Are there really hospitals that pay your tution in exchange for working there?

XYcsccSN · Jul 30, 2009

There was a few around here (Ohio Health and OSU medical center), but they have since been discontinued. There is currently an abundance of nurses in my area so they don't need to pay to get nurses anymore. I'm sure there are still programs out there, but it will be dependant on the nursing need in any given area.

BostonTsn · Jul 30, 2009

The hospital I work at is paying for my school while I am enrolled. I won't see a bill. When I am done I will work it off in 4 years.

Boog'sCRRN246, RN · Jul 30, 2009

Every hospital in my county does this. They have a partnership with my school; each hospital selects a certain number of students and pays for their tuition and books. It can be done for as little as one semester up to four semesters. One to two semesters requires the student to work for one year. Three to four semesters requires two years of work.

RNMeg · Jul 30, 2009

In Tucson, AZ there was one hospital that did this as recently as 2 years ago. They're paying my tuition, NClex exam fee, and license fee for the first year. I have to work for them for 4 years after graduation (BSN program). As far as I know they've discontinued the program, though.

Always_Learning, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2009

Yes, I work at one right now! It's worked rather nicely - after you work there for 6 months, the hospital will pay for tuition, so I took my pre-reqs part time while working full-time. Now that I am done with pre-reqs, I was accepted to the nursing school affiliated with the hospital. They are paying my tuition, and in exchange, I will work at the hospital as an RN afterwards (I always joke that I am an indentured servant).

So my tuition is paid, but I still have to pay for fees, books, uniforms, etc. Not a bad deal considering my hubby and I are trying like crazy to avoid debt.

There are companies out there that pay for tuition; you just have to do some research. I was looking at working for UPS at one point because they pay tuition also.

Good luck! :yeah:

Coloradogrl · Jul 30, 2009

I wonder if there is any here in Colorado :lol2: I really dont have to work while I am in school(I am lucky that my husband has a great job) but it would be nice to have all my tuition paid too

shescoolie · Jul 30, 2009

The VA (Veterans Affairs) hospitals have a program called VANEEP which will pay your salary and tuition/books while you go to school. In military terms you duty station and tour of duty is your school/class schedule. So you report to class as if it were work. You dont have to have been in the military either. I'll have to work for the VA for 2-3 yrs. Not bad + I'm guaranteed a job when I graduate. That's a big plus for me.

Molly08 · Jul 30, 2009

I am currently attending UPMC Mercy SON in Pittsburgh, PA. They have what is called a tuition loan forgiveness program. They pay my tuition but when I graduate I must work in a clinical setting full time in any UPMC hospital for 2 years. This is nice because UPMC is a huge branch and I will have many options where to work. UPMC has a few different Nursing programs in the pittsburgh area and all of them participate in this program. The only thing you must pay is taxes on the loan which ends up being around $6,000 and what they do is the first year you start working after grad. they deduct around $118 from each pay to go toward the taxes. The program is also non-competitive so as long as your enrolled in a UPMC SON program you have the loan forgiveness option.

Molly08 · Jul 30, 2009

The VA would prob. be your best bet. I have a friend that works for them who is an RN and has a 20 yr retirement plan like 4 weeks payed time off and loads of other benefits, she loves it. I am hoping to one day get into a VA hospital.

shescoolie · Jul 30, 2009

The VA would prob. be your best bet. I have a friend that works for them who is an RN and has a 20 yr retirement plan like 4 weeks payed time off and loads of other benefits, she loves it. I am hoping to one day get into a VA hospital.

Come on over! We'll be glad to have ya! The other thing I like about the VA is once you're in, you can transfer to any other state/city that has a VA anytime you want with no problem! One of our nurses just transfered to Hawaii!

Molly08 · Jul 30, 2009

That sounds wonderful!! I love pittsburgh but do plan on heading somewhere south when I finish out my contract with UPMC. My dad was really pushing for me to sign on with a VA hospital to see if they would pay my education in exchange for work, but I was to quick to sign on with UPMC. I really wish I would have looked more into the VA when I started researching SON. I Will def. be looking for a good VA hospital when I am finished though. Would you know if they buy out contracts I have heard some hospitals will do that?