Salary Inequities for Nurses in Florida
Inequities in Nurses' Salary Schedules
In the decade between 2004 and 2014, the estimated number of open positions for registered nurses was anticipated to be 2.1 million. This number reflects both attrition and the growth of the healthcare and medical fields that are responding to an aging national population. Best practices in staff recruiting in the medical arena call for an "adequate supply of nurse and high-quality patient care through competitive, transparent wage-setting, collective bargaining, and nurse/patient ratio standards" (Lovell, 2006).
An interesting phenomenon has occurred in research on the state of nursing in the U.S.: just over 20% of the nearly 50 studies conducted to analyze the nursing workforce recommended wage increases in order to attract more nurses into professional preparation programs and into the workforce. The U.S. Government Accountability Office conducted a study to look critically at the key factors that influence the emerging nurse shortage that is particularly evident in hospitals across the country. The study concluded that "inadequate staffing, heavy workloads, the increased use of overtime, a lack of sufficient support staff, and the adequacy of wages" all played a substantive part in local efforts to recruit and employ nurses. Clearly, as these studies have been articulated, what has been overlooked to an astonishing degree is the link between the number of workers seeking a job and the wages offered for those jobs ("Nurse Future," 2012). Regardless, economists generally argue that the linkage between wages and the number of job seekers is a key driver of labor markets.
Deeper, detailed investigation. A number...
The salary information is clear enough when it comes to describing the differential pay received by nursing staff under disparate working conditions, but it does not clarify the very real differences that are seen in job performance and work requirements -- and that translate into salary differences that are evoked. As a case in point, PayScale shows the average national annual salary for registered nurses ranges from $40,847 to $78,905. National hourly rates for registered nurses vary widely by work type and location of service provision, with an average hourly rate of $19.78 to $36.25. National average overtime rates (a figure added to the regular hourly rate) for registered nurses range from $16.31 to $55.46. The state of Florida shows a fairly consistent midrange compensation for registered nurses, with an average annual salary of $61, 942 in Orlando and $64, 829 in Miami. Although these figures are useful for career choice advice and similar tasks, they do not provide enough detail to guide labor action in individual states. A more comprehensive study with greater detail about job demands and the cost of living rates is needed. For the purpose of this study, the unit of analysis is compensation for registered nurses in the state of Florida.
Research study design. To gather comparison data about the salaries of registered nurses throughout the country, a quantitative survey will be sent to the following: 1) Accredited nursing schools; 2) members of associations registered nurses; and 3) targeted hospitals.…
