Payday for nurses

October 25, 2015 5:39 PM

What's a typical salary for a nurse, and how do nursing salaries vary in different fields of medicine?

I'd like to know how much nurses can expect to make, specifically in Ontario.

I'm interested in comparing different branches of healthcare- like acute care, longterm care, public health, scrub nursing, street nursing, community care access centres, home care, etc.

Info on how different levels of education affect salary (like RN, NP, Masters degree, teaching, etc) would be helpful as well.

Thanks!

posted by pseudostrabismus to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

Best answer: Page 75 of this PDF describes RN compensation under the current collective agreement for the ONA. It's unlikely that wages will vary between areas of practice at a given level of education. My wife's an RN in BC who's worked in several areas (rehab, surgical, ICU/critical care) and the only thing that determines her hourly rate is her number of years of experience and resulting slot on the scale. She gets a measly fifty bucks a month for having her BSN (being a "degree nurse" instead of a "diploma nurse") but that's it.

Can't speak to other levels of education, I've never spoken to any higher educated nurses about their wage, but LPN wages are also dictated by collective agreement.
posted by Sternmeyer at 5:56 PM on October 25, 2015

Best answer: In the US, RN pay varies widely depending on whether you are in a community that is primarily union or non-union. Also, some states have strict RN/patient ratios, some don't. Here in the SF Bay Area, RNs start at about $50/hr US (obviously). Perhaps because of the unions, there isn't a salary different for different RNs. So for example, some of my peers have 2 year Associates Degrees (me), and some have Masters Degrees, and we all make the same money. However, certain higher paying jobs, specifically in management, are only open to RNs with advanced degrees.
posted by latkes at 7:18 PM on October 25, 2015

Best answer: Statistics Canada should have what you want. I did a quick check and found the average hourly wage rate for Professional occupations in health, nurse supervisors and registered nurses in Ontario at 35.33 for September.
posted by zinon at 5:21 AM on October 26, 2015