Louise99

Hi. Got your PM. Not sure how to reply to it with my PM. Haven't used this site too much. :-)

Actually my loans are about $70k and with interest it's growing so it's going to be awhile before they are paid off. Private loans for me too. It's difficult to get OT because we sign up and then get cancelled for our regular shift. Your staffing bonus sounds great! I'll figure it out though, hopefully before I have to retire because I'm not so young! I wish you the best and I'll take your advice and try to let it go. Thanks!

My residency was 5.5 months. The problem for me was that I didn't find out about being ineligible for NELRP until after the date to drop out of my contract without paying back the $10,000. I didn't get any help from the CNO either, or the attorneys. It seems like such a little thing for them to investigate that would make such a big difference to their nurses. It sure would help morale. I never could get across that training at Parkland after I graduated from nursing school has nothing to do with nursing school loans. Understanding this concept does not seem that difficult to me, but the NELRP is not clear on what the term "educational payback" means. I tried to get NELRP to explain this better as well through my congressman, but I failed at that as well. Frustrating to say the least. So, I'll move forward and hopefully it will work out somehow.

I went to EC. It was a joke. I can't tell you how bad it was in every way. The teachers did not teach us. All that we learned we did on our own. I'm amazed that we made it through. When many people failed a test, I heard they let everyone retake it. Our class never got to do that, but other sections did. Perhaps they will let ya'll retake the test. I hope so! Good luck to you and hang in there. We got through by forming a study group and all of us are still friends even since we graduated and went our separate ways!

Thanks for the suggestion. How can I find jobs in this field? Thanks!

Thanks a lot. I have been really upset about it. I would have to pay Parkland $10,000 to leave but it's substantially less than what I owe on my school loans so if I find a place that will help pay off my loans in the Dallas area, I would make a move. I'm hoping someone will read this who knows of another hospital that might offer some loan repayment. Otherwise I may have to leave nursing and go into something that pays better. I used to be a computer geek in my past life and that pays a lot better than nursing, but I love nursing much more!

It's true at Parkland because I had to sign a 2 year agreement that I would stay there since I went through an ICU training/residency program when I started. Because I signed this agreement, Parkland filled out the NELRP paperwork that I have a financial commitment/educational payback to them. They related the training tI received from them to do my job in the ICU as an "educational payback commitment." I do not believe this has anything to do with nursing school loans as these 2 things happened completely apart from each other, but I went to Parkland's chief nursing officer, to the Parkland attorney, and to my congressional legislative representative and nothing was corrected. Sorry for such a long response, but the bottom line is that it all depends on how your hospital answers the question on the form because that one question will disqualify you from being eligible for the program. Hope that helps and is not too confusing of an answer. Good luck to you. I'm still trying to figure out what to do.

It is 2 years from when the residency finishes. For my unit, it was 5.5 months. So about 2.5 years after starting I am eligible to apply, then I have to wait until April of the following year when the annual application process occurs. Notices of awards go out in October. For me that means if approved it will be January 2012 before the first payment would be made on my behalf...that is 4 years after starting at Parkland. I hope the word gets out to new hires because I think Parkland is still promoting this loan repayment and not telling nurse graduates that if they start in a residency program they are ineligible.

Parkland does not offer it if you go through a nurse residency program like any ICU, ER, L & D, etc. I thought they did, but once I started working there I found out they don't. I was really disappointed and now I'm locked into a contract.

Hang in there. I somehow managed to finish at El Centro and you will too. The best resources to use are the disks from Saunders. There's one with 5000 questions which helps to know if you understand the material. I know it's unfair there...believe me!

Hi. I'm wondering if anyone knows of any hospitals or other medical facilities have a loan repayment program. I work at Parkland and applied to NELRP, but I found out that enterring a residency program there for any acute care or ICU makes me or anyone ineligible for loan repayment through NELRP. Thanks for responding! Susan

After knowing 2 students who transferred out after 2nd semester, as well as professors who have taught at both schools, I can tell you from their experience, the material at El Centro is NOT MORE DIFFICULT. It's the same. There is a big problem with the grading in terms of GPA if/when you transfer to a Bachelor's Program, apply for an advanced position, apply for scholarships, etc, etc because students with a 80-83 are given a 2.0 GPA for that class. The rest of the educational system looks at a 2.0 GPA as less than 80 (and above a 70 or 72). El Centro students lose out in that regard because they are unfairly compared to other students who had the same content and material, but were graded on the same scale as other colleges. For these reasons, someone may eventually legally challenge the grading system. Something to think about when others ask you about your experience at El Centro!