Majority of Nurses Satisfied with Pay but Would Choose a Different Practice Setting, According to New Medscape Survey

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Most nurses are satisfied with their annual compensation, but 68% to 88% indicate dissatisfaction with their practice setting, and nearly half would not choose nursing as a career if they were to "do it all over again," according to the results of the Medscape Nurse Salary Survey announced today.  The results show a direct correlation between nurses' level of training and overall satisfaction with salary, setting and career, with the most specialized nurses emerging as the most satisfied on all measures.

To view the full 2015 Medscape Nurse Salary Survey report, which provides additional expert perspectives on nurse compensation and job satisfaction, visit: http://www.medscape.com/nursesalaryreport2015 

Conducted between August 12 and October 2, 2015, the survey obtained responses from 8,256 nurses nationwide, spanning a broad spectrum of training and credentials including:

• Licensed practical or vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs), with one to two years of training
• Registered nurses (RNs), with a two-year associate degree or four-year Bachelor of Science degree from a nursing program (constituting the largest percentage of nurses)
• Advanced practice nurses (APNs) including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists

Results revealed a broad average compensation range, from $46,000 to $170,000, depending on specialty, education/degree, and setting. And although the field is dominated by women (according to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 90% of all U.S. nurses are women), male nurses are paid between 6% and 9% more than their female peers, with the disparity seen across all types of nurses.

Salary Rates and Satisfaction
Approximately half of all respondents reported satisfaction with their pay, although higher salaries are, unsurprisingly, linked to higher levels of satisfaction. For example, nearly three-quarters (73%) of nurse anesthetists say they are financially satisfied, while 53% of RNs and only 43% of LPNs are satisfied.

• Registered nurses earn an average salary of $79,000.
• Nurse anesthetists were the highest-paid professionals, with an average annual compensation of $170,000, but represent only 0.1% of all U.S. nurses. Other APNs earn salaries starting at $95,000.
• LPNs, the lowest paid group, earn an average of $46,000 per year.

Salaries also differ significantly based on type of practice setting and geographic region.  The highest full-time salaries were reported for contract work for agencies, long-term care, military/government, and hospitals (inpatient and outpatient). The lowest-paid nurses were in school and college health services, medical office/urgent care centers, and public and occupational health. 

Full-time RNs who live in Western states earn the most on average ($105,000) followed by those in the Northeast ($87,000). RNs in North Central and Southeastern states have the lowest compensation ($69,000 and $74,000, respectively). Compensation rates for APNs fell along similar geographic lines, with those in the West making the highest average salaries ($120,000) followed by the Northeast ($108,000), Southeast ($95,000) and North Central region ($94,000).

Setting Matters
The vast majority of nurses – 68% of APNs, 78% of RNs, and 88% of LPNs/LVNs – indicate dissatisfaction with their practice setting, with only 32% of APNs, 22% of RNs, and 12% of LPNs stating they would choose the same setting again.  Those who work in non-hospital-based medical office or urgent care clinic settings are more satisfied (43%) than their peers working in hospital settings, while satisfaction is lowest in nursing homes (21%) and working for the government, which includes the military (23%).

If they could do it all over...
A significant percentage of nurses would choose a different career.  

• Only 60% of APNs, 56% of RNs, and 48% of LPNs would choose nursing as a career again. These percentages are even lower than the 64% of physicians who would choose a career in medicine if they could have a do-over (as reported in the Medscape 2015 Physician Compensation Report).

Many nurses also appear to regret forgoing advanced degrees. More than half of RNs (51%) and LPNs (60%) said they would seek additional educational opportunities if they could start again. However, this conflicted with the relatively low percentage (33%) of nurses with a master's degree who would pursue one again.   

Financial considerations: The push for higher degrees for RNs and APNs in order to enter practice, however, is not without challenges. For RNs, the cost of a BSN degree can be up to $100,000 more than the cost of an associate degree, while the annual salary difference in this survey is only $6,000.[i] The salary difference between a master's and a doctoral degree is $9,000 in Medscape's survey, but the higher degree may add up to $50,000 to the education bill.[ii]

Quotes

Susan Yox, RN, EdD, Director, Editorial Content, Medscape

• "Nurses remain critically important to the delivery of quality healthcare, particularly in today's environment of value-based, patient-centric care. The Medscape survey provides important insights into nurses' views, attitudes, and career motivations – indicating a fair degree of financial satisfaction, but also uncovering some concerning perspectives about their happiness with their jobs and overall career decisions. Our hope is that the survey will get people talking and thinking about how to best support nurses regardless of practice setting, education levels and gender."

Laurie Scudder, NP, DNP, Executive Editor, Medscape

• "Of course, we want nurses with higher levels of education and training, but it has to make financial sense for them. If it takes 15-20 years in after-tax money to earn back principal and interest on the cost of obtaining an advanced degree, many will forgo the opportunity and, although there appears to be some regret, many have."
• "While the majority of registered and practicing nurses would still choose nursing if they could go back in time, it's distressing to see such a high level of dissatisfaction across the board in their choice of practice. Further efforts to understand and address the factors behind this dissatisfaction will be critical to our profession and the healthcare system as a whole."

Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, President, American Nurses Association

• "This survey shows that the working environment for RNs is still not uniformly providing the support and conditions that nurses find professionally rewarding and personally satisfying," said Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of the American Nurses Association. "Not surprisingly, nurses point to the relationship with their patients as most rewarding. Nurses in all settings deserve to receive competitive and fair compensation, but more importantly, they want the time and resources to provide the care they deem necessary to care for patients and families. This should serve as another wake-up call that we must do better to retain the all too critical nursing workforce."

About Medscape and WebMD

Medscape, a subsidiary of WebMD Health Corp., is the leading source of clinical news, health information and point-of-care tools for healthcare professionals. Medscape offers specialists, primary care physicians and other health professionals the most robust and integrated medical information and educational tools. Medscape Education (medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free C.M.E. and C.E. courses and other educational programs for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

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[i] Costhelper education.  Nursing School Cost. How Much Does Nursing School Cost? http://education.costhelper.com/nursing-school.html Accessed October 14, 2015

[ii] American Association of College of Nursing. The Doctor of Nursing Practice: Current Issues and Clarifying Recommendations. Report from the Task Force on the Implementation of the DNP.  August 2015.  http://www.aacn.nche.edu/aacn-publications/white-papers/DNP-Implementation-TF-Report-8-15.pdf Accessed October 8, 2015

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SOURCE Medscape

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