The Nursing Gig

[Grayeagle]

Ok .. so .. been in this nursing thing for over 2 yrs now.
'Networking' ..gathering info, talkin to those who know, seeking data.
Tryin to find out what's what.

Here's what I have been able to find out on the 'bottom line' ..

LPN = $20+ per hour. About one year of school required.

Associate RN = $30+ per hour. 3 semesters after finishin LPN, approx.

Bachelor of Science RN = $40+ per hour. Add 2 years approx after finishin LPN.

Specialty RN (ie: Telemtry, Operating Room, etc) = $45+ per hour ..some require certification testing.. a coupla weeks to a few months of school or experience in the field.

Then comes the crazy RN's (ie: Nurse Anaesthitist) = $75+ per hour to start, right out of school.
I'm not even counting sign on bonuses ..which top 20k here an there. Free money, to blow as you want purty much.

Short schooling times for large returns.
Projected critical shortage of all RN types for decades ahead.
Job satisfaction .. good days are *very* good days. (directly involved in saving a person's life-priceless)
(of course, some days .. the flippant 'at least nobody died' does not apply)

I figured some of yas may want to know.
"there are always possibilities" - Spock

-GE aka Frank (presently gathering ducks into rows to pursue LPN to BSN ..approx 2 yrs away)
'Just Sayin' - Pasha

[AquaShrimp]

I think your hourly wages are way too high.

[Dead Man Flying]

I think your hourly wages are way too high.

Depends on the state.  Nursing wages in California are very high compared to other states, but when you take into account the cost of living, they're actually near the bottom.

[eagl]

No specifics, but A few family members are in that business...  The pay is ok but the hours and stress levels suck.  The new guy (or girl) always gets the worst jobs and the worst hours.  If you can stick with the first few years though, it's supposedly a very rewarding career field and well worth the pain and suffering gone through in training and certification.

Unless you get sued by someone who is going to die anyway and is pissed that they can't sue god, so they sue you instead.  And the jury gives them everything you own.  That sucks.  But otherwise the medical career field is rewarding.

[Grayeagle]

I think your hourly wages are way too high.

And you base your thought on what?

I make more than 20/hr ..and talk to others in the field daily.

I know what they make here in Arizona.

I'm plannin a Z06 when I graduate ..cause I know what I will be makin when I do.

*your mileage may vary*

Mine is on the money.

-GE

[mg1942]

I think your hourly wages are way too high.

The pay is right on the mark.  They work really long hours and there's chronic nursing shortage.


The salary that the nurses are making is enough to make you forget about the so-called looming recession in the US

[mg1942]

My aunt graduated cum laude in nursing (RN) this summer.  She did not have to do job search.... instead the hospitals in L.A. county bombarded her with invitation letters with sign-in bonus attached.  She's basically guaranteed a high paying job.

[Grayeagle]

Yassir .. Instructor said 'do NOT send a resume out unless you want to work there, because they will *hound* you until you do'

True statement.

I use my spam filter daily because I get job offers every day from registry, job websites, and heaven forbid if I do a search for LPN jobs ..much less RN.

50mile radius = approx 200 openings ..every day.. here in Phx ..for LPN.
RN is over a thousand openings .. every day.

Comes down to where I want to work, and if I dont like it . .. I can go somewhere else.
That day.

(been there, done that)

It's quite refreshing after the disaster of aerospace in the '80's (200 resume's out, 3 phone calls, one interview)
..and the constant wadin thru BS as a video game artist, never knowing who is tellin the truth and who is blowin smoke.

-GE aka Frank

[Maverick]

Grayeagle,

He bases it on what he gets almost all of his post material from, just north of his hemorrhoids at eye level.


The step daughter is in an accelerated nursing program at Shriner University in Texas. She will finish her RN in about a year if everything goes well.

[eddiek]

Did it for 10 years, got out of it 3 years ago and haven't missed it a bit.  Doubled my income, no longer need a license nor do I have to get 20+ hours of CEU's.
Until or unless people start letting themselves be held accountable for their own actions and thus health, I couldn't see myself getting back into that gig.
Meanwhile, I'll settle for making $65K+ per year while only working 6 months.
Your mileage may vary...............lol

[Grayeagle]

So .. eddie .. doubled yer income to 65k?
Half would be 32k or so?
You were a CNA?
..cause that's about what they make here.

Last time I saw a yearly paycheck for around 32k I was in the USAF.
-Just sayin -tm Pasha

I'll clear a bit over 47k this year, little bits of overtime here an there. (an hour here an there)
I work 8hrs a day, 5 days a week.
They keep beggin me to work overtime or double shifts .. I keep sayin no thanks.

I met a Nurse Anaesthitist in Denver, ..he works weekends for about 6 months out of a year.
Workin for 4 doctors, they send a Lear when they need him.
He's been doin it awhile tho .. does a bit over 150k per year.
Told me it's all he wanted to do.

Thing about nursing and lawsuits .. as a nurse you work under the Doctor's license to practice.
Of course if you are a flake and screw up too badly, you will get burnt.
(heard a story about a Nurse in Texas that killed 7 people ..deliberately .. before gettin caught ..sheesh)

Just don't blatantly kill off your patients and you'll be ok.
Two main things you have to do .. show up, and do your job.
Be surprised how many can't seem to manage to do just that

If you do those two things you will shine as a Nurse, and they will keep throwin money at you.

-Frank aka GE

[Ripsnort]

My wife is an RN, speciality, and she's written a couple of papers for treating burns (She was in the burn ICU, Level 1 trauma center for 16 years) She's now in management at same level 1 trauma hospital. She has 3 departments she manages (Radiology, transportation and RN float pool)
I don't know how she does it. I've toured her place of employment and let me tell you, it takes a special person to work with the sort of stress and horror they put with day in and day out. The avg "work" expectancy before "burn out" in the Burn ICU is 2.4 years avg. She did it 16 years before moving to the ER. Then into management. She's also working towards her masters.

Salute to you Greyeagle, I know what your typical day is like. You actually work for a living. 

[Masherbrum]

I think your hourly wages are way too high.

You just love digging trenches?   You just know it all at 24 years old don't you?   

[Ripsnort]

You just love digging trenches?   You just know it all at 24 years old don't you?   

Hopefully he doesn't fall seriously ill. If he does, he'll change his mind on that hourly wage.

[eddiek]

No, Grayeagle, I was an LVN (LPN in some states).
Started off working smaller facilities in North Texas when the average starting pay was $7/hour, earned more as my experience grew.
Last job I worked they hired me at their max pay, so when my yearly eval rolled around, I was already maxed out and not eligible for a raise.
Let me clarify a bit for you............being a single dad, after taxes and insurance and everything else was taken out each pay period, my take home pay was in the half of what it is now....and my last two nursing jobs were as an agency nurse making $22/hour, and at a wound care facility making $18.76.  
You will rarely find any facility in this area that still offers 8 hour shifts.  Most are 12 hour shifts only.  
I'm not knocking nurses, not at all.  The job is demanding, stressful, and most times you never get the appreciation you deserve from family or patients.  
As a healthcare professional, you are held to a higher standard....and you have to keep up your CEU's, you had to attend school to even be able to get your license, you are "asked" to receive training for various specialties, yet the pay is still below what an off the street Joe BLow with only a high school education can receive for some jobs.
That's not the nurses' fault......I feel and have felt that corporate healthcare keeps nurses underpaid in many areas, especially around this area.

My first paycheck from a drilling contractor............I was afraid to cash it because I thought there had been an error.  That check for one week's work was more than my take home pay for an entire MONTH of working as a nurse.  It's still that way now:  I make similiar pay per hour as my last nursing job, yet monetarily, it's not even close when you compare the checks side by side.
In the end, it's all up to the individual and what satisfaction they get from their job.
I hated being cooped up indoors, I no longer have to worry about that.
I don't have to deal with or put up with patients who lead a self destructive lifestyle but feel their life and livelihood is the nurse's responsibility.
No longer have to put up with prima donna RN's who think that being an RN means they are above cleaning a patient who soiled themselves, or that they don't have to get a patient some water, or any of the most basic things a nurse does.
Nor do I have to deal with doctors who think that "M.D." at the end of their name means "GOD".
As I said before, your mileage may vary.  I did it for 10 years, decided after that amount of time that I needed to get out.  I don't and am not putting down nurses in general.  Been there and done that and there are some awesome nurses out there and then there are some that you wonder how they ever passed their state licensing exams.
Is it an honorable profession?  YES!
I apologize if you perceived that I was putting it down, because that was not my intent.  I was merely stating my opinion based on my personal experiences.