Results of the 2005 AORN salary survey: trends for perioperative nursing

AORN Journal, Dec, 2005 by Donald Bacon

In August of 2005, AORN conducted its annual survey on perioperative nursing compensation. The research initiative has two objectives: to track compensation on an annual basis and to keep members apprised of the status of perioperative nursing compensation and the factors that influence how much perioperative nurses currently are paid in the United States.

RESPONDENT PROFILE

For the second consecutive year, the survey was conducted via an online questionnaire. An e-mail invitation to participate in the survey was sent to 22,050 potential respondents in early August 2005. These individuals included 17,250 AORN members and 4,800 nonmembers who are perioperative RNs, managers, and educators and who have active e-mail addresses. By the end of August, 3,100 individuals had submitted completed surveys, and 2,394 individuals met the inclusion criteria (ie, an 11% net response rate). Among these respondents, 38% are staff nurses, 29% are nurse managers, 9.5% are directors or vice presidents (VPs), and 7.5% are in education/staff development (Figure 1).

The largest segment of respondents are between 50 and 59 years of age (ie, 39.1% compared to 36.5% in 2004). Thirty-six percent are between 40 and 49 years of age compared to 39.3% in 2004, and 16% are between 30 and 39 years of age compared to 14.5% in 2004. A total of 5% of the respondents are between 60 and 69 years of age, which is the same percentage as in 2004. About 4.9% of the respondents are younger than 30 years of age compared to 4.3% last year.

Approximately 89% of the respondents are female; 11% are male. Regarding compensation, 63.1% are paid on an hourly basis, and 36.9% are salaried employees.

Respondents represent all regions of the United States with approximately 58% of the responses coming from the Eastern half of the United States. The three most represented regions are

* the East North Central region (ie, 17%), which includes Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio;

* the South Atlantic region (ie, 16.2%), which includes West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; and

* the Mid-Atlantic region (ie, 13.8%), which includes New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington, DC (Table 1).

About 83% of the respondents reside in an urban or suburban area; 17.3% live in a rural area.

Regarding education,

* more than one third of the respondents (36%) have a bachelor of science in nursing degree;

* 27.2% of the respondents have associate's degrees;

* 14.4% have a nursing diploma;

* 8.3% have a bachelor's degree in a field other than nursing;

* 7.5% have a master's degree in another field; and

* 0.2% have a doctorate in another field.

Figure 2 contains additional respondent demographic information.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

BASE COMPENSATION

Multiple regression was used as the primary analytical tool in this study because of the many variables affecting base compensation and the complex interactions among these variables. The multiple regression model makes it possible for researchers to estimate the effects of one variable on compensation while statistically holding the other variables constant. The influence of each variable then can be identified independently of the others. The analysis used hierarchical regression in which the variables expected to explain the most variance are entered first in the model, followed by less important variables. Several variables with related effects were entered initially and simultaneously. These variables are

* job title;

* facility size;

* percentage of time spent in direct patient care; and

* metropolitan status (ie, urban, suburban, rural).

Other variables then were entered one at a time. These secondary variables are

* years of work experience,

* compensation basis,

* certification,

* education level,

* geographic region,

* facility type,

* participation in a collective bargaining unit,

* marital status, and

* gender.

The final model explains 55% of the variation in base compensation. Results from the first phase of the regression analysis (ie, the simultaneous entry of primary variables) are presented in Table 2. These findings show the calculated average salary for nurses who spend an average amount of time on direct patient care according to their title and work in suburban or urban settings. The average base compensation for any particular nurse can be determined by starting with these estimates and making adjustments for a nurse's particular setting, role, and experience.

OVERVIEW

Following is an overview of the results concerning each variable included in the regression analysis that was found to be significantly related to base compensation level (P = .05). Readers can obtain more exact estimates of compensation for any particular nursing position by using the compensation calculator available on the AORN website at http://www.aorn.org/Careers.

JOB TITLE. More than any variable, differences in job title are linked to the largest differences in compensation. The average staff nurse, for example, earns $57,600, which is $3,000 more than in 2004. The average VP or director makes $91,500, which is $3,500 more than in 2004. Part of the difference in salaries across titles is explained by the difference in the percentage of time spent in direct patient care versus the percentage of time spent on other tasks such as management or administration. On average, staff nurses spend 86% of their time providing direct patient care, nurse managers spend 36% of their time providing direct patient care, and VPs or directors spend only 12% of their time providing direct patient care. In addition, the percentage of time spent in direct patient care varies among nurses with the same rifle. For example, some nurse managers spend as much time on direct patient care as does the average staff nurse, while some nurse managers spend as little time on patient care as the typical director or VP.