tulips134

i'm sorry that you are having a hard time believing it. what's not to believe? i don't know where you work but here in nyc, many if not all hospitals offer some kind of tuition assistance/continuing edu reimbursement. i work for a well-known and very wealthy private hospital that has great benefits for its employees. part of the benefits is a free tuition benefit to nyu or any other colleges/universities up to 10k/yr. you just have to be employed for at least 6mos to have that benefit kicks in. you also have to pay tax on part of the tution that the hospital paid for you ( the first $5200 is free). you don't owe the hospital anything after you are done. you can leave. that's how i went to nyu and columbia free. the hospital also pays up to $750/yr for your continuing edu. which include bcls, acls, any conferences that you like to attend which required fees. for example, i'm going to a pcna conference in chicago this yr. the conference fee/air/hotel will be reimbursed. if i have to renew my acls it will be free bec it falls under cont. edu benefit. the hsopital also pays for specialty certifications like ccrn, ocn etc. up to $3200/yr for 2 certs. you need to work at a place where they value education. of course, saying and doing are very different things. exactly like you said, many people wanted/dreamed to be financially independent,but they are not doing things that will help them get there. you are very typical like most women to assume that i have a rich husband that paid for everything. why can't a nurse be financilaly independent or a millionaire? why do you assume that i couldn't pay for my own and that i needed a rich husband to acheive where i am ? i know many many people including nurses,doctors who make 6 -figure salary living pay check to pay check. i am very different from them. i live by my words. i chose to be financially independent. i have been maxing out my retirement accts (403b, ira) every yr since i was 23. i also invest regulary in stock market with extra money. i stayed away from deappreciating assets most people have( expensive cars, hangbags, jewellries, shoes, hdtvs, etc). thus, i didn't get into any consumer debts like many people do and was able to pay off my mortgage, sls, car loan with my nursing salary. i did it on my own before i got married so it can be done. no i didn't have rich parents or husband. i'm an immigrant who came to this country with pennies and didn't even speak english. in order to achieve my goals, i had to be self-sufficient/reliant and most importantly, lived way below my means. i went to schools pt bec i didn't want to lose benefits and income. i sacrificed a lot of material things that most people have to acheive where i am, completeley debt free. sorry to disappoint you. life is about choices that you make. anyone can be a millionaire or financially indepedent when you are living in a country like usa. most people don't bec of poor choices they made. they live beyond their means or don't take risks. nothing ventured,nothing gained.

I guess it depends on how you view your life and your expectations. I have a very different mindset when it comes to financial well-being than most of the nurses. I have goals that I am working on which include being financially independent( millionaire at 40), retire early at 50 with several millions. I wanted to maximize my earnings without spending a lot. So I went back to school to further my education( I have 2 NP certifications) on my employers' dime. I'd never in a million years pay for my grad schools on my own. I went to very expensive private schools(NYU,Columbia). I never understood the mentality of many nurses who spent a boat load of their own money going to school to become an NP. Let your employer pick up the tap. And I don't buy the craps most people sell you about being an NP. I was an NP for a couple years actually making LESS than I was making as an RN. I was offered in high 80s when I was making low 90s WITHOUT OT as an RN with several specialty certifications. The hospital I worked as inpatient NP is a nationally well-known hospital here in NYC so the pay was very similar amoung other hospitals. I can't speak for other work places but the NPs here worked their butts off to make a living. Yep, you still get dumped on by attendings who refused to do anything! There are many MDs who expect us to do their job and NP job. Yes there were many days we didn't get to eat lunch at lunch hrs or lunch was interruped bec our beepers kept beeping nonstop. It was never 9-5. Many of us stayed past our hrs to finish notes,order labs for tomorrow. Many of us came in extra early to prepare for the pts who were going to cath/OR,etc. and all the responsibilities of being an NP. Yes I loved holidays off, no weekends and going home at decent hr but by the time I got home it was 7+pm. 2 days off was not enough for me. I was exhausted all the time. Working 5 days meant, I spent more money... on food, clothes, gas, tolls, wear and tear on my car,etc. and most of all my love for travelling was put on hold bec I couldn't just get away for a few days. I really really missed going away for 5-6 days without taking a vacation time off. I kept thinking, maybe things will get better....but didn't. The last straw was when I confided a senior NP about my salary(94k) and career advancement/raises/bonues. She told me she's been there for 14+yr as an NP, her salary was 113K plus 1.5K bonus after 10 yrs . I was floored. I couldn't believe it. I could make that salary as an RN and I didn't have to work that hard. so I finally went back to work as an RN like some other NPs on my floor. now as an RN, I don't have the same responsibilties, very flexible work schedule, less headaches and MORE money. I made 122K last year. I did some OTs maybe 1-2 a month. My love for travelling is increased since I am able to travel more working 3-4 days/wk. I take care of 4-5 pts on a regular floor, 1-2 in critical care. Since I am a senior nurse, I precept 1-2 new student a year( $750 extra per preceptorship), act as a charge nurse( $2hr/hr extra), do some OTs ($72/hr). I get almost all the holidays off including thanksgiving,xmas but I choose to work on xmas bec I am not christian. I know plenty of senior RNs 15+ yrs + who make 100k WITHOUT doing any OTs. for me, life is better for me as an RN. I can save and earn a whole lot more. I don'tcare when people say why are you working as an RN when you are an Np? bec it's financially better for me.

OMG…you, freaking 1st semester nursing student, not even a nurse yet, telling me I’m ignorant? How old are you and how many years have you work in health care? Unlike you, I am neither ignorant nor hang up on NYU name. Don’t even talk to me until you actually become a nurse for at least a year. You wanna talk about ignorance? It is YOU who is ignorant about nursing and how HC delivery system works. Nobody cares where you got your degree when you start working. Not your coworkers, managers, doctors, or the patients. In reality, what people really care is your skills (clinical, social/communication, leadership, a team player) and most importantly whether you are caring/compassionate HC professional or not. As much as you like to believe that NYU name matters, the truth is employers look for work experience, work experience and work experience. Sorry, you don’t get paid higher amount or better treatment because you got NYU degree or any other Ivies. I’ve got degrees from NYU and Columbia but I’ve been offered many jobs and gotten promotions due to my knowledge, clinical and leadership skills. If you just want to be an RN, then no, it probably is not. But if you want to further your education and continue to get an advanced degree your degree from NYU will open a lot more doors, guaranteed. So are you saying that you can’t get into a grad school w/o NYU name? a BSN from let’ say Hunter,CUNY doesn’t have the same chance as NYU grad? Ahhhh…….I can’t even tell you how ignorant you are. When I was in grad schools, about 80% of my fellow classmates got their BSNs from so- called no-name colleges and universities. Somehow, their undergraduate degrees didn’t matter to NYU and Columbia. Paying for a name brand education.. yes, yes you are, and that name brand education will last a lifetime. I tell everyone that asks me if NYU is worth the money and I respond the same to everyone. In certain degrees like business, finance, MBA,, yes a brand name degree may matter but not in health care, and certainly not in nursing. Sure, paying close to 100k for a brand name education in your case will last a life time bec. you will be paying until your retirement. There are schools just as competitive as NYU for 1/5 of the price. 15 yrs I’ve been in nursing, I’ve never met a new grad who was so confident of his/her clinical skills. I’ve trained new grads and precepted so many students over the years and they all had to start from the beginning even some of them were CNAs or externs. While some were fast learners, others were not. it has nothing to do with school name but an individual’s ability to learn. The biggest reason I advocate for low tuition school is that after you became an RN, you are not left with huge SLs. Whether 20k or 100k SL, it is still a loan that you have to pay back for many many years. Especially second degree students, some (if not many) of you are still carrying SLs from their undergrad degrees, you don’t want to add another huge amount to it if you can avoid. Even you don’t mind paying NYU’s hefty tuition now, you won’t feel the same after you have been a nurse for a few years. Several nurses at work who have huge SLs are paying 500-1100/mo for their SLs. I don’t know about you but many RNs feel that they are living pay-check to pay-check and rather use that money for a down payment on a house, to pay off the mortgage, credit card debts or on their family and children. Especially in this dire economy, having a huge debt does affect your life in many ways. Your debt/income ratio affects FICO credit score which in turn determines your mortgage rate/credit card rate/car loan, and even student loans when you decide to go back to a grad school. BTW, I went NYU and Columbia, not because I believed that they will prepare me a better nurse or open the doors. Simple as it sounds, I went to those schools because tuition was free as it was part of the benefits. I would and could never pay for their outrageous tuition prices on my own. The student to clinical instructor ratio is 5:1-6:1. I have not seen this ratio of 5:1 or 6:1 since I’ve been in nursing. We have NYU students( generic and second degree) doing their clinical every semester. NYU (and it's high tuition) brings in the best of the best for faculty, whom I would also think they might want teach at a "name brand" univeristy. This actually made me laugh. Are you that naïve? They need teachers so desperately that they even offer to grad students to teach. Many of my coworkers were NYU clinical instructors. I said were because they stopped teaching. Why? because NYU paid their teachers a measly salary despite charging hefty tuition to their students. NYU used to pay $3k/semester to teach. Then they increased it to 5K. Still, that’s a small sum for a huge responsibility of teaching 10-12 students. BTW many of my coworkers who’d taught at NYU ,got their education from public schools. I honestly think that second degree students realize what they want to do in life and are willing to make the sacrifices to make that happen. you will find that most all of them left a high paying, upper level job to come here. Are you sure most second degree students? Again, I’m talking from my experience as someone who chose nursing as her first and only career. I’ve been a(n) CNA, Extern, RN, assistant nurse manager and NP. A vast majority of nursing students I’ve precepted over the years, left their career bec. 1. they wanted make more money, 2. were going nowhere in their careers, 3. couldn’t get a job or were laid off. I’ve worked with people who left teaching, retail, advertising, banking/finance, law enforcement, other HC workers …EMTs, paramedics, Social workers/psychologists, etc. They certainly didn't leave highpaying careers. Personally, I couldn’t careless why they chose nursing as long as they have what it takes to be a nurse. Believe me, I’ve seen and heard it all. Some of the new grads didn’t realize that nursing is a hard work. What you experienced during your school clinical is a lot different in reality. You don’t get to go home just bec your shift ends or eat lunch bec it’s lunch time. It can be ext. stressful and everyone is clamoring for your attention. We need dedicated nurses who are not in to collect the paycheck but actually care about the patients and know what they are doing. After all, slacking off and lack of competency affect everyone; staff morals, the patients, the institution and our own profession. 99% of the students I meet at NYU genuinely cares about improving the quality of life for their patients.Most everyone in my clinical group was very prepared and anxious to get going. I am happy to hear that you and your group was prepared and caring as every student should be. But what I am seeing every year tells me a different story. Talk to me when you reach my level, and we’ll see if you still feel the same. I firmly believe that what you get out of clinical experience is what you put into it. So why are you contradicting yourself? Don’t you think that you will be a better nurse no matter what school you go to? I do. I firmly believe that it’s not up to school to make someone a(n) better nurse or APN. It is in all of us that we can be the best nurse if we want to regardless of the school we went to. And when it gets harder to find a first job (read into nursing hiring freezes... bad economy=fewer people with healthcare=fewer visits to hospitals=less nurses) a BSN from NYU might stand out from others.... Again, I repeat, employers look for work experience, like externship, CNA, etc. They would rather hire someone who has work experience. In case if you don’t know, many hospitals in NYC metro area are hiring experienced nurses from Philippines, India, South Africa, and Caribbean. Where I work, we have a lot of nurses from Canada, Caribbean, India and Philippines and some NPs from England and Australia. Welcome to the reality of healthcare delivery system in the US.

BTW, I did not choose to go to NYU/Columbia because I thought they would train me a better nurse/practitioner... I went there because the hospitals I worked, had free tuition policy to those schools. I wasn't happy that I had to pay tax(40%) on my supposedly free tuition.

NP grad from top tier school does not mean she/he is a good NP. Trust me I went to NYU and Columbia for undergrad and masters/post masters APN. Most of my clinical preceptors/instructors I had, did not graduate from Columbia or Yale or Duke. The best preceptors I've ever had went to public schools...SUNY Downstate and CUNY Hunter college here in NYC. I don't get treated better than my non Ivy grad NPs here at work. Most of the staff I work with have degrees from all over country and some even have from international universities. We have two foreign NPs( one from Australia, and another is from England...god I love their accents!). I don't look down or feel that I'm better than them just because I got my education at NYU and Columbia. MDs and patients DO NOT care where you got your education. I work in a 800+ bed hospital that is nationally well known.

I hate to break the reputation to you all who thinks NYU nursing is great. It's NOT. You are just paying for the name. You are not getting a better education. I have precepted a lot of NYU students and new graduates over the years and I can tell you they are no different than any other students or graduates from other nursing schools. My co-owrkers are NYU clinical instructors and they complain they have too many students to teach or supervise the clinical sessions. So that means, most students don't have one to one hands on experience with their instructor. They come to the clinical unprepared,don't know how to take the blood pressure with manual cuff, or just standing in the hallway bec they don't know what to do. What I find really disturbing is that some of the students, not just NYU students...think that they are going to be BSN RNs so they don't have to wipe butts or do am care. They are shocked that RNs still have to clean up poop. Hello!!! They are either in nursing bec of the money or job security. They don't care about nursing or the people. I find that a lot in second career students. It's about 65K for 15 month accerlerated program at NYU. It's just tuition and does not include books,fees, living expenses. A lof of NYU graduates come out with approximately 80K in debt. But the nursing experience you got at NYU is the same as someone who graduated from public schools CUNY or SUNY with 5K SL. Where I work, we hire new grads from all over the US as long as you have a BSN. Trust me, you will be paying for that tuition until you're in retirement. By the way, I went to NYU bec of it was free.

To Op If you put your wants over your needs, you'll never get ahead in this city. You will have an enormous amount of debt which includes student loans,car loans, credit cards etc... NYC is the city of opportunities. It's like Sinatra's song " if you can make it in NY, you can make it anywhere" A lot of people I know, including my fellow nurses never make it despite earning near six figure income in NYC. They live pay-check to pay check bec. they have put their wants over their needs. They brought depreciating assets like expansive cars, HD plasma TVs, handbags, jewellry,etc. They all want to live in Manhattan or other expansive parts of the city. They hit starbucks everyday for a latte or dine out often. But they complain that why they still have enormous SL debt or CC debt and never have enough money despite doing tons of OTs. They are living their lives to the MAX. It's all fun and exciting when you are living high in 20s and 30s but those experiences will put you in debt until you're in 90s. you have got to live below your means if you want to get ahead. good luck

I have seen this trend of NPs working as RNs here in NYC. The hospital I work at has a starting salary for brand new NP is about 90K and for RN is about 72K w/ differential . For a seasoned RN, 90K is a peanut pay. I personally know two ICU RNs who first worked as NPs when they finished school but later swicthed back to RNs role because of the pay cut. I made 97k last year with OTs. I am going make over 100k this year. A lot of senior nurses where I work make well over 100k w/ OTs. 2 RNs I work with made over 130K w/ Ots and they vowed that they'll never be NPs for less pay and more responsibilities. We get $500 bonus for doing 3 OTs and we have a lot of OTs. NP pay just does not reflect the level of work and it should start at 100k.

I live in Queens, one of the outer boroughs of NYC...about 25mins train ride to Midtown. I own my apartment since 2003. I figured, renting a 1br apt (800sf) where I live, would cost me about $1200-1400/mo, so I decided to buy instead. It was one of the best investments I'd ever made. My mortgage and maintainance fee cost me less than $1200/mo. Due to a recent realestate boom, the value of my apt. has nearly doubled since I bought it. I made $97K with OTs last year. I averaged $90K/yr since I started working as nurse. I have paid off roughly $32K in student loans, $13K car loan, saved $45K for a down payment, closing costs, all the furnishings in my apt., fully funded IRA and 403b plan every year. And, I've traveled oveseas atleast 1-2x/yr and was able to partially fund graduate school tuition too( the hospital paid other half). Yes! you CAN live comfortably in NYC.

It can be done. I did it. When I graduated from a BSN school, I had over 32K student loans. My parents didn't have the money so I had to put myself through college. I was scared to death that I had an enormous amount of debt on my shoulders. So, I did tons and tons of overtimes, sometimes working double shifts, not going out on weekends and stayed home as much as I could when I was off, brought lunch to work, lived very cheaply with my parents( rent was $300/mo). Within 2years after graduation, I was able to pay it off completely. At that time, the interest rates were high 7-8% for federal loans and 11-13% for the private loans. Then, I continued to live very frugally and save for the down payment on a house. I was very lucky enough to get into the real estate before the whole housing market took off. I was doing the same thing with the graduate school. That's another 20K of my own money going towards Master's even though the hospital I work at paid partial tuition. That's close to 60K I had to spend on my education (undergard and grad school)but it's well worth it. IMO, the money is well-spent or invested. I am able to earn on average 85K/yr ( 6yrs and counting as an RN). If you are able to earn let's say 70K/yr for the next 30yrs. That's over 2 millions in earnings..maybe more. Because of my nursing education, I am able to fully max out my retirements( IRA, 403b), bought a house, a brand new car that is fully paid off, student loans fully paid off, and have a career that's in-demand. And...so on and so on... I highly recommend that anyonewho is starting out...please read these books Suze Orman " the money book for the young,fabulous and broke" David Bach "the automatic millionaire" The books simplified ways to get out of debt and into financial independence on a small budget or income. The key is to live below your means. Best, tulip

Many big name hospitals in NYC start around 62-65K plus differencial for evening and nights. Bachelor gets $1500-2000 more than the base rate. Some of them hire only Bachelor degree RNs...NYU, Sloan-Kettering, Mt. Sinai.etc...I think they would hire exp. Rns with associate only if they are in school for attaining a bachelor's degree. Contact them for accuracy.