How Happy Are Your Nurses?
Posted over 9 years ago by Nicholas M Perrino
"How happy are your nurses? If they're typical, nearly half would choose a different career path, given the opportunity to do so again, and well over half would choose a different practice setting. Those are among the findings of a recent survey of more than 8,000 nurses nationwide. Among the other eye-opening findings: Male nurses are paid significantly higher salaries than female nurses.
Advanced practical nurses (nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists) are most likely to be satisfied with their career choices, with 60% saying they'd do it all again. For RNs, the number is 56% and for LPNs/LVNs the number who say they're satisfied is only 48%. The corresponding numbers who would choose the same practice settings are only 32% (APNs), 22% (RNs) and 12% (LPNs).
Money isn't the biggest issue. Between half and two-thirds of all nurses say they're satisfied with their compensation. And many made as much (39%) or more (52%) in 2014 as they made in 2013. However, only 43% of LPNs think their pay is adequate.
An awareness of persistent gender inequality may lower the level of satisfaction. Average salaries for male nurses are higher across the board: $109,000 vs. $100,000 for APNs; $85,000 vs. $78,000 for RNs; and $49,000 vs. $46,000 for LPNs.
Asked what the most rewarding aspect of the job is, 26% say their relationships with patients, 22% say the fact that they're very good at what they do, 18% say the pride they have in their jobs, 11% say it's good money, and 9% point to the respect they earn from their peers and teams."