How are hospitals incentivizing staff nurses to stay vs. becoming a travel nurse?
They aren't. That's the whole problem.
They aren’t. Hence why I’m here on this app :)
They are not. In my opinion, starting pay for nurses should be AT LEAST $50/hour and only go up from there. We deserve it.
They don’t. I have heard so many admin say, if you don’t want to stay, there are several others who are looking. Their negative attitude toward hard working burnt out nurses are so dismissive and condescending, because in the same breath they call you when you resign to ask for you to return and want to know what can they do differently. I say get all those mean spirited people out of administration
They absolutely aren’t. I feel like a jackass making $41 an hour while the the travel nurses I work with are making five and six times that much. Who do they think is training these travelers?? Nurses are quitting and getting rehired on the same floor as a travel nurse and then easier assignments. This is the breakdown of the American healthcare system.
They aren’t! My network just performed a “market adjustment” based on years of experience. Our new grad hourly rate went from $31 to $40/hr; and 29% increase! I just started my 14th year of nursing and went from $41.25 to $45.75….that’s a 9% increase/raise!! My health network is literally doing the exact opposite of retaining experienced staff.
No incentives. We are actually losing money, the working conditions are continuing to deteriorate as they are cutting contract staff. Pt acuity and ration are steadily increasing. No one cares. They do nothing but bitch about pt satisfaction then pt safety. IT’S INSANE HOW NURSES ARE BEIBG TREATED NOT ONLY BY PT’S AMD FAMILY MEMBERS BUT ALSO BY THE NURSES IN ADMIN AND LEADERSHIP.
The only way to increase retaining nurses is to pay them what they are worth, which is usually 3 times the money they are getting paid, and keep patient to nurse ratios 5:1 on regular floors, and 1:1 patient to nurse ratios on Specialty floors, ie... ICU,CCU, etc... without making excuses, no exceptions. Period. That is the only way you will retain nurses, And the only thing that Administrators won't do. That's why Healthcare facilities are always in the same situation, a revolving door of non-experienced employees!
Pffft. Most arent. Most often the only way to get a decent raise as an RN is to leave and then demand a higher wage from your next employer. Sad, but that is how it is. Many hospitals struggle with high turn over. Most hospital administrations are so short sighted they cant see past the end of thier own noses. They dont give a rat's rear about keeping nurses.... until they dont have any and are forced to use agency nurses.
Hospitals aren’t doing anything to keep staff RN’s. I am currently a traveler. I have been to several hospitals in different states and all the staff RN’s complain about the same things, pay and resources, which are the reasons why I went to travel nursing.
I’d like to go staff somewhere, but they just don’t pay enough. It’s always half of what I’m making now, and as a traveler my insurance is free for myself, but I pay $64 a check to add my kids. So hard to leave traveling even though I want some stability. 😞 the hospitals complain about having to pay travelers but fail to realize how much money that would save paying their staff the same amount and how much loyalty they would have!
I think it depends on your organization. I will admit that since I started working for John Hopkins Medicine, they have been strongly showing attempts to appreciate their staff. They have done raises, gifts, spotlights/recognition, and have multiple support options such as meditation meetups and town halls. They also bring all staff to the table instead of select groups. Money definitely does not seem to be the primary driver in the decision process which is amazing. Comparing to a prior organization this is a monumental improvement in helping staff feel valuable and important for our mission. The staff are overwhelmingly happy and feel satisfied. I have worked agency and have also been permanent staff in prior positions throughout the region for other organizations.
They aren't....They should increase staff pay, improve benefits....especially the insurance! The insurance for health insurance has been awful and expensive.....travelers get very good insurance free! Nurses want good health insurance....
Yes they give us more cold Pizza ! 😬
They aren’t. You have to make the change and find an employer that honors your values and meets the criteria of what you think is a fulfilling job for you.
My hospital is offering $600 bonus for 12 hour shifts
Our hospital is offering internal agency contracts to combat the number of external agency nurses needed. The internal contract started pay at $60/hour and a weekly $500 bonus. 8 week commitment, first to float, work 4 x 12 hr shifts /week, and the premium pay and bonus would be cancelled out for a pay period if you called off. I made over $20,000 in one contract. After offering that contract for about a year they lowered the pay rate to $45/hour and lengthened the contract to 10-12 weeks, so it’s not really worth it anymore.
There is a tuition reimbursement program at my hospital where they pay $415 each month towards my nursing school debt. That keeps me around.
Sadly Travel Nursing is starting to be obsolete. Rates have dropped significantly. Almost not even worth traveling anymore.
I worked 15 years as a nurse (LPN-IV CERTIFICATION, WOUND MANAGEMENT THERAPY, AND CLINICAL SUPERVISOR OF CNA'S/PCA'S.) On the reservation for native Americans. I absolutely loved it. It was hard work. Sometimes I would cry at the disparity of the "white" bahana world of health care and what we would receive. They kept me there bc the simplest question was asked to me "why did I become a nurse?" To help others who can't help themselves. The pay was decent. Housing was a benefit.
Culturally i learned much. We received bonus money every 6 months. Skills wise I learned so much! Clinical and practical.
Most of all I felt needed and people were thankful and grateful. I know that many people believe LPN nurses are really nothing. I trained RN'S. Alot. As nurses maybe we could stop concentrating on the material aspects of "what can they do for me " to "what can I learn, how to say no im too tired to come in.etc. and most of all I still believe
if we show interest in an area of nursing we are more valued. I was one semester away from receiving my RN but my kids were little. I chose my family every time. I worked nights, days, evenings, weekends holidays. I would bring my baby to work. Anyone not currently happy? Try the rez. I had a baby on my hip
one at my ankles. Been
working 30 years now. Graduated w a 4.0 gpa. This data base is messing up my sentences. WE ARE AS INDIVIDUAL AS THE PATIENTS WE CARE FOR.
I LOVE BEING A NURSE! z
Our hospital in Cookeville tn just gave nurses a 4.50 per hour raise. Now sure what starting pay is but I am earning 41.00 per hour as a full-time pacu nurse. We have good nurse patient ratios. Med surg is 5-6 patients on days and 6 on nights. Step-down is 4 to 1 days and 5 to 1 at night. Come work with us. It's a great place to work. Our admin truly cares about patient care.
Lol they aren’t. The pay and the ratios aren’t worth it.
The hospitals here are such low pay and not getting that inflation has made mortgages and rent sky high.
I have seen very small attempts they offered xtra money for shifts but only if you Lou requirements so if you had an illness and picked up xtra you got the regular amount while others got the double time. Bonuses but they were very small. Generally not enough when a traveler with3 years ,experience no acls or Tele skills or specialty skills is getting 4 to 5 times my base. These travelers are trying to sign and get a ten year rate for their salary when they haven’t the chops to do the work.
This is really sad to me. Hospitals will pay double for travel nurses but will not pay current staff what they are worth. How does that make sense $$$ wise?
They aren’t. We have 27 travelers just on our floor alone which takes from our OT. No incentive to stay
The hospital where I work is paying new grads exponentially more than the longer term nurses. So a couple years ago, they gave all us "old timers" a bump in pay of a couple bucks an hour. They also used to offer a bonus of $1000 for every 4th shift and above worked each week on top of OT. That got cut down as COVID cases decreased here. Now it's down to $475 for each 4th shift an above worked each week still on top of OT. I was told that to make more money here it's best to quit and go somewhere else for 6 months, then come back and negotiate the higher salary. I'm half tempted to do just that, but want to wait until after the first of the year when I get my sign on and transfer bonuses as well as I will be fully vested with my retirement.
The hospital I work for has an internal traveler position. You work for the hospital but they float you to other floors and pay you more
it is because they don't want to pay for benefits.
Not. I find myself working with many from my local county in a hospital 90-120 minute drive. At the same time the local hospital hires travel nurses-you guessed it- from the county where I get travel pay.
What he/she said...
Yeah right. They are not and they are blind for not seeing the damage it causes.
They are not incentivizing! I ended up with a serious back injury due to working in a very high stress environment with no support person above me.
Its not worth a chronic injury no matter how much they pay you. So prayers, love and support to all. If we could all pass our NCLEX, we are smart enough to get out of this jam... Good luck guys-
My job offered 50 BSN and 25 MSN paid by the organization. As long as you stay with them they will pay for the program. I’m currently getting the MSN and it’s 2 years if you take one course at a time so I need to stay the 2 years. There were barely any requirements to qualify. It was open for everyone working, no minimum years working at the company and no commitment after finishing the degree. It was a first come first serve type of thing so the first people to apply got it.
They aren’t. But they are cutting off agencies altogether in. A lot of regions. I’ve worked in places that used travelers and had safe ratios- travelers literally moved their lives to another state for THEM.
Staffing recruitment, retention, and flexibility will always be areas that require an ongoing effort and commitment to meet a changing healthcare landscape. We have seen the challenges highlighted by the health pandemic and the growing strain of responding with realistic agility to retain, recruit, and offer competitive salaries and benefits. To offer competitive salaries, sign-on bonuses or generous relocation assistance organizations have needed to re-evaluate their budgets and figure out how to meet their patient care needs in a way that would not compromise high-quality care, safety and cost-effectiveness.
Hospitals have developed and fine tuned their response to speciality staffing needs by creating their own internal travel nurses. In essence they removed recruiters and staffing agencies, and created an options to really offer an option that has drawn nurses to the flexibility enjoyed with traveling. There are more options to how we choose to work throughout our professional care. Compensation and benefit packages will vary depending on location, specialization, and seasonal variables.
In the end you have to know your goals, your must have and negotiable.
They are trying to run out travel nurses and start in house agency to bring back some of that money.
To Vanessa- stravekers don’t need training
Pay rate review with data regarding years of service in their discipline, and perfomance reviews.
Nurses should be paid on a scale base just like teachers in the education field. From my experience it’s who you know. Male nurses get paid at least $5 more than females with same amount of experience. I started off a new position in psych with 2 years experience in psych and 28 RN experience. I was started at $34 due to HR person who generally keeps female pay low. A new male grad came in 2.5 years later starting at $32. I know this because he proudly announces it. Other female nurses were not happy about it as they were started at $28-30.
Temporary extra $5/hour for hours clocked in to work for permanent staff.
Hello out in The Nurse World ! Well I’m in the North East. And at my facility. They gave us a 6%raise . Other wise than that . Nothing really has changed. I did Contracts during the Pandemic. Even up until December. Rates completely dropped drastically. But, if you’re still interested in traveling and need and want to do it for money I advise going to Stated that has the highest rates. Good luck!
Not at all
LPN-IV, WOUND MANAGEMENT THERAPY, CLINICAL SUPERVISOR OF CNA'S and PCA'S. 30 years. Worked on the Navajo reservation. U want incentives? They'll teach you everything you want to learn. Was 1 semester away from RN. 4.0 GPA. KIDS WERE LITTLE. BABY ON MY HIP ONE AT MY ANKLES. Decent pay. Decent housing. Bonus money q6 months. It's what makes you happy
They don’t.
Not through pay typically but rather the environment, shared governance, clinical ladder...
The pay is very low.
They don’t. I travel and for the life of me I cannot understand why there are still nurses working as staff.
Well to me, it’s pretty obvious that they are not their pay remains relatively low, there is no mention from them of how it is important for you to keep your nursing skills in your community, and that they will recognize this and offer an incentive to you example a sign on bonus otherwise I haven’t seen any kind of incentive when I am ready again I will go back to traveling
Good for you and your organization
They are not.
