Tuition compensation in exchange for employment

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · May 17, 2006

Hey all, just had a quick question I hope some of you are familiar with. My advisor at the school I will be attending this fall told me about a a program that many hospitals are making available to students. I guess the hospital agrees to pay part of the students tuition in exchange for a contracted agreement stating that the student will work for the hospital for a certain period of time. If anyone knows the name of this agreement or has any info on it I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again.

I've always referred to it as "indentured servitude", lol.....seriously, there's alot of threads here on the boards about it. Scoot around.

Depending on the amount of money we're talking about, and the amount of time required to "pay back" (or number of years you are required to work at hospital) it may be good or bad. Generally speaking, some things you should know:

~ How much time do I owe them?

~ What rate of pay will I receive while I'm "paying off" contract?

~ What happens if I don't graduate? What if I leave their employ before contract expires? Penalties?

~ Do I have any say at all in what unit(s) I work on, or what shifts I get?

Alot to consider. Me, I didn't do it: I'm a free agent now, baby! :)

Realmenwearscrubs · May 17, 2006

Is this something you have to do before you enter into your freshman year or can it be done in your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · May 17, 2006

Depends on hospital and what they want. There's one near me that offers a program whereby they expect you to work for them for one hour for each dollar they contribute toward your tuition expenses. Most people do that as care techs during school, if they choose that route. But since that translates into working for one dollar an hour, it's really only good if you genuinely look at the work time as free experience :) But if they require you to work as an RN for that kind of payback, that's a different story.

Students have approached hospitals during their school year (different semesters) and asked for $$, sometimes successful and a good plan, sometimes not.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · May 17, 2006

Keep in mind that there are also scholarships available that don't require anything paid back! If you're going into a college, there's an office in administration somewhere whose job it is to line up applicants with donors. My school actually had quite alot of good scholarships each year; one application for about 60 different scholarships.

Some require individual applications. Keep your eyes peeled for bank scholarships (I got one for a thousand bucks; I saw the offer on one of those easel stands on the counter while I was waiting in line). I got my application in the day before it was due, maybe the DAY it was due: and I won! The bank was giving away 15 scholarships to college students in three counties. Found money, a beautiful thing.

RNinJune2007, RN · May 17, 2006

It depends on your hospital\school etc and if t hey ever offer it.

Anyways, I DEFINITELY signed up for it. At my school, which is directly through a huge hospital, we dont' HAVE to take a job, and it's basically a 0% interest loan (cheaper than the federal loans!) and if I have to pay it back , my two years is under 8k dollars.

We get the same amount of pay, can work anywhere in the system we want (there are about 5 hospitals) , and all in all, I'd be working there anyways.

We are required (to dismiss the contract/financial obligation) to work for 4 months for each semester of school we had.

For my class, I think 90% of the people got it. (But then again we don't get penalized if we don't follow through)

Nurse2bMelanie · May 17, 2006

I was very fortunate that the hospital I have always wanted to work at offered this program. And they're one of the top 100 hospitals, and one of the top Magnent Hospitals for nurses so it worked out really well. They gave me $1700 a semsester in exchange for 4 months of work for each semester paid (8 total for me) If you're interested, its the University of Kentucky Hospital.

Sheri257 · May 18, 2006

My school is doing this to get people off the waiting lists. Two hospitals are paying for everything but, in return, you've got to sign a four year contract.

One hospital is a hellhole so, in that case, it would be a really bad deal. The other hospital is ok but ... four years sure is a long time. Especially when there are so many other places you can work that have better benefits and pay.

:typing

sabrn2006 · May 18, 2006

A local hospital paid my tuition for 2 years, and I owed them a 2 year work commitment. It seemed like a fair deal....until I went there for clinicals and hated it. My advice is to find out all you can about the place first. Shadow on the floors, talk to the nurses there and see how it really is. Then make a decision based on that.