Nursing Bonuses: How To Land a Big Payout

Nursing’s big bonuses have been talked about for years. The industry features a fistful of various bonuses that cover everything from referring a friend to finishing a job.

Find out more about these popular nursing bonuses:

  • Signing, or sign-on, bonus
  • Completion bonus
  • Referral/Recruitment bonus
  • Annual performance bonus

Sign-On Bonus

Nursing sign-on bonuses are infamous for their value and controversy, particularly among staff nurses. New grads, in hospitals starving for new nursing blood, can potentially earn an instant few thousand dollars when they sign a permanent employment contract.

These types of incentives are intended as carrots to the rabbit and they’re extremely effective. If you play your cards right you could land a permanent RN job at a hospital that’s giving you a signing bonus, will give you annual bonuses, and offers all kinds of shift differentials to whet your money-maker. Signing bonuses can be anywhere between $1,000 and many thousands of dollars.

Completion Bonus

Travel nurses are well-acquainted with the completion bonus. Usually a hospital will offer an attractive bonus to travelers who meet all obligations associated with a travel assignment. This is obvious incentive to keep a traveler on site and performing. Like signing bonuses, the completion bonuses could run into the thousands of dollars depending upon how needy the hospital and demanding the job or the area—think Wisconsin in the dead of winter….

Referral/Recruitment Bonus

It’s common for hospitals as well as recruiting companies to sometimes award smaller bonuses to nurses for referring new recruits. Bonuses of this nature may be a few hundred dollars to a $1,000 or more. Some nurses feel it courteous to split the bonus with the “friend” they recommended in the first place, which makes it a win-win for everyone.

Annual Bonuses

How do you think nursing staff should be rewarded for jobs well done? Some hospitals as part of their benefits packages to nurses, build in an annual bonus as incentive. In most cases the bonus increases annually to meet the nurse’s recurring commitment to her or his job. The purpose is to provide monetary token of thanks and reward.

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