unpaid orientation

elkpark · Jun 24, 2013

Is it "fair"? Not really. But, how badly do you want the job? As you note, if you refuse to do it, you don't get the job. The few teaching jobs I've had over the years have often required time or activities that I was not technically getting paid for, or were not technically part of the "job," but needed to be done. The schools I've taught at in the past have not paid adjunct clinical faculty for the time they spent grading student assignments or coming to faculty meetings, either, but they have to be done. If you want to get your "foot in the door" at this particular school, and be in line for a full-time position if/when one opens up, this might be a worthwhile investment of your time. However, if it is a big deal to you that you're being asked to do something and not get paid for it, you may prefer to just walk away. Best wishes!

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 24, 2013

Fair? No

Common? Yes

Most faculty members are truly salaried, not paid by the hour. You get paid X amount of dollars for teaching that class, regardless of how many hours of work it takes to teach it. Whether you are efficient and spend few hours grading papers ... or already work for a hospital and don't need additional orientation to do clinicals there ... or whether you need to spend some extra time to get the things done you must do teach the course ... "doesn't matter." The pay is the same.

In general, the pay and working conditions of adjunct faculty members are pretty bad all over the country -- and in all disciplines, not just nursing. You have to decide whether or not the job meets your personal needs well enough to be worth the effort and disadvantages. That's true of any job, but it is particularly true of adjunct teaching.

For me, I have been teaching the same "blended" course (some classroom, some online) for several years -- one course, one semester per year. The first two years were really tough as I had to write all my lectures, create my grading rubrics, and generally learn how to teach the class. My pay was TERRIBLE in relation to the hours that I had to work on it. But once I did all that, it became increasingly easy to teach. All I have to do now is show up, deliver the lecture, deal with any student questions or problems, and grade papers at my convenience (at home in front of the TV). I make a few revisions to update the lectures and assignments during the "off season" when I feel like it needs to be done. It's become a relatively easy way to earn a little extra cash, even if I don't make near as much money per hour doing that as I do in my "day job."

UNITEDRN · Jun 24, 2013

Thanks for your feedback, I am not a new adjunct, doing this for last 16 months but a situation like this happened recently. I am not even considering the extra 10-12 hrs I spend in grading as I am used to that exercise but its just the thought of working 2 days unpaid is new to me. I am understanding the point and hope it'll help me to make my decisions.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Jun 25, 2013

A symptom of the unprofessional nature of nursing academia... if the school wants students at a hospital, then the school wants what is required and should pay their faculty accordingly. If the school doesn't like it, they should drop the institution, not leave an instructor holding the bag. That is unprofessional as it gets. Being common doesn't make it OK.

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 25, 2013

A symptom of the unprofessional nature of nursing academia... if the school wants students at a hospital, then the school wants what is required and should pay their faculty accordingly. If the school doesn't like it, they should drop the institution, not leave an instructor holding the bag. That is unprofessional as it gets. Being common doesn't make it OK.

While I don't totally disagree with you ... don't blame nursing. It's not nursing, it's teaching. University faculty members in all disciplines (not just nursing) face the same problems. At the highest levels, college level educators have it good. But at the middle and lower levels, it can stink.

Nurses are used to being paid by the hour -- but teachers are paid a salary that is independent of the number of hours they actually work. That's true of a lot of professions, teaching being just one. In fact, many professionals believe that being paid "by the hour" lessons their professionalism -- as it is the typical compensation method of "blue collar workers" and manual laborers. They think it is unprofessional to be paid by the hour and prefer being paid a salary for their work. You may disagree with that, but don't blame the nursing profession for it.

elkpark · Jun 25, 2013

Nurses are used to being paid by the hour -- but teachers are paid a salary that is independent of the number of hours they actually work. That's true of a lot of professions, teaching being just one. In fact, many professionals believe that being paid "by the hour" lessons their professionalism -- as it is the typical compensation method of "blue collar workers" and manual laborers. They think it is unprofessional to be paid by the hour and prefer being paid a salary for their work. You may disagree with that, but don't blame the nursing profession for it.

This. It's not a matter of being unprofessional, but of nursing academia being more professional (for better or worse ...) than most nurses are used to.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Jun 25, 2013

Adjunct faculty can even end up being paid less than minimum wage because they are paid by the class not by hours worked.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Jun 25, 2013

Adjunct faculty can even end up being paid less than minimum wage because they are paid by the class not by hours worked.

Sounds super duper professional right there... maybe staff RNs can be that professional one day, right elkpark?

elkpark · Jun 27, 2013

Sounds super duper professional right there... maybe staff RNs can be that professional one day, right elkpark?

The unfortunate current situation of many schools trying to cut costs and trim their budgets by using large numbers of adjunct faculty and paying them oppressively low salaries doesn't change the fact that most professions, most of academia, and most higher level positions within nursing operate on a salary basis. Every clinical and teaching job I've had since finishing grad school has been salaried, and I'm fine with that. I'm well aware that it doesn't appeal to lots of people, and, no worries, there will always be plenty of hourly-wage positions in nursing.

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 27, 2013

I too have spent the vast majority of my career as a salaried employee -- not paid by the hour. When I was a new grad back in 1977, I worked as a staff nurse for a couple of years and was paid by the hour. But then I went back and got my MSN and have been salaried ever since -- except for when I was a part time teaching and research assistant during my MSN and later, my PhD programs. I've been in my current job (with a PhD) working in a hospital for 16 years -- salaried, not hourly.

Salaried positions have their advantages -- and their disadvantages. So do positions that are paid by the hour. Neither is perfect. You have to choose the one that is best for you and accept the bad along with the good. Nobody can have it both ways.

Olm_is_my_everything · Jun 28, 2013

Sounds like the cold hard truth of nursing academia. Welcome to the land of salary and not hourly wages. Oh and the time spent grading. It's difficult to calculate. Those that care spend endless hours helping students. Those that don't just fly right through it. Pride yourself in knowing that you are doing the right thing and helping to better the future of the nursing profession. Besides --- what brought you to nursing, the money or the ability to do good for human kind?