denver nurse

i talked to a hrsa rep not to long ago and private loans do qualify as long as it is spent for tuition and anything for cost of living related to a nursing related field aka rn or crna in our cases. this includes rent, food, bills..ect. i am in the process of applying for a sallie mae smart option loan: they offer fixed and variable rates based on credit. I just am not sold on the fed grad plus loan at 7.9% with a 4% origination fee each time you apply. yes its backed in certain aspects and would be much more attractive if i was concerned about not finding work after graduating. However, I am pretty confident i can find work for at least 150k after graduating as a crna as long as i am willing to relocate and be on my game. I am currently in the process of applying for the sallie mae smart option loan....I am not sold on this loan either but i want to fiddle with the numbers and interest rates to see whats more attractive. i will let you all know how it goes. the variable rate is attached to the LIBOR which is london's version of our prime rate. current LIBOR is .21% add that a variable rate of 2.5% and you're in good shape...unless everything goes to hell and then you could be in some trouble! I trust private loans as far as i can drop kick them but it might be a better option when considering a fed grad plus loan at 7.9%. Also, since we can only get $20,500 a year with the unsubsidized fed loan at 6.8% i want to explore all my options. 1% interest adds up fast when you're talking about a 100k over 5-10yrs. I hate loans but its worth doing your research for sure. also, here is the info directly for the hrsa nurse corps loan repayment program we are all wanting to cling to: What types of educational loans qualify for NURSE Corps LRP? A NURSE Corps LRP participant will receive funds to repay a portion of the outstanding principal of and interest on qualifying educational loans (see Definitions) obtained by the participantfor nurse training costs at the time of the participant's undergraduate and/or graduate qualifying nursing education. (1) Qualifying Educational Loansinclude loans obtained for actual costs paid for: a. Tuition, fees, and other reasonable educational expenses (see Definitions) for qualifying nursing education; and b. Reasonable living expenses (see Definitions) incurred while enrolled in qualifying nursing education.

Have you worked a 1099 then? If so, did you prefer one to the other?

Getting into school not that bad, getting through school will be a different story :) There are def some hoops to jump through as far as applying to school...gre, ccrn, specific pre reqs, letters of req, icu experience, ect. I didn't think it was to bad getting accepted to school. Would i recommend this career path: I think so, I am just starting out so I can't speak to much on the career yet...but I haven't met many unhappy crna's! I like it for the autonomy, responsibility, and just a better life style for the fam and I. hope that helps a tid bit.

I was wondering how one sets up a 1099 contract? Most crnas I know are hospital employees but I know there are the 1099 self employed crnas out there. Guess I am wondering if this is something you must negotiate with the facility you're interested in and how one goes about the whole process of figuring out what is a reasonable contract based on billing, type of anesthesia, ect. Hoping to work for myself after getting some experience and figuring out the opportunity cost of not receiving benefits, vacation, and such. I know one could probably write off more but would love to hear others views on this subject and if it's worth it as far as income and schedule goes. thanks Denver

you already got 10 months in an icu and have level one ER experience...you will be just fine in crna school. Remember, you don't have to be some bad ass icu nurse to do well in crna school...crna school is not nursing anymore...yes, you do need to know your drips, hemodynamics, ect. But, that's why you're going to school. jump back in an icu, if you like, or do float icu/ed if you love the ER. I know ER nurses that kick the hell out of an icu nurse in a nurse off and vise versa. If you got the will power and mind set, you will do good in school despite what others will say about your experience and years being a nurse.

Thanks for the info! Very Helpful, I talked to Diana and sounds like they don't have a lot of opportunity for my wife cause she is a peds nurse...might just be best to look for a full time gig in the north campus or in fort myers i think they have a children's hospital. what unit do you work in and how is your patient load? Do they treat their seasonal staff fair or do you feel like they load you up and give you the assignments no one else wants? orientation? thanks again!

Thank you so much for the info!! Very helpful!! :) I tried PM-ing you, but it says your private message box is full and can't take anymore messages. feel free PM me as well!! So here is our situation: We are moving to Naples in mid September with an 8 month old son. I am attending crna school there for the next two and a half years and my wife will be looking for employment during that time to help with expenses and such. I know that NCH offers several different types of commitments for the seasonal workers. I was wondering what ones you think might be best for us being there for 28 months? We will def need health insurance but it might be cheaper to take the high pay and find our own insurance? Did you pick up health insurance on your own? I have to have the mandatory school insurance, which i am guessing will stink and cost like another 10-15k annualy to put my wife/son on it! You said it was $43.5 flat or $48.5 plus the night differential?? Do you know anyone who took the housing option and if so did they like it? Think its 800 to a 1000 stipen or the downtown campus has housing across the street but i can't find any pics of it? Did you have a preference on where you liked living in naples...north naples i hear is nice...just trying to think about a good place for family but not to far a commute either? So my wife is a pediatric nicu/icu nurse for the last eight years...do they hire for peds with the seasonal contracts? I know that Naples is a retirement type of place so I was wondering if they are just wanting adult seasonal nurses? Did you have a primary contact...I found a number for a Diana Bailey (NCH recruitor seasonal) and was wondering if she would be a good resource for getting the ball rolling asap? Also, since it is a commitment and not a contract, can or did they cut your hrs or days short towards the end of the season? Was there any option or incentive for you to stay on after your commitment? Just wondering if my wife would have to try and become full time staff, or per diem at the end of the season, or if she could renew and keep a housing stipen or the high pay! Do you know what they pay experience staff nurse at NCH? (wife has 8yrs peds icu/nicu experience) Did you have to rotate between the downtown hospital and the north campus? If not, did you have a preference for which one you liked better as far as overall quality of life and staffing friendly? Sorry, I know I wrote a novel, but it's sooooo nice to get an insiders perspective on things and we are sooo grateful for your information and thoughts!! Thanks a million! Denver

I know this thread is old, but my wife and I are moving to Naples in October...i am an adult icu nurse and she is a nicu/icu pediactrics nurse with a lot of experience. I was wondering about the pay, the housing or stipen, and the overall condition of the hospital? Did any of you have an option to renew your contracts at the end? any info would be great and if anyone did take the housing option what were the apartments like...i have a 4 month old son as well so kinda want to figure out the living conditions? thanks!!

yeah, I have been talking to hrsa for the last month...their reps are some confused on their information it's crazy. They told me crna's were eligible for the NHCS scholarship but come to find out crna's are not eligible per their manager. Also, crna's are in the second tier for the nurse corps scholarship so def won't be getting that one. will just have to cross my fingers for the loan repayment program and getting into a critical access hospital :) How much does the reserves help out for school?? thanks!

you are golden, and no worries about if you are needing a booster or not, hell we all need a reminder as to why we do things in this life. As far as your experience, you're a great candidate and I am 99.9 percent sure you will get into a school. I was an accelerated bsn too, applied to crna school after 9 months of experience, took gre and ccrn in that same time and studied my butt off. got accepted at 11 months and will have two solid years of experience at the start of crna school. Your stats look good...there are good nurses and bad nurses out there...you determine what one you want to be and same goes to becoming a crna...study hard and have fun and everyone will want to work with you :)

With a 403b and traditional IRA (not roth) you will pay income tax on it even if your income is 0 for the year such as in crna school...you will still have to pay taxes on the money you pull out because that is the same as income and is yet to be taxed...just talked to a tax pro. you need to pull out less than 17,850 to stay in the 10% tax bracket i believe which is still 1,785 buckeroos...so, is that work doing 3-4 times over the course of your program, or would it be better to use the standard fed loans at 6.8-7.8 % interest? I dunno, one could also make the argument, that if you are using your own funds, there is zero chance you will get someone else to reimburse you. on the other hand, some crna's are getting the hrsa loan repayment programs for 2-3 year commitments to under served hospitals...just a little food for thought. if you have a 403B you can take out a loan against it to use for school and then directly pay yourself (interest free) instead of a lender. they will only allow you to take out a portion of your 403b if you have a roth IRA: you can take out the original contribution amount (however much you put in at birth of the account) penalty free. i just took out 10k to pay off some high interest credit cards. decisions decisions...hope this helps a little

thanks for the incite! It seems to be getting a bit harder for crna's to get loan repayments or scholarships these days!

I will be exiting florida the second i graduate...hopefully find a private practice or something that supports the hrsa loan repayment program and start hacking at the debt. I am really interested in working for myself eventually and figuring out the billing and such.

According to mint.com which is my financial adviser at this point, i have approx 136k of debt...my wife's bsn, my finance bs and then my acclerated bsn helped accumulate all that. the college i will be attending in Florida will total approximately 140-160k with tuition and cost of living factored in. I have a new born as well so if my wife works will have to factor in day care. I have ran a few numbers and could end up with roughly 300k total debt which is very scary. I would have to focus on a hrsa scholarship/loan repayment after graduation while trying to get the max out of salary...is it worth it? I dunno, my wife thinks i am insane half the time, she has many valid arguments for that assumption but i am a optimistic feller, usually, and think where there is a will there is a way :) I have looked at military, hrsa, borrowing from my roth/403B for higher education. Haven't found any solid solutions yet. I am very open to others opinions and advice, though??!! thanks denver

Try 300k on for total debt...that makes me want to drop an NG tube before I puke :)

I was wondering if anyone has received any of the HRSA scholarships or loan repayments for the whole commitment to work for under served hospital after graduating? I don't think I can qualify for the scholarship based on my "estimated family contribution" which is calculated when you file FAFSA. I was just curious as to how hard it is to get the loan repayment or scholarships? I start crna school in October. Any other thoughts on how to afford school without racking up massive debt...I understand this may be the only option but I am interested to hear others resourcefulness! thanks!

I have considered that as well...you make a strong point and i definitely need to talk to another adviser again to get my ducks more in a row. my wife and i have already racked up 140k with our undergrad loans and some credit cards so another 160k (this is roughly what the school estimates for average debt over length of school) makes me kinda sick...300k is a bit overwhelming. we have looked into some of the hrsa scholarships and loan repayment programs through federal gov...not sure about how feasible it is to get these? We have most our saving in a 403B but not sure what it would take to roll that over to a roth IRA...also, if we were in the 25% income tax bracket this year how that would affect it? lots to think about before October when school starts.

I talked to a financial advisor about withdrawling money from my roth IRA and my 403B...if used for higher education you can avoid the 10% penalty tax, but there are quite a few loop holes to jump through to get it out...also, i would be taxed around 35% of my total savings if i took it out based on this advisors research...it wasn't worth it for me so guess i will have to rack up another 160k for tuition, living, and such...hurray!

what is the tax penalty on that bad boy for rolling over? I am looking at ten million ways to try and avoid adding more debt to my mound i am already sitting on before starting my program in october

A little off topic, but how does one go about getting into private practice? Do you set up contracts with various hospitals and other places one can deliver gas? How do you figure out the billing and such? I am interested in private practice and would love to hear more about how the ins and outs of it works? I will be starting NA school in October. Thanks! Denver

Awesome thread, thank you so much for this amazing info: I will be starting at Wolford this October and was wondering where i should live? I have a wife and and my son will be 8 months old. I am guessing it is nice to live in the same complex as other students for study purposes and such. I was hoping to live near a park or something we could walk to at night to get out and clear the mind! any ideas? We are a little nervous to leave colorado, but know it is for a better life and a rewarding profession :) Also, what would be helpful for me to study a bit before i start classes on October 14th? I believe i saw a thread that you said to brush up on some advanced patho and receptor sites? They still don't have the sim lab running yet?? What is the first semester classes schedule like? 5-6 classes and two days a week? thanks for the info!! Denver

Morificeko: Thank you, my thoughts exactly!

I just shadowed a crna yesterday at childrens hospital here in Colorado. They opened a AA school here in Denver at University of Colorado but of course not a crna school. Colorado and Utah are very political from what I hear and MD run. half the hospitals here won't even use crnas. Childrens was employing half crnas and half AA's. the AA's from what i understood had very little to no clinical experience after they graduated. Childrens goal was to have half AA and half CRNA. I am going to try and avoid the ACH model. Also, the crna i shadowed said that the crna and AA's were compensated the same. It's totally a way for MD's to keep control over the market and profit...they can bill for supervision of AA's and such. the one thing we have going for us is we can step out of the hospital model and AA's cannot, at least not yet.

Is the pay less cause you got loans taken care of and officer pay during your schooling or cause it's a government gig? I worked at the VA in sicu and micu and can firmly say i will never take a government gig again...took six months to get my paper work done, not to mention how many times they lost my log in codes or something just always seemed to be wrong. No one seemed to care about doing their job and everyone kept trying to pass their workload onto someone else. granted, this is just one VA i worked at so that is entirely my experience and opinion and i know this is not the same across the board. I looked at the fort sam program cause i heard it was best in the nation but i was not in love with the pay they offered crnas in my VA and the commitment afterwards. Do you like working for the military still? Would love to hear your perspective. thank you for your thoughts.

IndiCRNA: thank you for your feedback, very informative! As a new grad did you start out working the ACT model or is there opportunity to work as an independent contractor? I am extremely interested and motivated to work 100% for myself and want to learn the ins and outs of billing and various practice models. Really important to me to be the master of my own income and autonomy but that comes with a level of experience i am guessing. did you feel you were well prepare out of school to work as a contractor or in a rural setting? Do you recommend starting out in a large hospital and getting experience, maybe an all crna group, or contract work? My program is front loaded the first year and then the final portion of my program is 16 months of straight clinicals 5-6 days a week so that should be some good prep time before job hunting. I followed a crna in the ACT model today at children's hospital and you are totally right...MD poke her head in once or twice out of four cases to say whats up and was gone after that. Didn't seem like the approach I would be interested in. Also, the crna told me the one thing they don't prep you for is the politics of anesthesia and how to juggle that mess. lots to learn i guess! thanks for any feedback! Denver