Additionally, President Obama's healthcare reform has tightened the purses for a lot of facilities as officials attempt to assess how their finances will be affected long term. Much of the budget cuts appear to be taken from the funds facilities are willing to spend on training and hiring new nurses.

And while this is clearly frustrating to those trying to break into the field and earn a living, nurses already employed are being rewarded by administrators who are eager to retain their most experienced staff members - possibly more so than they were when the economy itself was healthy - according to the ADVANCE for Nurses 2011 Salary Survey.

Staying for Pay

Recruiters say today's experienced nurses aren't as willing to navigate the job market.

"The economy is affecting people's decisions to move into other jobs," said Cheryl Beasley, BSN, RN, a nurse recruiter at Atlanta Medical Center. "Nurses are choosing to stay where they are as opposed to being more mobile. Even if they're dissatisfied with where they're at, they're choosing to remain there just for the stability."

This appears to be resulting in increasing salaries in many cases. Specifically, the mean salary reported by nurses in Florida has taken the biggest leap within ADVANCE's South region. According to our 2011 survey, the mean salary for nurses working in the Sunshine State is $64,611, an increase of nearly $10,000 over the state's $55,554 average in 2010.

"Nursing salaries have not been negatively affected in our area from what we have noticed," said Jennyfer Puentes, nurse recruitment supervisor at Baptist Health South Florida in Miami.

Those nurses working in Texas in 2010 reported making an average of $67,947, a number that has spiked to more than $71,000 today. Employees in North Carolina ($58,319 vs. $59,671 today), South Carolina ($61,260 vs. $63,616 today) and Georgia ($59,260 vs. $65,414 today) also saw increases.

Click to view more South charts.

The Education Factor

According to Rocky Hanak, BSN, RN, founder of Healthcare Recruitment Solutions, a Texas-based recruitment firm for healthcare professionals, nurses with advanced degrees and specialty certifications are seeing increased financial rewards both as retention and hiring incentives. "Higher-degree nurses and those with certifications are getting more preferential treatment," he told ADVANCE. "There are more Magnet hospitals out there today, and they tend to lean heavily to the bachelor's-of-nursing side. That's not to minimize others, it's just a philosophy in which they're more likely to pay or hire someone with the credential as opposed to hiring someone and requiring them to get certified in a year."

Our results prove this, as nurses in every region report an increase in salary with an advanced degree or certification.

However, one recruiter notes that returning to school is typically a salary booster only if the individual is willing to accept an increased role along with the education.

"We have not seen an additional financial benefit for those nurses who return to school except if they are looking to progress into leadership roles where higher education is usually required," Puentes said. "But specialty certifications are becoming more important to set nurses apart from the rest, and do add a great amount of value and competitive advantage. Years of experience in the specialty also continues to be held in high regard."

To encourage staff to pursue additional education, some facilities are linking advancement programs to financial recognition (See Clinical Advancement Programs).

More to Hire

Still, for new graduates the situation remains bleak, and recruiters can't say with any certainty when things will improve. Yes, everyone seems to be waiting on the next nursing shortage to occur and be the greatest it's ever been; but trying to find someone to say that with confidence has been difficult.

"The number of positions for new grads has decreased," Beasley said. "Schools are turning out more graduates than we can hire. The new grads have saturated the market, and what becomes problematic is that you need to have a balance of experienced vs. new graduates."

This has actually led to some decreased salaries for those with fewer than 6 years of experience who participated in this year's survey. Nurses with 0-5 years of experience who work in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee report, on average, seeing more than $1 less per hour today than last year ($22.10/$23.41).

"We need more experienced nurses than new grads," added Beasley, who said her facility has hired more than 20 new grads since the new year, despite this need.

Hanak believes healthcare reform has had a lot to do with the lack of funding for new-grad hires and salaries.

"I think some of the hospitals were concerned where the reform would take them, and things got tighter," he said. "With not knowing how reimbursements were going to come in and the financial impact of the reform, it's made hospitals look at each position they post more carefully. It's one of those 'perfect storms' where the reform is happening during a down economy. Everything seemed to hit at the same time. It might be more until 2012 before the new grads have that 'breakout' year."

Regardless, he believes Texas remains one of the best areas for grads to find work, and work that pays well.

"With the population increasing here, so has the need for healthcare," he said. "So, we have more opportunities for nurses, and new grads seem to be migrating here. Whether or not they will all find jobs remains unknown, but candidates have to start thinking less about signing a bonus and more about finding the right fit for them somewhere. I encourage nurses to stick with whatever jobs they do get for a while."

Gauging a Recovery

While salaries seem to maintain stability, recruiters are eager to see the economy shift and improve their search market.

"We're hopeful that as the economy becomes more stable nurses will be more willing to hit the market, because, as a recruiter, you want the experienced nurses in the search pool so you can choose from them," Beasley said.

Hanak agrees, but said once the market becomes more crowded with experienced nurses he envisions hiring parties honing in on those they see as retainers in case the economy tank again. This could dictate who gets the better jobs.

"Candidates will have to prove they have good tenure," he said. "People will continue to look for individuals who do not have a history of job-hopping; they'll want to make long-term investments in people because there's been a philosophy change, in a sense. Managers are being really careful about who they hire for certain positions."

Joe Darrah is senior associate editor at ADVANCE.

Clinical Advancement Programs

Many hospitals have developed sophisticated clinical advancement programs that provide financial recognition for professional achievements. Catherine K. Madigan, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief nursing officer at UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC, described how her organization's mature program played a role in UNC's first Magnet designation in November 2010. "We tied advancement to national certification in a nursing specialty, BSN education, attendance at meetings, involvement in our shared governance structure and other professional accomplishments," she said.

Nursing salaries at UNC Hospitals are linked to clinical advancement. "We expect nurses to function in an advanced capacity as they move up the ladder, and provide significant remuneration for nurses who meet those expectations," Madigan said. "A nurse who moves from a clinical nurse II to a CN III role makes $4,000 more, and advancement to CN IV brings another $5,000 in salary. The CN IV is not a management position, but it is a leadership role, and we educate and mentor those nurses so they can continue to grow as leaders at the bedside."

-Sandy Keefe, MSN, RN