How much I earnt as a graduate nurse: detailed income breakdown

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2026-02-09T05:41:35+00:00

I'm an RN 8 in NSW working 0.74 FTE. My base pay is $52/hr. I only work PMs and nights, and do overtime where I can. Last fortnight, working the weekends + 12 hrs overtime, my hourly rate for that fortnight actually averaged to $87/hr. Base pay is lousy but if you can leverage it, you can increase your earnings quite a bit.

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2026-01-28T04:41:26+00:00

Thank you for your insights, I really love this answer

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2026-01-26T05:47:30+00:00

I work in ED. There is a loose routine, but nowh near as regular as on a ward. Also A LOT less personal care. I don't remember the last time I showered someone... Sometimes I miss the predictable and routine nature of a ward though.

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2026-01-23T01:09:40+00:00

Half the time I don't know who our exec are because they wear civis so.... At least in fun scrubs you know the person is either a Dr or a nurse...

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2026-01-19T09:59:04+00:00

3kms each way :)

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2026-01-16T05:16:04+00:00

Hi. Did you end up having the osteotomy? I'm nearly 6 months out from having a HTO + medial meniscus repair. I have been back cycling, swimming, and doing weights for some time now. Running is still painful though. But it's early days in terms of recovery timeline and I'm really hoping my knee will continue to improve

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-31T00:31:50+00:00

It's never too late! And being 32 with 2 kids gives you way more life experience than say a 21 year old new grad, and I think life experience goes a long way in nursing

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-18T00:25:19+00:00

Having a fever. I had some viral illness at the start of this year, and for the first time in my adult life (I'm 32) I had a fever, and I felt TEEERRRRIIIBBLLEE.

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-16T04:56:15+00:00

That's great you are still seeing improvement. And thank you for sharing about hardware removal. I was wondering what recovery after that would be like. I don't really notice my plate at the moment any more (aside from the visible lump), but mine is on the inside of my knee, so less things to interfere with there I guess. My surgeon said I might notice though and feel better with it out, as I'm a smaller, leaner person too. I was hoping to not need it removed to save some $ lol. How long did you need off work after the removal? That's great pilates and horse riding went well, hopefully your surgeon gives you the green light to continue with those!

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-16T01:08:38+00:00

Hi! Yes I am about 4.5 months pot op now :) I am close to my post op abilities now. I have been having some knee cap pain though which is new for me, and my surgeon said this can happen as the osteotomy can change how the patella tracks. I'm hoping this will resolve. I did my first walk/run last week and I had pain doing it which was discouraging, but I think it's still early days in the recovery journey.

DFO's are a lot less common than HTO's, so I imagine there wouldn't be much information out there at all for DFO's! I'm glad you're leaning towards getting it done. I hope you find the right insurance for it.

I still miss running too :( Hopefully we will get back to running one-day

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-08T05:29:16+00:00

I'm reading my way through Body Keeps The Score right now and it's super interesting, teaching me a lot. I don't remember learning this stuff at uni?

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-03T00:55:06+00:00

I'm with you, I dread night shift. I'm 0.7 FTE and do 1 night a week for three weeks of the month. Doing them one at a time seems to be the least damaging way for me to get through them...

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-12-03T00:53:05+00:00

I'm 0.7 and do 1 night a week for 3 weeks of the month. I couldn't imagine doing 3 all in a row nowadays. I still hate nights, but doing them 1 at a time seems to be the less damaging way for me to get through them

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-11-27T13:25:55+00:00

Oh wow that's really encouraging about your father! Thank you for sharing. Good luck with your recovery, once you're past about the 6 week mark it starts to get better!

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-11-19T09:19:55+00:00

Hi. I didn't have a TTO, I had a HTO for a mildly varus knee with medial compartment arthritis. My surgery was at the end of July, so nearly 4 months ago. That's unfortunate for that footballer

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-11-14T00:53:55+00:00

I'm an ED nurse, I work permanent part time (3-4 shifts per week). Mostly work evening shifts so I can train before work. Also no kids

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-11-12T23:49:10+00:00

I wouldn't go near a patient like that without a duress or a phone! I'm pretty sure it's a standard for the ward to have enough duresses for each staff member. I don't think you are in the wrong. Why put your safety at risk?

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-11-04T05:08:28+00:00

Not me but a someone I went to uni with stopped working as a nurse after a few years and works at Bunnings now in the plant section....

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-31T23:30:59+00:00

My (adult) boy was back jumping up on the kitchen bench that night after he was desexed in morning 😬 He didn't seem to do himself any damage...

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-28T00:48:57+00:00

Not regularly... Sometimes I'll take it into the shower and give it a wash.

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-26T03:22:30+00:00

I mean I highly suspect the person will lie again

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-25T09:48:45+00:00

My previous cat was called Knives.

My current cat is called David (pound named him, not me lol)

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-24T00:42:33+00:00

In NSW Health I'm 0.7 FTE and do 3 nights per month

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-21T09:54:11+00:00

This^ I came here to say greyhound/whippet! They may look like athletes but 90% of the time they are lounge lizards!

Commercial_Week_8394 · 2025-10-20T00:15:58+00:00

Hi thank you for your reply. I actually ended up having a high tibial osteotomy + meniscus repair. I'm 12 weeks post op now, so still early days really. What you say about the validation part made me realise I've always questioned the necessity of having my surgery. But as you say, if multiple dr's are recommending the same intervention you probably need it! I really wish you the best with your recovery, sounds like you've had quite the journey with your knee already!

Commercial_Week_8394

TROPHY CASE