Employer Paying for PA School

[crazifish]

I have a potential employer that I know wants me to work for him upon graduation and I wanted to know if anyone had their current/future employer pay for PA school for them and how they went about doing this?

 

If so, I am wondering what the contract was like for you? Did they pay for total tuition? How many years were you contracted to work for them upon graduation? Did they pay you a pre-negotiated amount once certified or was it negotiated after graduation? Was this amount lower than average to earn your tuition back? Any other tips or help on this process would be great!

 

Thanks!

[Iain1028]

RNs typically get reimbursed by their hospital for school because most of them can work full time while in NP school. Thus reimbursment +still working = much less money borrowed.

[Magicnubs]

I don't know how common it is for employers to pay for your PA school student loans, but I have heard of that kind of thing in some cases for physicians. If the loan repayment is more important than the employer itself check out this site. The NHS offers government and commercial loan repayment for working in underserved or NHCS approved areas. If the idea itself isn't appealing, maybe you could still use that knowledge as a bargaining chip.

 

Good luck!

[crazifish]

Thanks for the replies. I am a permanent resident and not a US citizen so NHCS scholarship and loan repayment programs are off the table but I do like the idea of using that type of program as a guideline.

[sbellin]

I received a scholarship through the Washington State for my initial 2 year PA training that required service in a State designated underserved area for 3 years where I have now worked for 13+ years. Ten years after PA school I began pursuit of my Masters and again approached the State; they approved another scholarship with the caveat of another 3 year commitment to an underserved area. The catch was that my area at that time had allowed their status as underserved to lapse jeopardizing my remaining if the status could not be restored prior to graduation. My employer then stepped in with a similar scholarship offer with more or less a gentlepersons agreement to stay for at least 3 years. The bottom line is that a 3 year commitment is not unreasonable and is an accepted time frame. For the Masters my employer paid tuition and books plus offset costs to travel for the required onsite graduation. There was no reduction pay.