Who doesn't want to get out of debt? Nursing school tuition reimbursement may sound like music to the ears when you first hear about it. But there are strings attached with it and you need to be aware of these before entering into any agreement. Read on to find out more about this benefit for registered nurses.
It's the rare student who graduates from nursing school without a hefty student loan balance. Nursing school costs anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. The shortage of nurses in the country however,
has become so severe that employers are now offering incentives which are certainly going to be attractive to nursing school graduates: "tuition reimbursement" or "loan forgiveness".
As the name implies, the heath care institution such as hospital or nursing home will offer to pay for part of, or even the whole of your student loans in exchange for you coming to work for them, and this could amount to several thousands of dollars a year. Even some state governments are offering this option.
The idea of being unloaded of your debt sounds so good so why are we even talking about not considering this? The package may sound perfect but it's really not for everybody.
The way it generally works is, the employer or state government is offering to repay part of your nursing student loan in exchange for your agreement to work for them for a specified period of time - generally at least a couple of years. Other offers will specify a certain amount, for instance $5,000 a year, for a certain length of time, say 3 years.
Before you sign a contract agreeing to this type of offer, you need to do a little research first. Try to find the answers to these:
Does the hospital have a high turnover rate?
If yes, what could be the reason?
Are you satisfied with the working conditions?
Do the nurses working there seem happy?
Is there a dangerously high nurse-patient ratio or poor security?
There may be a reason why they are desperate to hire nurses. And there may not be any reason they're desperate other than the fact that there is a nationwide shortage of nurses. You may want to investigate the working conditions there to find out if you're about to sign a contract that will lock you into working somewhere that will make you unhappy for the next few years.
Does the contract include a fixed salary for the duration of the agreement? Is the rate agreeable to you or is it lower than what should be a fair rate? Maybe you can get a much higher pay in another facility, even enough to make up for your repaying the student loans yourself
Let's say, just as a for-instance, that the reimbursement is $4,000 a year, which is currently - in the year 2007 - typical. Say, there's another prospective employer offering an hourly rate that's $3 higher than the facility that has a tuition reimbursement package. Now let's do the math. If you work 40 hours per week, by the end of the year you would have earned $6,240 more in the higher-paying facility. What this means essentially is that by signing with the hospital that offers "loan forgiveness", you could lose some $2,240. Worse, you'd have to honor that contract for at least another year.
Also, read the fine print of the contract - is there any kind of penalty for leaving before a year or two? If you left after ten months, does that mean that you do not get any tuition reimbursement at all?
If you are very familiar with the facility, and are confident that you'll be happy working there for at least the length of the contract you are agreeing to, then tuition reimbursement or loan forgiveness may be right for you. But just so you won't be wasting your time or the employer's, make sure you practice some due diligence first!
