AORN Salary and Compensation Survey Results for 2011

Additional analyses explore the effect of the current economic downturn

DENVER, Dec. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, (AORN), announced the results for its annual salary survey of perioperative nurses in the December issue of AORN Journal. Survey participants included staff nurses, managers, (i.e., nurse managers/supervisors/coordinators/team leaders/business managers) high-level managers (VPs/directors/assistant directors and hospital/facility administrators), educators, RN first assistants (RNFAs), and clinical nurse specialists. 

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Highlights of the results include:

• The pay in university/academic ASCs was more than in any other facility type, though the author noted there was a small sample size for this group
• Nurses generally receive more compensation in larger facilities
• The average staff nurse earns $67,800 ($1,400 more than in 2010)
• The average VP/director/assistant director of nursing earns $107,600 ($4,700 more than in 2010)
  

The survey results were reported by Donald Bacon, Ph.D., a professor of marketing at the University of Denver, CO, and a research associate at Rocky Mountain Research, Denver. According to Bacon, "Part of the difference in salary across titles is explained by the difference in the percentage of time spent on direct patient care versus the percentage of time spent on other tasks such as management or administration."

For the eighth consecutive year, AORN conducted its survey online. In July, 5,053 unique responses from 46,113 potential respondents, including 31,622 AORN members were reduced to a usable sample of 2,670. All respondents were employed full-time in the United States.

Bacon used a multiple regression model to examine how a number of variables, including job title, education level, certification, experience, and geographic region, affect nurse compensation. The survey also addresses the perioperative nursing shortage and focuses on perceived changes in staffing-related aspects of the perioperative nursing workplace during the last three years.

The AORN Journal is peer reviewed and provides registered nurses in the operating room and related services with information based on scientific evidence and principle. Articles cover the nurses' roles before, during, and after surgery and include patient teaching and preparation, use and care of surgical instruments and supplies, asepsis, sterilization, anesthesia, and related topics.

About AORN
AORN represents the interests of more than 160,000 perioperative nurses by providing nursing education, standards, and practice resources—including the peer-reviewed, monthly publication AORN Journal—to enable optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures. AORN's 41,000 registered nurse members manage, teach, and practice perioperative nursing, are enrolled in nursing education or are engaged in perioperative research.  www.aorn.org

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, author contributions, affiliations and disclosures.  AORN members can read the detailed compensation analysis printed in the December issue of the AORN Journal or the AORN Journal online. The article is available to non-members for a fee of $12.  The survey can be found at http://www.aornjournal.org/

SOURCE Association of periOperative Registered Nurses