For Pepito Masiglat Jr., a nurse with the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region, working overtime isn't just about the money.
"One of the main reasons we want to work is because (then) we aren't thinking so much about back home," said Masiglat, who came to Prince Albert from the Philippines in 2008.
"I might as well work and keep myself busy."
Work helped him avoid missing his family while his wife delivered their baby in the Philippines. It also netted him the last spot as one of the top 10 wage earners in the health region in the 2009-10 year.
Three nurses made that top 10 list, with one earning $172,377, more than any manager in the region. Reports in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix show the highest paid nurses in the Saskatoon Health Region made around $250,000 in the same year.
The top end of the base salary for nurses in the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region is around $80,000, said Jamie Callahan, the region's vice-president of human resources.
"A lot of people have the idea that people want to make all the money," she said.
But, it's not always the case.
"If you talk to all the people that work a lot of overtime with us, they all have a different reasons."
For the region, how much they are paying comes second to ensuring quality patient care.
"At the end of the day as a region we don't think, 'well how much is she going to make,' we think about safe patient care," Callahan said.
"What's driving (overtime) is making sure that we are looking after our patients and the end result of that is sometimes these nurses are making a lot of money."
Tracy Zambory, first vice-president Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, says the overtime doesn't show greed, but a problem with the system.
"The sad part is, in the past overtime just happened in an emergent situation, but now it's common place," she said.
Changes need to happen so the system can support the nurses to provide the best care they can, Zambory said.
"These changes need to be looked at on a unit by unit basis ... each area of medicine have their own needs to be addressed."
For Masiglat, he plans to continue working when he can.
"The primary reason we are here is to work, so I don't think I'm going to turn down work as long as I'm able," he said.
He took a leave to see his family, who joined him in Prince Albert in February. Now he said he takes shifts because he is thankful for the support from his workplace.
Masiglat said he would never go to work if he was too tired and has never taken a sick day.
"I was making people very impressed. I've not phoned in sick, not for a single day."
The health region is striving to make sure all their nurses stay healthy and are trying to cut down overtime at the same time.
"That many additional hours on top of a full-time job, there is going to be some impact," Callahan said.
Since the end of the 2009-10 year, the region has reduced overtime by 20.47 per cent and officials hope the trend continues.
"It's part of the whole reduction strategy ... we're trying to focus it on wellness."
Information regarding the exact salaries of people in the region can be found at paphr.sk.ca.
