Re: RN Pay for Males vs Females

well, that could be true. if so that is not right. i work in a ICCU and the male nurse do not work hard as the female nurses

I'd like to jump in on this one, even though it's my first
Being male, I often hear this question from coworkers and family members. First and foremost, I believe in equal pay for all, regardless of gender.

The notion that male nurses get paid more than thier female counterparts may have some validity. As the primary breadwinner of my family I'm more inclined to ask for more out of my employer as far as what my hourly rate should be. If I'm not getting the kind of pay I desire, I will find it somewhere else and I have, and will switch jobs within a timely manner to give proper notice and keep good relations with my current employer should I ever desire to come back.

My wife works 40 hours a week Monday-Friday. She is a smart, well educated woman with a Bachelor's degree in Communications. I have an Associate's degree in Nursing. Guess who earns more?

The only real difference I've noticed between men and women RN's where I work is that the women have more seniority than the men. What that tells me is that the women tend to stay put and the men come and go.

Now ladies, I don't want this to come accross as offensive but if a unit is trying to attract male RN's, as far as this one sees it, you better be able to compete with the wages. I know that I originally balked at the offer I received and stayed put until the offer was up to what I expected.

In other words, I said very politely, "Thank you but I'm already making X, in order for me to leave my current position I need to make Y."

I don't know if there have been any studies on the subject but I'd be willing to bet that female RN's tend to stay put and male RN's are more inclined to move around. If that is the case, you have to think it's no wonder men earn more than women when it all washes out.

You are right on!!
Male nurses do tend to move more than females. In my RN-BSN class I was the only male nurse and I made more money than nurses that have worked 20 years. Why, because like you said I am willing to move to a higher paying job. Females get settled in and are afraid of change.

I am getting ready to move to the Fort Worth area this summer. I am hoping that I can make as much as I do in Oklahoma. Being a male nurse will help me.

Hey Q, good luck with the jobsearch.

I for one don't place any emotional attachment to the place I work. For instance, I could do my job as an RN in an ER without regard for whom I'm working with but rather knowing I'm getting top dollar for my work.

Disclaimer: To all my current co-workers, I really do like you guys but bottom line, if I could be paid more and leave you I would. I'd drop you guys like a bad habit. Sorry, nothing personal.

I think, and ladies this is just MHO here, that women tend to place more emphasis on those they will be working with rather than just the job.

I could be wrong. Any of you ladies care to weigh in?

I have always been one to show loyalty to my employer and have done my best to help support my employer and the nurses that work with me. Unfortunately we have gone through several changes in management and I am actually very disappointed with the powers to be and the callous way they treat the nursing staff. If you take care of your nurses you really do not have to worry so much about the bottom line. Nurses that feel they are supported and appreciated generally tend to be more compassionate and caring which results in higher patient satisfaction and less empty hospital beds.

Question for Bdeacon
To Bdeacon719 - Your reply was interesting. I have never been given an option of "arguing" about my salary - except in management positions. How do you go about bargaining? Are you floor duty or supervisory or management?
We women are not taught to do other than "take what we get". I, for one, would like to know how to go about doing it.
Would sure appreciate your help!

Personally, I'm not in it for the money. It gets me when administration offers us more money instead of more staff. I just want to take care of my patients correctly. Why can't they give us the nursing/patient ratio that is safe and makes us feel like we've done more than babysit the computer and kept our nursing license for one more day? You can really tell the nurses who are in it for the money and not for the patient. Be a hospital hopper and go for the gold while the rest of us try to take care of our patients correctly.

I'm a widow with 4 children, I'm the breadwinner in my family so it's not just a male thing to be the head of the household.

Babs

Re: RN Pay for Males vs Females


the hospital i worked at from 1998 - 2006 was unionized, so the only thing determining pay was seniority.

i am finding that this is not the norm. we are not allowed to speak about our pay rate where i currently work. i did some bargaining before accepting the job, but i may never know if bargained hard enough.

RN Pay for Male Nurses
When I was a new graduate both male and female nurses started at the same pay rate. However, the raises were higher for the male nurses. I did not understand this because I did not work any harder than my female co-workers.

Male Nurses are Payed More
I think it is a combination of a few factors:
1. As we have seen in this thread, men are more likely to leave a secure position for a better salary.
2. Employers tend to think they should pay men more, as they are seen as the main bread winners.
3. Men have more courage of self-confidence to ask for more.

I am friends with a male nurse who has specialized in both ER and Cardiac nursing. The wage issue is one we have talked about upon occasion; this is how he explained it. Firstly only about 5.4% of nurses in the US are male. If a man has decided to become a nurse it is only after being willing to be made fun of by his peers for entering a "woman's" profession. As sad as it is that is still a dominant idea. That being said, the choice is not made lightly and it is his opinion that the men work harder in school, getting better grades and trying hard to surpass their female peers in order to gain esteem and deflect the negativity. Once out of school he actually was in a bidding war between 3 US hospitals. The simple reason being that men are very useful to have around. There are patients who will not deal with female nurses. When someone has a seizure or throws a fit, he is often called to help because of his size and strength. And one last thing he pointed out is that as a man, he gets some promotions easier in ER nursing than many women would because many doctors are male and there is still a touch of sexism where he is more likely to get a word of recommendation from a male lead he gets along with than a more qualified female is. With coming up on 15 years experience now, he is very comfortably making 80k/year and his wife is a nurse on his ER team.

Correction* 80k/year was his starting wage and he has now surpassed 130k/year.