What is the least amount you would work for as a RN?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was offered a position in an adult day care and what is the wage? $12.00 an hour. I find this insulting. Any one else find this insulting or am I being silly? Thanks :)

Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

What perks could possibly justify barely over minimum wage? Maybe free groceries for a year, all expense paid Alaskan cruise or free use of company Lear jet but otherwise... what a joke, any nurse who agrees to being suckered like that clearly doesn't have a very high opinion of themselves.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I make about $20/hr now at my non-nursing job (which i will keep until I find RN work, and maybe even after if I can only find part time.) I would have to be compensated at least $25-30 to make a career switch worth it, and to make the time and effort I put in to getting the education and license pay off.

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

I wouldn't work for less than $19/hr as an RN (unless it was an amazing job) and that is on the low side.

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Specializes in LTC, nurse instructor.
The fact that the administrator sounds desperate and the nurse demoted himself to program assistant are red flags. I wouldn't mind working $12/hr doing something else, but not as a nurse due to the responsibilities and all the legalities it entails. You have to also think about the support system when it comes to audit time and emergencies. I wonder if there was a code, the nurse/program assistant will be able to help you since he also has a license even though it's not part of his "job title".

the administrator told me that since the nurse stepped down from the nursing position, he is NOT to act as a nurse in any capacity, so I wouldn't have him as help.

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Was this post a management "fact-finding" query? Can we find any RN's for $12/hr?

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

I would keep looking. I was offered an RN position a few years ago for $12/hr. It was in a dr.'s office. So there were no weekends, limited evenings, no holidays, and a lunch break. The benefits were pretty good. It was a long drive for me, about 1/2 hr each way. So it would cost a lot in gas and car car. There wouldn't be much actual cash left by time the car was taken care of/paid/gassed up and taxes were taken out. No thanks. I kept looking. :down: I would only take an RN job that paid that poor IF it was the only way to pay the bills and put food on the table. The stress is just too high to work for that. I would rather wait tables for similar pay after tips.

As to how little I am willing to work for, it depends on the area. Here, new grads start out at $17/hr with sucky benefits. Shift diff gives you a bit more, so you are around the $20/hr range. It isn't a lot, but it is something that you can live on. You can't support a family of 4-5 on it, but it is enough for a small apartment, a very used car, utilities, basic health care, cheap clothes, a cheapy cell phone, and food. So yes, you can live without a room mate making that amount here if you have no dependents. If both parents make that amount, it is very doable to live here if you have someone to help with low cost or free child care. If not, I think it would be rough financially. So in this area, yes, I would work for that amount. It is rural here. If I were looking for work in a small city near by, I would not accept less than $23/hr since I would have to pay for transportation costs of having a more reliable car and more gas, plus having more taken out in taxes. (there is no local tax taken out here, you pay it at the end of the year, and it isn't that bad) I would obviously expect MUCH more if I were going to live in a big city with a high cost of living.

For the amount of stress nursing gives, I expect to be able to support myself financially without assistance of others.

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My mother and aunt make more than that per hour working at a shoe factory. They don't ever have any complaints about their jobs. They are both in their 60's and tell me they plan to work for as long as they can because they love their jobs so much -- how many nurses want to be working on a hospital floor in their 60's? $12.00 per hour -- wonder what the interviewer is making . . .

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

I would rather mow yards, clean pools, lay tile before taking $12/hr for nursing. I would not take less than $33/hr working as a staff OR RN in my market. This is in a lower cost of living city. I have a skill and they have a need for my skill. If they dont want it and are unwilling to pay for it, see ya.

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I won't accept less than I got as an LPN which was almost $24/hour by the time I left. If nursing wages drop that low and there are non-nursing jobs that pay about the same then i'll be done with nursing. It doesn't make sense to have the responsibilities of a nurse for those kind of wages. Why not work in a call center or be a server at one of those chain restaurants like Chilis or TGIF? You would be treated just as poorly by your boss and the customers but at least you won't have all the responsibility.

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Specializes in chemical dependency detox/psych.

God, no...I live in a rural area with starting RN salaries $19-21/hr in nursing homes. I would never work for $12/hr.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
thank you all for your replies. This is a part time no benefits job. I will have to pass medications, give insulin, take out the all trash, supervise program assistants and work every Tuesday and Saturday.

I live in a very rural area, but this job wouldn't even put me above the poverty level. I can't even begin to understand how an agency with 5 different offices in the state could pay such low wages.

I think I will pass on this "opportunity".

Thanks again for all the great advice and help

Absolutely not.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
yes I do consider it a slap in the face. The administrator wants me so badly, yet she says they can only pay $12.00 an hour. Minimum wage is $8.25 and that is what my daughter is making as a waitress in a fast food restaurant, plus she can get tips of up to $100.00 per night. I wouldn't even be making that and my daughter is fresh out of high school.

I would be responsible for 30+ individuals health and well being, learn the companies computerized charting system and also help toilet and shower some residents. I don't mind doing things like that, but at $12.00 an hour? No thanks.

Thanks for the reply :)

Absolutely positively not. If the administrator wants you that badly, tell her to pony up.

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