Unfair Wage Increase

[snuggles49]

A little background:

In our facility we have a unit manager for CICU, MED, SURG, OR, ED, OB.

The OB dept has been without a manager for almost 1 year. One came and left within 2 weeks. The ED manager has been doing almost all the OB coverage aside from about 3 months when the rest of us took turns.She appeared to want to so none of us fought her for it. Besides we all thought administration was still attempting to hire for a manager. Boy were we stupid!! Keep in mind none of us have including the ED manager have any OB experience except one who years ago worked a short stint in OB as staff. All of the Unit managers in Nursing have been paid the same wage up till now. Two of the managers, myself included, were informed this week by our CNE in a informal conversation that the ED manager was going to take the OB dept as manager along with the ED. The reason for my post is to help get my anger worked off and to seek out other thoughts on this outrageous action The clincher for my anger is that she will be getting a 15 % increase in her hourly wage which amts to 5.00 hour increase to oversee a dept of 12 employees with aprox. 15 to 20 births a month if they are lucky. On top of this none of the other managers were privy to this until after it happen and none of us were given an opportunity to be considered for the position.

This manager has only been a manager for 2 years, does not have a BSN she does smooze good and knows how to play people esp administration. Supper big brown noser.

Two of us ask this manager how this was decided and she said she gave administration an ultimatium and said she would'nt cover the dept anymore unless she was compensated. She had the gull to tell us she orginally ask for a wage of 1 1/2 time her wage which would have given her $24.50 more an hour. now mind you 3 of the other managers have a BSN, all have over 5 years management experience with one of these with 12 years management. All but one has covered the OB dept when there was no one to do it. Anyone of these other managers could do the job.

Two of us confronted our Cne and were told if we want the job then "toss your hat in the ring" yeah the job has already been given. So I did. I informed the CNE I was now interested in t managing the Dept along with my own which will give me over 50 people to manage to her 30 to 35.I am so upset about this I want to spill my guts to the other managers/dept heads in the facility as I know the roof would be raised of .We had a FOIA exposure of all the management/administration salaries/wages in the local paper about 3 months ago and it caused a quite a stir as it was obvious wage/salaries were not fair. Now this unit manager will be the 4th highest paid manager out of 26 managers. Our lab director, radiology dept will be paid less then this manager and both have three times more responsability and there are others. I would appreciate your thoughts and input and what would you do?I was told by Cne that it would be July before she would consider my application for position as they are waiting for salary surveys to be finalized. Hmmm the manager for OB/ED had her wage survey as we were told this is how they determined what she should be paid based on her job description . I compared the job description and there was no difference except the manager of OB needs to obtain NRP and STABLE within one year. In fact the sentence that states all the nsg. managers have 24 accountability is removed from hers. She doesn't believe she should be accountable after she leaves work for the week-end or after she leaves during the week. Once we get our survey back and hopefully get a raise Hmm does she get another pay increase when all the other managers/ dept heads get one. What do you think about this situation?

[llg, PhD, RN]

So ... let's see if I have this right ...

The ED manager volunteered to cover the management responsibilities for another unit (OB) while you and the other managers did not volunteer. You let her bear the extra burden herself because she seemed to want it and you did not.

After several months of taking on this extra responisibility herself with no extra compensation (and with little help from the other managers), she asked to be compensated for the extra work she was doing. The administrators said "yes" to her request for compensation for her extra work.

... and now you are all angry that she is getting compensated for having voluntarily taken on the extra responsibilities?

That's how it looks from the administration's point-of-view. They see that they had one manager who stepped up to the plate and piched in when needed while the rest of you did not. They decided to reward that person for her extra-effort. That's the way the world works.

I'm sorry that you missed an opportunity to show the administration that you could handle more responsibility and were willing to work extra to help out the institution when needed. You said that you thought the administration was trying to hire a manager: you were right: they were -- and the ED manager stepped up and said she wanted the job. The rest of you did not.

... and remember... Her workload is not just a reflection of the # of total employees. Having 2 departments will mean 2 budgets, 2 sets of physicians to work with, 2 clinical specialties, 2 sets of very different accreditation requirements, etc. It's harder to run 2 separate deparatements with different specialties than it is to run one larger department.

[lvnandmomx3]

She appeared to want to so none of us fought her for it.

You said it best in this statment..... I think everyone is peeved because she was willing to take on the responsibilty temporarily and then realized that admin was not working on getting a replacment. So she gave them the ultimatum and won. If all the other managers had know that a raise or compensaion were on the table then there may have been a fight for the position....... You all let her take on the resposibilities when she was not getting compensated for them and no one had ill feelings, but then change your tune when you found out about the raise........ IMO I would not take on more responsibilites unless I was compensated for it.... but that is just me.

I do not agree that she is not held to the same standards as the other managers though in regards to the 24hour accountability that goes with the title. And also think It would be unfair it she recieved and additional increase in pay when the surveys are completed.

[snuggles49]

I need to clarify some things. The ED manager did not "volunteer" in fact the CICU manager had orginally took the OB dept ( she did volunteer )between the laspe of no manager while they were still looking for an OB manager. But then the CICU manager had a crises in her family and had time off which is when the ED manager filled in. The reason being 1. it usually worked out that the managers on the same floor covered for those depts. and OB is on same floor as ER. 2. the CICU manager was covered by managers on her floor therefore they were already covering another dept.. So it was more a given then a volunteer basis. Once the CICU manager came back she decided to leave the area and the ER manager continued to cover OB while also complaining about having to do it but at the same time positioning herself to look good to the CNE for taking on the OB dept. I also, need to clarify that 3 managers do manage a 2nd dept that is somewhat incorporated into their own dept but work under 2 different budgets. They are small depts. but one is off campus. I will come to terms with this situation but will still maintain it was an unfair, underhanded and overall not fair to nursing managers or other managers/dept heads outside of nursing. Thanks for the input:wink2:

[RN1989]

Sorry but all I can see from your post is jealousy. Particularly with the comments that she is not a BSN. You may not like her personally or how she does things, but I imagine you would be pretty pleased with yourself if you had the idea to ask for extra money for doing the job. She beat you to it this time. Sounds like there is a lot of politics going on in your facility. Perhaps you could start breaking the cycle negativity there by accepting the fact that she is doing what is best for herself. There is no law that says you can't do the same. And if being a suck-up gets you what you need or want, perhaps you should re-think your approach to things. I hate brown nosers myself but I have learned that there are times you have to play the game to get what you need or want.

[Jolie, BSN]

If you are truly interested in advancing into a position of greater responsibility, perhaps you can make an appointment with your DON and let her know of your interest. Ask to be considered for upcoming special projects, offer to fill in for other managers during vacations, leaves of absence, etc. Make yourself invaluable by helping out and learning about other departments in advance so that when the next position opens up you will be the obvious choice.

[snuggles49]

Those that have responded to my post are any of you currently managers or have been managers ? If you are currently managers do all your nursing dept. managers make the same wage/ salary ?

[TraumaNurseRN]

I think in the end that the job was suddenly interesting when the increased wage came into play. Live and learn eh?

[Jolie, BSN]

Those that have responded to my post are any of you currently managers or have been managers ? If you are currently managers do all your nursing dept. managers make the same wage/ salary ?

I formerly managed a Level II NICU in a community hospital. It was the smallest department in the hospital, but unlike other clinical units that shared common skill sets, I was the only nurse in the hospital system who held the qualifications necessary for the job. (BSN and minimum of 3 years experience in a Level III NICU.) I had no one (not even my supervisor, who was a peds nurse) who I could fall back on for coverage in my absence, help with policies and procedures, etc. For that reason, I started out at a pay level that was somewhat higher than the entry level pay scale for management, but I have no idea what other nurse managers made, nor did I believe that it was any of my business.

I learned early on in my nursing career to negotiate a salary based on my experience and qualifications, without comparing salary to anyone else. I expect to be paid what I am worth, which may or may not be the same as what the next person is worth, based on his/her knowledge, experience, level of responsibility, etc.

[RN1989]

Yes, I have been a manager and dealt with some of the same issues that you have described. We did not discuss salaries but I do know that the salaries weren't equal and depended on many factors such as education, experience, type of specialty, certifications, as well as the negotiating ability of the person.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I'm in a quasi-management position now and have had similar positions in several hospitals for many years. Salaries are not always the same for leadership positions like they often are for staff nurse positions. I have found that there is usually more variability in leadership salaries based on past experience, specific job responsibilities, and negotiating skill.

Nurses are too quick to get angry at someone else who succeeds and does well for herself. Her colleagues should be applauding the ED manager for setting a precedent that the management of a 2nd unit deserves a raise in pay. She led the way to higher compensation for all managers who take on additional duties.

[FocusRN]

I guess I am missing something hear, but personally I don't see the OP as being jealous, and don't see why she is being given the "ohh, well tough" attitude.

If you look at her original post, you see that she mentions nurse managers OTHER than herself that would be more qualified for the position on a full-time basis. Also, although many variables may come is to play, with the pay scales of nurse managers, I'm sure that the number of employees that a nurse manager is responsible for should also, come into play, and the OP stated that this nurse will have like 30, while others are responsible for more in their ONE area. And, lastly by all accounts, specialty expertise, is also a deciding factor, in pay with nurse managers, but this particular nurse manager is not only, NOT an OB specialist, but doesn't have as much management experience than others.

I would be po'ed also. And I would have the same feeling that I think the OP has; and that is that I would be fine, if this position had been formally opened up for grabs with an increase in pay as a known benefit, and a MORE qualified nurse managers actually had an out in the open (not behind closed doors, the position is open, so if you ask for it behind closed doors, it's yours) chance to formally compete for the position, as well as the raise.