CNA professional practice committee graduate nurse survey-1997

Connecticut Nursing News, Jun-Aug 1998 by Santavenere, Olive

In 1997 the Professional Practice Committee reviewed the Strategic Plan of the CNA as outlined by the CNA. The particular Goal II B2 indicated the need to *develop a proactive position on salary and employment. New grads who are job hunting are longer getting part time or casual status with full time hours but no benefits." The suggested action of the Committee was to develop and send out a survey on job offers to graduates to determine if and how they were able to find positions and the types of benefits that they received with their employment. A survey was developed by Michele Bettigole and Olive Santavenere which was accepted with some revisions by the Committee.

Alumni lists were obtained from the nursing schools within the state, and surveys subsequently were sent out to recent graduates (1996 & 1997) in the fall of 1997. Seventy five surveys were returned, with the demographics indicating that the majority of responses returned were from BS (48%) and AD graduates (37%) and several coming from diploma graduates ( 15%).

The nurses were employed in a variety of settings, with 56% of the sample reporting that they worked in acute care settings, while 36% reported that they worked in Rehab/Long Term Care settings. The remainder of the nurses (8%) worked in a variety of settings including: home care, a clinic, a doctor's office, a renal dialysis unit, and one was in the military (8%).

In the total sample, thirty six of the graduates (48%) indicated they were hired to work on a full time basis, while thirty-two (42%) were hired as part time staff. The part time staff reported they were hired to work anywhere from 10 to 36 hours per week. The part time nurses were asked to indicate how many hours they actually worked, and the times ranged from 8 to 40 hours per week. The data indicated that the hours for the most part were in the time frame for which the individual had been hired. Seven graduates, who were hired on the basis of casual status or on a per diem basis, also reported that they worked from 8 to 40 hours per week.

Only half of the nurses, who were hired to work on a part time basis in an acute care setting, reported that they received benefits. These nurses worked from 24 to 36 hours per week. However, 76% of the nurses who were hired in Rehab/LTC settings reported that they received benefits with employment, and the remainder 24% did not.

Another question sought information on the pay differential for hours worked other than the day time hours. Fifty six of the respondents (75%) indicated that they received a differential. The amounts presented varied considerably, and were primarily given for the evening and night shifts as well as some for week ends. The 3 PM-11 PM evening hour differential ranged from $1 to as much as $4.50 per hour, while the 11 PM-7 AM night shift indicated a range of differential from $1.25 to $3.00. Weekend differentials ranged from $1.25 to $2.90 per hour. Thirty eight graduates, who worked in the acute care setting, indicated that they were paid differentials for evenings, nights and some on weekends, but four other nurses indicated they did not receive differential pay. However, 11 of the nurses who worked in a Rehab/LTC setting reported differentials, while 9 others did not. Some respondents did not indicate whether they were paid differentials.

Graduates were asked to indicate their range of salary, and clearly the majority of individuals 49 or 65% indicated they were paid within the range of $25,000 to $35,000 per year. Twenty six of the nurses (53%). who received the higher salary range, worked in acute care settings, while 13 others (32%), who were paid in the higher salary range, worked in Rehab/LTC settings. We were also interested in determining the extent of time that was allotted for orientation of the new graduates. The ranges as described by the nurses indicated that their orientation period ranged from 3 days to 3 1/2 months. The 3 day orientation took place in a long term care setting. The amount of reported time that was devoted to orientation was quite variable for either acute care or the rehab/LTC settings. The orientation time frame that seemed to be most frequently indicated was a 6 week period of time in an acute care setting.

A breakdown of specific benefits that were received included such items as medical and dental coverage, sick time, holiday pay, vacation, retirement and in addition a disability plan. A majority of 59 graduates (79%) indicated that they had medical and dental coverage, and 61 or 81% indicated they had sick time as a benefit. About half of the respondents indicated a disability benefit. Eighty nine percent of the graduates indicated that they had holiday benefits, and 84% indicated they are allowed paid vacation time which is ordinarily expected as a fringe benefit in most jobs. Retirement was indicated by half of the respondents in the survey with only 25% of graduates noting they had the opportunity for a 401 K plan. Based on this information, one wonders how the graduates interpreted the question which asked if they received benefits.