Pediatric Nurse Salary
A pediatric nurse is a registered nurse whose is trained in handling children and treatment for child related ailments. It is an ideal career choice for individuals who love working with children. A pediatric nurse salary varies depending on several factors including location, setting, experience and educational level.
A pediatric nurse is an important person in any healthcare set up. The nurse normally performs important duties such as collecting blood and stool samples from children, inserting IVs and catheters, giving medications to children in various ways, and checking for vital signs among sick children. Additionally they also undertake head to toe assessments of children, dress wounds, perform CPR, basic eye examinations, and assist a pediatric doctor in many other procedures.
A pediatric nurse’s working hours are quite flexible and vary from one medical setting to another. For example, if you are a pediatric nurse working in a hospital you may work for five 8 hour shifts each week or 12 hour shifts for three or four days a week. If you work in a private pediatric doctor’s office, you will work the normal nine to five day shifts for five days per week. These working hours significantly affect pediatric nurse salary levels in each setting.
You will most likely find significant differences in salaries between different pediatric nurses. In some cases the nurse’s salaries will be different yet they are employed by the same organization or hospital. In order to understand why such differences exist, it will be imperative to first examine factors that affect the salary for pediatric nurses.
Factors That Affect Pediatric Nurse Salary
•Level Of Education
Your education level will be a major factor in determining your salary range as a pediatric nurse. As in every profession, the higher your education level, the more you will earn. Having a bachelor’s degree will give you a good salary but you stand to earn more with a master’s degree. Pediatric nursing degrees are available at associate, bachelors, and master’s degree levels. You can complete an associate degree in two years covering all the basics for a nursing degree along with other helpful educational courses in the process. However, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that there are limited opportunities of advancement for nurses with an associate degree.
A pediatric nursing bachelor’s degree is offered by most medical colleges and universities. This is a degree course involving clinical experience, coursework, courses in critical thinking, communication, and leadership. A bachelor’s degree gives you the option of advancing further by applying for a master’s degree program in nursing. Holders of a master’s degree are known as pediatric nurse practitioners and have more responsibilities and larger pediatric nurse salary scales. According to a research done by payscale.com for the years 2008 to 2009, the starting salary for a pediatric nurse with a master’s degree is around $69,000. The starting salary for a pediatric nurse with a bachelor’s degree was estimated at over $45,000. These are salaries for pediatric nurses with less than one year practical experience in the field.
Besides formal educational requirements, it is mandatory to acquire a license in order to practice as a pediatric nurse in your state of residence. State licenses are obtained by passing a written examination to gauge your level of competency. With additional experience garnered from working in a hospital or office that primarily handles pediatric cases, you will soon become certified by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board as a pediatric nurse. With this certification you will be entitled better salary as well as other benefits such as life, dental, and overall health insurance.
•Working Experience
Apart from your educational level, your working experience as a pediatric nurse will also determine your salary scale. According to findings by payscale.com survey on pediatric nurse salary as by August 2011, you can expect to earn from $35,608 to $54,045 per year in your first year. Pediatric nurses with one to four years of experience typically earn a median salary of between from $59,000 and $90,000 per year.
•Location Of Work
There are significant differences in pediatric nurse salary
scales in different states, cities or regions. For example nurses working in the Northeast and West Coast regions earn higher salaries than their counterparts in the Midwest and the South. According to payscale.com, in California pediatric nurses are paid from $20,203 to $121,645 per year while salaries in Georgia range from $40,337 to $61,042 annually. Pediatric nurses in Texas earn between $30,000 and $71,291 per year while in Pennsylvania they are paid between $32,398 and $69,287 annually.
•Setting Or Employer
A pediatric nurse salary is also determined by the employer or setting. For example, private hospitals as well as large hospital establishments pay higher salaries than small hospitals. The setting of the hospital or workplace will also determine how much you are paid. If you work in a hospital in a large metropolitan area such as New York or Los Angeles where living costs are high, you will need to be compensated for the extra living expenses with a higher salary.
Future Employment Outlook
According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is an overall estimated 22 percent growth in employment of Registered Nurses from 2008 to 2018. Employment in hospitals is expected to grow by 17 percent in this period while employment of RNs in private practices is expected to grow by 48 percent. As in every other fast growing and rewarding profession, pediatric nurse salary scales are expected to show a similar growth in the next few years.
