What do you think a fair salary would be for a RN?

jackson145 · Jun 5, 2009

In my area, nurses make a better salary than most.

With the economy & the job market as it is, we all ought to be grateful to have a job. Period.

suni, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2009

I also feel that nurses salaries on the whole are fair. I have been in nursing a very long time and have moved up the ranks from : unit secretary to nurse aid to LPN to RN.

Knowing what my salary has been on all levels I have never complained and was always happy I had a job and could help support my family.

When my spouse was unemployed I was able to work full time and flex at an ECF part time. No one should complain about salary when so many are out of work.

If you do not like what you earn look for another job

nightmare, RN · Jun 5, 2009

Personally I would like my salary to be a few pounds more per hour than it is now.I would like to see it reflect not only seniority but also length of service.

Nurse523 · Jun 5, 2009

I wish salary here in Canada would be more higher.

genesis49 · Jun 5, 2009

In my area, nurses make a better salary than most.
With the economy & the job market as it is, we all ought to be grateful to have a job. Period.

I think this attitude is one of the areas Nurses need to reassess the way we look at ourselves. We are not lucky to have jobs. Our employers are lucky to have us.

Jobs are out there, and they have difficulty filling positions in many cases. otherwise, there would be no need for Nursing pools.

I truly feel we need to market ourselves as being more than "lucky to have a job".

i've been hearing it more and more often. we're not auto workers or janitors. we are professionals. They can't just train someone to do our jobs in a couple weeks.

I am grateful to have a job. but it's because it's a job I love. not because of the economy, or job market. if I decided to move on, there is no doubt in my mind I could have a new job within a day or two.

(I think this may be my first post, so please don't think I'm always this militant)

**All Heart RN** · Jun 5, 2009

I also feel that nurses salaries on the whole are fair. I have been in nursing a very long time and have moved up the ranks from : unit secretary to nurse aid to LPN to RN.
Knowing what my salary has been on all levels I have never complained and was always happy I had a job and could help support my family.
When my spouse was unemployed I was able to work full time and flex at an ECF part time. No one should complain about salary when so many are out of work.
If you do not like what you earn look for another job

Oh, come on! Really?! I don't mean to sound so incredulous but there are nurses in this country that are earning $18/hr. These are people that save lives and for that they earn only $18/hr. I'm not pouring my heart, soul, and mind into my degree to become a martyr for health care.

I know these are hard times but statements such as the one I quoted have always been made by some nurses-regardless of how good or bad the economy. There are many things that need to be changed about the Nursing field. One of those many things is how we value our worth. We are not saints, we aren't nuns...we worked our b-u-t-t-s off to be in this field and I want to be compensated for it...and there's nothing wrong with saying so. Nursing was not a calling for me. It's a field that I knew I had the potential to succeed in and so I went back to school to obtain the education in which to do so.

Let's not be ashamed to demand for more...we're worth it!

nsFAMU · Jun 5, 2009

I think this attitude is one of the areas Nurses need to reassess the way we look at ourselves. We are not lucky to have jobs. Our employers are lucky to have us.
Jobs are out there, and they have difficulty filling positions in many cases. otherwise, there would be no need for Nursing pools.
I truly feel we need to market ourselves as being more than "lucky to have a job".
i've been hearing it more and more often. we're not auto workers or janitors. we are professionals. They can't just train someone to do our jobs in a couple weeks.
I am grateful to have a job. but it's because it's a job I love. not because of the economy, or job market. if I decided to move on, there is no doubt in my mind I could have a new job within a day or two.
(I think this may be my first post, so please don't think I'm always this militant)

I agree with you. We really need to get out of that "I'm just the nurse" mentality. We are professionals and we should be compensated accordingly. I probably don't even want to know what nurses would be getting if there wasn't a shortage. We shouldn't have to work flex, pool, and agency in addition to a full time job just to make it. The flex, pool and agency rates should be what we get on our regular full time jobs. What we do is physically and emotionally demanding and so many nurses are pushing themselves to work 5 and 6 12hour shifts per week to feed their families. Other careers may make less than nursing but that is their struggle and they need to come together and demand what they are worth as well. Yes I love and appreciate my job but that doesn't mean that I should accept anything less than what I deserve.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jun 5, 2009

While I am extremely grateful to have a job, I also don't feel adequately compensated for all we do, for all the stress we endure, and the severe short-staffed conditions we work in.

Having said that, would some of you be willing to work for half of what you make now? I mean, you'd still have a job to be grateful for and maybe the hospitals would hire 2 for 1 nurse type of deal? Your generosity would create more jobs as well.

Come on........

libbyjeanne · Jun 5, 2009

I also feel that nurses salaries on the whole are fair. I have been in nursing a very long time and have moved up the ranks from : unit secretary to nurse aid to LPN to RN.
Knowing what my salary has been on all levels I have never complained and was always happy I had a job and could help support my family.
When my spouse was unemployed I was able to work full time and flex at an ECF part time. No one should complain about salary when so many are out of work.
If you do not like what you earn look for another job

I don't think the original poster was complaining about not being happy with her job. I think that she was looking for feedback about current nurse wages to see if we are happy or not happy with our pay. Nothing in her post came across to me that she was unhappy with her career.

I live in MT, and I think my pay is fair for the floor I am working on and my experience level.

pedirn1 · Jun 6, 2009

libbyjeanne....I agree! I am also happy with my pay (one of the top salaries in my area for just 1 year experiance). Although as a whole, I do think nurses should be paid more than what they are.

Batman24 · Jun 6, 2009

The lucky to have a job mentality is what keeps nurses down. It saddens me to no end that so many in my profession don't see how valuable they truly. We are educated professionals and deserve to be compensated accordingly. I have seen no other educated group of professionals deem themselves as so unworthy of fair pay and better circumstances than some nurses. We need to all remember our worth as employees who perform a crucial service in the medical community.

I make good money but I don't think it is enough given the degree of responsibilty our title carries. I still think we need to impress upon the public the true scope of what our title carries. In the metropolitan areas and those with higher costs of living I would like to see the salary be in the 90k arena without the O/T.

And I don't think the answer is everyone that is unhappy with their wages up and quit. That doesn't help us or the patients that need us. The better option is to realize our worth and unite as one pushing for better pay and better working conditions.