refuse any and all OT.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 26, 2018

we had a company come in and evaluate. The restructured a lot of the middle management so it affect too, much but, we are expected to "work to both ends of our scope"-the top and the bottom (which includes all of the CNA tasks).

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Jan 29, 2018

Yep. Nursing and Medicine are businesses now & cutting expenses looks good on the next quarterly report. What can you do about it? That depends. If you are OK with them cutting your pay then keep working. If not don't accept more work at the lower rate. Paying you OT is probably still cheaper than staffing with an agency with the added side benefit of you being oriented to your setting. "Sucking it up" will result in another round of cuts. They will keep hacking away until someone calls BS. Good luck!!!