Nurese Wages

In most markets, wages are determined by supply and demand. If the need for a particular position is great, wages will rise in order to attract more workers to this field. Interestingly, for nurses this has not been the case. An analysis of nurse wages over the late 1990s and into 2000 found that nurse pay did not increase at all, although some hospitals had already begun worrying about a nurse shortage in 1997. When wages began to rise, nurses responded promptly as hospitals added 186,500 nurses between 2001 and 2003. However, instead of competing for nurses by increasing pay, many hospitals turned to a combination of mandatory overtime, understaffing, and one-time hiring bonuses to meet staffing needs. (Value care value nurses [VCVN], 2006)

Nursing is a demanding task, and if something less demanding offers a comparable wage, many economists believe people will leave nursing. This brings us to the first principle in economics that states “People Face Tradeoffs”. In order to keep nurses in the field, the wage had to be higher than those in these less-demanding industries. It was the trade-off between hard work and higher wages that drove this move.

There are two broad reasons for a government to intervene in the economy—to promote efficiency and to promote equity. This falls under the seventh economic principle that “Governments Can Sometimes Improve Market Outcomes”. Higher wages for nurses could help solve the nursing shortage and government intervention could be justified to do this. With patient care suffering when there is a nursing shortage, it is in everyone's best interest to see that they are paid reasonably well. The government of the state you select could institute a minimum wage for nurses that would prevent hospitals from colluding to keep their wages low.

Nursing salaries are most often dependent on the needs of a community and the work load, schedule, training, expertise, and experience required. Registered nurses working in the United States average a median base salary of $41,642. Half of all US RN's are expected to earn between $38,792 and $44,869. Nearly 67% of nurses are employed in hospital inpatient and outpatient settings. 32% of all nurses are employed in medical offices and clinics, home healthcare agencies, nursing homes, temporary help agencies, academia, and government agencies. (Allied Physicians, Inc)

It has been well recognized that unions have a growing influence in the hospital industry and in healthcare policy as demonstrated by reports in recent nursing journal and healthcare industry newsletters. I believe that their