Hospitals that offer tuition reimbursement and the best way to implement it

[NightNurse714]

Which are the best hospitals which offer this. I have heard the VA offers it as well as some state hospitals. I have also seen that St Joseph Medical center in orange, CA offers it as well (I'm in California).

Can they pay a student loan I already have? If they pay for an NP program how much would they pay? What are the best options would you say overall? Thank you.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Tuition reimbursement does NOT pay your existing student loans. How it generally works is you take a class, pay up front and are reimbursed upon completion. Sometimes, the level of reimbursement is tied to a letter grade (A gets 100%, B 75%, C 50%).

There is generally an annual cap, and I don't know of anywhere that would pay for a full courseload. In my experience, the best you can hope for is a class or two's worth of tuition per semester. Some local places are as skimpy as $1000/ year.

[inthecosmos, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Last three places I've worked:

Academic Hospital: 5,000 a year max for graduate-level courses. This was after 6 months of employment.

Hospice: 2,500 a year max for graduate-level courses. This was after 1 year of employment.

Community Hospital: 3,000 a year max for graduate-level courses. This is after 1 year of employment.

[Buckeye.nurse]

Try to find a university with a medical center attached to it. For many, you are also considered *university faculty/staff*, and not just a hospital employee. As such, you are entitled to all the benefits offered university faculty--including free tuition.

For example, when I attended school, I was required to work full time (at least 32 hours/week). The university did place a credit hour cap of 10 hours/semester on employees. We are allowed to exceed the 10 hours twice during a degree path, but must have a written letter of approval from our manager to do so. All tuition cost is written off, and we are never billed. We are required to pay student fees which are generally anywhere from $75-$500/semester depending on degree field. Student fees for grad level programs are higher.

Of note, undergrad tuition benefits are not considered income, but grad level tuition benefits are. Many of my co-workers have to pay taxes on $5000-$8000 per SEMESTER. Definitely worth keeping in mind.

[inthecosmos, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Try to find a university with a medical center attached to it. For many, you are also considered *university faculty/staff*, and not just a hospital employee. As such, you are entitled to all the benefits offered university faculty--including free tuition.

For example, when I attended school, I was required to work full time (at least 32 hours/week). The university did place a credit hour cap of 10 hours/semester on employees. We are allowed to exceed the 10 hours twice during a degree path, but must have a written letter of approval from our manager to do so. All tuition cost is written off, and we are never billed. We are required to pay student fees which are generally anywhere from $75-$500/semester depending on degree field. Student fees for grad level programs are higher.

Of note, undergrad tuition benefits are not considered income, but grad level tuition benefits are. Many of my co-workers have to pay taxes on $5000-$8000 per SEMESTER. Definitely worth keeping in mind.

Curious where you are.

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

Curious where you are.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say Ohio...probably Cincinnati, and probably at UC.