Staying on Top of OR Nurse Compensation
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Every year, the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) surveys members to gauge the composition and compensation of the perioperative nursing workforce. The results of the 2014 survey found that the average staff perioperative nurse earns $67,800 annually — a $400 annual salary increase from the previous year.
An important finding in the study: facility type and size matter. Nurses in large facilities with 10 or more ORs earned about $69,100 annually, while nurses in smaller facilities earned $65,800. The survey also noted that hospital-based nurses tend to earn more than nurses who work in ambulatory surgical centers — about $9400 more than nurses in office-based ASCs and $5800 more that nurses in freestanding ASCs.
Who makes the most? Perhaps unsurprisingly: nurses who are also hospital or facility administrators, who earn about $104,600 annually, or vice presidents or directors of nursing, who bring home an average of $97,900 per year.
The full results were published in the December issue of AORN Journal.
