Tuition forgiveness in exchange for contract to work

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Hi everyone,

The nursing school I will be attending in the fall has an optional tuition forgiveness program. I can choose to sign a contract to work either one year or two in exchange for half or full tuition coverage for nursing school. When I first heard this, I thought it was such a great idea. I just recently got married and bought a house, and the thought of not having any loans to pay back is tempting. Now that I am thinking it through, I am not sure that I want to be bound to a contract and "owned" by this hospital for two years. I'm afraid that I will be stuck with all of the shifts that no one else wants, in a unit I have no interest in. I would really LOVE to work in pediatrics or women's health, and I know I would probably have better job options after I graduate, such as at a children's hospital. Should I just bite the bullet and put my time in at this hospital? Did anyone sign a contract of this nature, and if so, do you regret it? I am interested to hear peoples' thoughts on this. Thanks in advance!

:redpinkhe C

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I would wait! I live in Florida and here the state offers loan forgiveness if you work at certain hosptials, which seems to be all of them, in that state of Florida. You may want to check with your State Board of Nursing to see if they offer a statewide program that you can sign up for after graduation. Instead of signing up now and being stuck in a contract.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Bariatrics.

My school offers the same but I dont want to work at the hospital they want for the 2 years. I am taking out loans and the hospital I want to work in gives $5000 a year (no contract or cap) for every year you work for student loans. I can work 5 years and have my student loan paid. If I decide I dont like the hospital I am not obligated to stay.

Check around, most student loans give 6 months after graduation before repayment and some hospitals also offer sign on bonuses.

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I, too, chose to bypass the offer of tuition reimbursement for the hospital I am a tech with. I had called in December, after we were told we "earned" money for each hour we worked the previous year and was told I had about $600 banked for reimbursement.

But then he added, "You will be required to work for a year with us after graduation". Oh, no thanks....one thing I have learned is I'm pretty sure I don't want to work for you as an RN. You don't have NICU or even positions for new grads in your very small maternity unit, never mind peds or much of anything but med/surg. Uh uh. I prefer to have my options open after graduation, especially after having done clinicals in several different facilities. You definately get a better feel for hospitals once you've done that.

Additionally, many hospitals offer loan forgiveness which I think I would much prefer after the fact once I have chosen where I want to be employed as a graduate nurse.

Best wishes!!

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Check to see if the loan forgiveness program has a way out if you decide after working for the hospital it is not for you. Many hospitals that offer the program have a way to pay back the loan in the event you can't complete the contract.

The program I selected was offered through my State, it gave me the opportunity to select the career of my choice. The position just had to require a Nursing Degree in order to count as repayment. I worked for 9 months to pay back a little over $3000. Which wasn't bad. It was my choice and I had fun.

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Thanks for all your responses. I will take your advice and find out the exact terms of the contract (if I am able to back out, if I am able to choose the unit I work on, etc). I believe we were told that we would be put in positions where they were needed (this would most likely be med/surg...:o) Problem is I am really interested in peds and we don't have a peds unit in our hospital. So I am wondering if I am able to work at their sister hospital, who has a nice peds dept. and a huge maternity dept. as well. Hubby thinks maybe I should just sign up for one year, and half of my tuition will get payed off, but I'll only be "stuck" there a year, plus I can put a year of experience on my resume. Thanks again everyone, I guess it is a personal preference. I just don't want to regret any decisions.

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Hubby thinks maybe I should just sign up for one year, and half of my tuition will get payed off, but I'll only be "stuck" there a year, plus I can put a year of experience on my resume. quote]

Husbands always think that, LOL!

Good luck in deciding what's best for you. Don't get roped into something you're going to hate.....like the MedSurg dumping ground.

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Does anyone know if UVa has a loan forgiveness plan?

Thanks, Tim

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What Florida university is this?

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