Table 2.
Determinants of RN hourly wage‡ based on Heckman model§ in 2008 NSSRN† data
| Dependent variable: Log of RN Hourly Wage | Total Populationa (Initial Bachelor and Associate degree) | Initial Bachelor degree | Initial Associate degree | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted N = 2,242,238 | Weighted N = 945,429 | Weighted N = 1,296,809 | ||||
| Un-weighted N = 24,136 | Un-weighted N = 10,345 | Un-weighted N = 13,791 | ||||
| Explanatory variable (Reference category) | Coefficient | P-value | Coefficient | P-value | Coefficient | P-value |
| Experienceb | 0.023 | 0.001*** | 0.027 | 0.001*** | 0.018 | 0.001*** |
| Experience Square | −4.52E-04 | 0.001*** | −0.001 | 0.001*** | −3.44E-04 | 0.001*** |
| Prior healthcare job (no prior healthcare job) | ||||||
| Manager | 0.095 | 0.026** | 0.123 | 0.083* | 0.059 | 0.287 |
| LPN/LVN | 0.076 | 0.001*** | 0.143 | 0.034** | 0.042 | 0.096* |
| Allied health | 0.006 | 0.787 | 0.050 | 0.180 | −0.034 | 0.205 |
| Nursing aide | 0.041 | 0.019** | 0.066 | 0.006*** | 0.013 | 0.591 |
| Clerk | 0.007 | 0.842 | 0.022 | 0.670 | −0.019 | 0.659 |
| Other | −0.036 | 0.293 | −0.011 | 0.826 | −0.063 | 0.113 |
| Experience × Prior healthcare job (no prior health related job) | ||||||
| Manager | −0.004 | 0.530 | −0.010 | 0.313 | 0.004 | 0.680 |
| LPN/LVN | −0.009 | 0.001*** | −0.024 | 0.003*** | −0.003 | 0.345 |
| Allied health | −0.003 | 0.338 | −0.010 | 0.066* | 0.003 | 0.375 |
| Nursing aide | −0.006 | 0.015** | −0.009 | 0.01** | −0.002 | 0.501 |
| Clerk | 0.000 | 0.946 | −0.004 | 0.572 | 0.005 | 0.425 |
| Other | 0.002 | 0.678 | −0.001 | 0.886 | 0.006 | 0.194 |
| Experience Square × Prior healthcare job (no prior health related job) | ||||||
| Manager | −6.57E-05 | 0.736 | 1.23E-04 | 0.657 | −3.12E-04 | 0.267 |
| LPN/LVN | 1.98E-04 | 0.015** | 0.001 | 0.005*** | 5.57E-05 | 0.594 |
| Allied health | 8.54E-05 | 0.329 | 2.40E-04 | 0.082* | −6.55E-05 | 0.539 |
| Nursing aide | 1.24E-04 | 0.049** | 1.85E-04 | 0.04** | 4.93E-05 | 0.529 |
| Clerk | −4.51E-05 | 0.701 | 4.70E-05 | 0.769 | −1.61E-04 | 0.379 |
| Other | 6.89E-06 | 0.967 | 7.65E-05 | 0.781 | −8.11E-05 | 0.575 |
| Gender (Male) | −0.099 | 0.001*** | −0.131 | 0.001*** | −0.080 | 0.001*** |
| Marital Status (Married) | −0.017 | 0.004*** | −0.018 | 0.07* | −0.017 | 0.028** |
| Highest RN/RN-related educationc | ||||||
| Associate | Reference | NA | Reference | |||
| Bachelor | 0.044 | 0.001*** | Reference | 0.050 | 0.001*** | |
| Master's | 0.247 | 0.001*** | 0.213 | 0.001*** | 0.232 | 0.001*** |
| Medical, surgical and other specialists per 1,000 population | 0.047 | 0.001*** | 0.042 | 0.001*** | 0.049 | 0.001*** |
| Primary care practitioners per 1,000 population | −0.159 | 0.001*** | −0.157 | 0.001*** | −0.158 | 0.001*** |
| Race - Other (white) | 0.020 | 0.024** | 0.030 | 0.009*** | 0.009 | 0.466 |
| Work Status (Full-time no-overwork) | ||||||
| Part-time | −0.077 | 0.001*** | −0.085 | 0.001*** | −0.072 | 0.001*** |
| Full-time overwork | −0.121 | 0.001*** | −0.128 | 0.001*** | −0.117 | 0.001*** |
| Work setting (Hospital) | ||||||
| Nursing Home | −0.141 | 0.001*** | −0.145 | 0.001*** | −0.135 | 0.001*** |
| Other setting | −0.130 | 0.001*** | −0.141 | 0.001*** | −0.124 | 0.001*** |
| Urban | 0.038 | 0.001*** | 0.023 | 0.102 | 0.043 | 0.001*** |
| Constant | 3.174 | 0.001*** | 3.222 | 0.001*** | 3.191 | 0.001*** |
| Rho | −0.106 | 0.001*** | −0.124 | 0.008*** | −0.094 | 0.011** |
NA not applicable, LPN/LVN Licensed Practical Nurses/Licensed Vocational Nurses
* P < 0.1, ** P < 0.05, *** P < 0.01
The additional covariates of 50 states (and Washington DC) in the regression model were not presented in this Table 2
‡ Logarithm form of Registered Nurse (RN) hourly wage; § Heckman’s Sample Selection model: The first-stage equation’s dependent variable was a dichotomous variable indicating working or not. The covariates uniquely included in the first-stage equation (i.e., excluded from the second-stage equation) were other household income, county-level characteristics (uninsurance rate and unemployment rate), age (five categories), student status (full-time, part-time, or no student) and children at home (four categories). Another set of covariates included in both the first-stage equation and the second-stage equation were six categories of prior healthcare employment (manager, LPN/LVN, allied health, nursing aide, clerk, and all other healthcare positions), race, gender, marital status, highest nursing degree, county-level characteristics (primary care practitioners per 1,000 population; and medical, surgical and other specialists per 1,000 population), indicators for 50 states (and Washington DC), and urban area. The second-stage equation’s estimates were presented in this Table 2. These Heckman models were justified by the statistically significant rho, reported in the bottom row of this Table 2; † NSSRN: nationally representative National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses;
aAll actively licensed RNs in the NSSRN 2008 public use data file, excluding RNs who resided outside the United States and RNs whose initial nursing education was at the diploma or graduate (Master’s or Doctorate) level
bExperience was calculated by subtracting the year of first RN license from 2008. Additionally, one year was subtracted for RNs who left nursing for one or more years since becoming an RN (unweighted 11.7 % of sample), and 0.5 year was subtracted for RNs who are recent graduates and could not have left nursing for one or more years (unweighted 0.9 % of sample)
cBachelor is the reference for the sample of Initial Bachelor degree only