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Today, we will be exploring the critical issue of nursing salaries and how they contribute to the national nursing shortage which is actually a staffing problem as millions of nurses refuse to work in unsafe, under-staffed, and under-resourced settings for unsatisfactory nurse wages.  Let’s unpack some of the issues surrounding nurse wages and salaries.

Nurses already know that the best strategy for increasing your pay is to job hop every year or two.  Those who don’t are left with compensation that doesn’t even keep up with inflation.  From direct care nursing to nurse educators to leaders and managers to nurse scientists . . .it’s the same story everywhere.

We just don’t have the budget to increase wages.

Nonsense.

What they mean is . . .we choose not to budget for increased wages.

The nurse staffing challenge has been exacerbated by various factors, with inadequate pay being a significant contributor. Nurses across the country have been grappling with uncompetitive salaries, prompting some to seek opportunities in different locations or even leave the profession altogether. The disparity in compensation has led nurses to take a stand and demand fair wages and better working conditions through strikes and advocacy efforts.

National Impact

According to MoneyGeek’s analysis of nurses’ salaries in over 100 metro areas in the U.S., the average gross pay for a registered nurse is $86,070. However, when adjusted for taxes and the cost of living, the average take-home pay dwindles to $65,414. This discrepancy underscores the impact of local factors such as tax implications and living costs on nurses’ earnings.

Regional Disparities in Nursing Salaries:

The analysis by MoneyGeek revealed significant regional disparities in nursing salaries, with some metro areas faring better than others in terms of take-home pay after adjustments. For instance, in Washington D.C., a registered nurse’s pre-tax salary is $98,000, but the adjusted take-home pay is only $48,079 due to high cost of living and taxes. Similarly, Honolulu sees a similar trend with a gross pay of $133,820 but an adjusted take-home pay of $50,134.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, California and Texas emerge as states with several metro areas surpassing the national average for registered nurse salaries. California’s Sacramento area leads the pack with nurses taking home $88,847 after adjustments, while Houston in Texas follows closely at $79,520.

The Rise of Travel Nurses and Compensation Trends:

Given the substantial variations in nursing salaries across the country, the demand for travel nurses has been on the rise. 

There’s so much more to the travel nurse story than the prevailing narrative would have you believe.

The headlines report that nurses are taking advantage, greedy, or don’t care about their patients.  Reports like this latest report from NSI indicate that travel nurses can earn up to $102 an hour, translating to over $212,000 annually, depending on their work location. 

Hmmmm.

I don’t know where they’re getting their data, but that certainly is not what I’m seeing.

Post-pandemic travel nurse contracts, according to Nurse.org, are garnering about $50 per hour, which translates to about $105,00 annually.

Nurses are now being gaslighted through their wages.  

The media would have you believe that travel nurses are making TWICE what they actually are earning.  Then, nurses are being blamed for seeking improved working conditions and competitive salaries.

Wow.

Just wow.

As an occupationally-oppressed class, nurses are starting to rise up and require that they be paid competitively.  No longer can most nurses afford to stay at one setting long-term.  Hospitals, like Amazon, use the “hire to fire” model.  Which means they hire people knowing that they’ll burn out in 2-3 years.  At which time, they’ll just hire another new grad or early career nurse with less experience at a lower price.

So, what options does a nurse have if their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation?  If their raises are non-existent or insignificant?  If their workplace is unsafe, understaffed, under-resourced, uncivil, or fraught with workplace violence?

They can become “free agents” – and many are.  They can take the reins of their career and direct the course of their settings, compensation, work-life balance, etc.

This is usually done through job-hopping or travel nursing.

And there’s no shame in the job-hopping-travel-nursing game.

The game is rigged.  The deck is stacked against the nurses.  Taking back your power and control is a rational decision for some.

But what about those nurses who prefer longer-term employment options or can’t travel?

For these nurses, there are two options.

The first is to , as my Mom would say, “Suck it up, buttercup.”

That’s not a good option.  Millions of nurses have sucked it up for decades if not centuries.  And it’s gotten us traumatized, burned out, compassion fatigued, and morally injured.  All of which have substantial health consequences across all domains.

The other option is to learn how to heal, recover, and insulate yourself from the broken healthcare system and harsh working conditions.

That’s where my work comes in.  I spent five years researching across four disciplines to bring forth a 5-step evidence-based process to help nurses do just that.

Then, from a healed and restored place (instead of our gaping wounds) we can require safe working conditions and robust, competitive wages.

There are so many places pushing burnout resources to nurses . . .that’s like giving a cancer patient a bucket of chemo treatments and telling them to go heal themselves. . .but none of these places are actually creating a safe, healing space and facilitating nurse healing.

Until now.

My nonprofit organization, The Haelan Academy, is offering its flagship Break Up with Burnout Program for Nurses.  

In this virtual container, we see you.  We feel you.  We hear you.  And we help you in your healing process.  

If you’d like to learn more, please join our free, 90-minute webinar that unpacks the silent epidemic that is affecting millions of nurses . . .perhaps even you.

Until next time, from my healer’s heart to yours, namaste.

Dr. Lorre 💕




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