RN (new grad) - Registered Nurse Duke Health Employee Review

Yikes! If this were my first foray into the working world, I might have stayed here longer. But with some work experience and the savvy to look around, you notice quickly that the pay is terrible (even compared to other hospitals in this low-paying region for RNs); I started at $20.75 and would probably be making around $23ish base if I had stayed there for 2-3 years...inhumane rotating day/night shifts are common on inpatient units...ZERO employer contribution to a 401(k) unless you're in management or another salaried position, which is just stingy. And of course hospital nursing is difficult and sometimes dangerous work. Health insurance is reasonable - perfectly decent, I'd say, but not extraordinary, and not enough to compensate for the very real risk of getting hurt by a patient where I worked in the ED. Working conditions and management vary widely, of course, depending on your unit. But the institution overall is banking on the fancy name to attract nurses. The low pay must offset the high turnover in their business model. In the Emergency Dept, around 30% of the RN staff turned over in less than a year - people left for UNC, the VA, Rex, or back to their home cities as soon as they were able. I got to see a lot of interesting stuff, and I met great people, but overall I wish I would've looked elsewhere to start my nursing career.