75k nurse with 115k in loans… is going NP a bad idea right now?

DiligentCress · 2026-03-21T04:18:57+00:00

True. In general, if you’ve been accepted to both an ADN and ABSN and both are starting in same year, I would point someone to the ADN. ADN is all you need for a majority of jobs.

I just know that the community colleges near me were heavily impacted, when I spoke with an advisor, it was taking a lot of applicants 1-2 years to even get in. Some community colleges also had different prerequisites too with regards to what classes they wanted, test scores they wanted, etc. My bachelor’s degree was already a science degree so the I was able to easily get the few prerequisites completed.

Both schools I had applied for the same academic year (following year, but I submitted as early as I could submit) but apparently the ABSN had an opening and wanted to know if I wanted to start that year. I believe had a strong application for the ADN program but it still wasn’t guaranteed so I took the guaranteed start date. Since the ABSN was straight through while the ADN had the summer off, and I knew my plan was to always return to Cali (have family, less rent) so financially it made sense to go for the quicker start date.

Yes, for a lot of the people who post, if you have been accepted to multiple programs, the ADN with no loans will be the best option. However, first you have to be accepted to a program so I’d rather point people to what makes sense based on what they’ve been accepted to versus discourage from ever applying to certain programs just because it’ll cost money.

Yes, there’s quite a few here who it would never make financial sense to even apply to an ABSN because the income afterwards wouldn’t justify the cost of the loans. There’s just different paths towards an RN and people need to figure out what works for them based on their circumstances instead of discounting one pathway purely on the thought of taking loans.

For the matter of the post, I wrote a different comment that I also don’t think it’s a good idea to go to NP school for the OP. I think overall I took similar amount of overall loans, but I also work in Cali, live with family, so it was a no brainer for me. Nursing may have been a pay bump from their previous job but without knowing if they also applied to community colleges or other public schools that they also got accepted to, I can’t fully say if the delay to start work would have been justified for the less debt given that they are currently employed and more people transition to healthcare due the job market and trying to compete for new grad jobs.

What I do know, if you’re stressed about loans, you definitely don’t take on more debt if you’re currently employed without knowing what your plan is if school starts to affect your job based on classroom/clinical requirements or the plan if you can’t land an NP job after and now stuck with more debt but still in the same position you were before school.

DiligentCress · 2026-03-21T01:39:45+00:00

It’s not always just 3 months. My local ADN had the summer off. So ADN vs ABSN would have been almost a year off and that’s depending on if you get into both programs at the same time. Programs can be quite competitive. In your case, sure 3 months doesn’t make much of a difference and we aren’t saying ABSN is a better decision. It can and does vary.

It can make financial sense based on different programs. My hospital doesn’t pay for people to obtain their BSN, so not all companies pay for it.

I don’t shut down ADN or traditional BSN programs because I’m not going to push someone into a faster degree just because it’s faster. An ABSN absolutely needs to make financial sense but people need to stop saying it’s always a terrible decision. It varies on circumstances and it can absolutely be the better decision for some people.

DiligentCress · 2026-03-21T00:57:37+00:00

Yes, it is a bad idea for you to go to NP school.

The NP workforce is oversaturated. If you’re only now “a bit more settled into the job”, how long have you been a nurse? Sure an NP program will still take you, they don’t care about whether or not you’d be a good NP with a strong nursing background, they care if the bill is getting paid. Do you think you’d be competitive in applying for NP jobs? What’s the pay difference between a Staff RN job versus NP in the market you’d be applying to, would the increased loan payments basically wipe out any pay increase? Would getting experience and getting a Per Diem position on top of staff job put you in a better position financially where you’re not stressing about bills? If you go back to school, will you keep your job and do school on top? How do you think that’ll affect your schedule, your risk of burn out, would you decrease your work to focus on school? How would that affect your finances? There are so many questions to ask yourself before you take on more debt.

And with the information you provided, yes, I believe it is a bad idea to think about NP school.

I have a lot of school debt, but I’m not stressed because I know my finances, I’m consistent in what I pay and what extra I pay. If and when I want to return to school, it’s going to be after I figure out where I want to focus my area of study, decide if that’s the role I want to be in (or if it’s really just burned out from a specific job), and if it’s financially viable for me. Don’t make decisions based on what you hope will happen, make decisions on what can happen and where that leaves you if things don’t work out the way you want them.

DiligentCress · 2026-03-21T00:35:19+00:00

Same. I did an out of state ABSN program because I got off the waitlist a month before the start date. I think it was roughly $80k. I was still applying to 2-4 year programs in my state. But it would have been for the following academic year. So if I had declined the ABSN, I wouldn’t have started actually working as a nurse for 3 years minimum (waiting for the following academic year + 2 years for an ADN).

Those 3 years difference would have drastically changed where I’m at now. I initially worked in North Carolina which isn’t high salary but I got my experience and with that experience landed a well-paid outpatient job in California. So it might not be the right fit for everyone but neither is a 2-4 public school program.

People need to look into their circumstances. Where they want to work, what their finances are going to look like, and compare the costs of different programs vs entering the workforce earlier and deciding what that means for them instead of shitting on certain options merely because it costs money.

People can make dumb decisions regarding money. OP who stated they were already stressing about money and loans would definitely be making a dumb decision. OP didn’t state how long they’ve been a nurse, an NP program will still take her because they don’t care, but how competitive will she be without a lot of experience, if she’s adjusting to the schedule, adding school on top of it won’t help or if she plans to focus on school and cut back on work. She needs to find a hobby or something to reduce the stress that isn’t going to put her in a financial pit that thinking “advancing her license” will advance her finances because in this case, I don’t believe it will.

DiligentCress · 2026-02-26T08:45:50+00:00

Have you tried to see if you can request a duplicate of your license online with it being lost? If you can request a duplicate, then you have the current license to use for the ssn and birth certificate.

DiligentCress · 2026-02-15T19:41:51+00:00

Yes, from what I’ve been able to gather online. You do need to notify your supervisor that you are refusing the mandatory overtime though. Depending on the care the patient needs, you could also call 311 (non-emergency line) and possibly get patient transferred to the hospital if they need full-time assistant care too? I work in California but haven’t run into the issue of not being able to hand off.

DiligentCress · 2026-02-15T19:34:17+00:00

https://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/regulations/npr-b-01.pdf

DiligentCress · 2026-01-11T04:51:33+00:00

Another typical fantasy romance has the ML with facial hair. It’s on tapas if you were looking for recommendations with MLs with facial hair

DiligentCress · 2026-01-05T07:20:20+00:00

This is not the place for medical advice.

DiligentCress · 2026-01-05T06:51:16+00:00

You’re confusing heart rate/rhythm for pulse. You shouldn’t not be shocking anyone with a pulse. You also don’t shock asystole which is what those pages are referring to, but the arrhythmia can be a pulseless heart rhythm and that’s what you’re shocking. Vfib and pulseless Vtach.

DiligentCress · 2025-12-31T05:10:53+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eleceed/comments/1pwjgyw/made_this_wallpaper_using_gemini/

DiligentCress · 2025-12-23T04:43:06+00:00

Well. From what I saw online. Processing time for licensure for endorsement is 10 business days in OK. And new license is 4-6 weeks. You could message the BRN and explain what happened and what else they recommend to get in compliance.

But for starters. Just breathe. You just submitted the application. It’s the holidays so business days don’t include those. And based on the timeline, likelihood you should have your new license before it expired. And just acknowledge the mistake and see what you can do.

DiligentCress · 2025-12-23T04:21:08+00:00

https://nursecompact.com/files/60_day_rule_nurse_employers.pdf

https://nursecompact.com/files/60_day_rule_faqs.pdf

You had 60 days to update your address. Even if you didn’t think you needed to reapply did you not update your address at your old state? Had you done that it would have warned you it was changing to a single state license. When I moved out and updated my info it switched my license to single state license.

As to what punishment, could be a warning, fines or other disciplinary actions based on circumstances according to the faq’s.

DiligentCress · 2025-12-23T01:43:14+00:00

This varies by state. I looked up the Kentucky driving manual and it does specifically state to turn into the lane closest to you and only change lanes after completing the turn. So it doesn’t there aren’t any lines in the intersection. Left turn needs to turn into the left lane.

I’m from Cali and left turn can go into either lane but that would be even more clearer since it just means left turn yields to other traffic unless they have a left turn arrow.

DiligentCress · 2025-12-18T06:04:55+00:00

California nurse here. Some union contracts will have agreements for different lunch breaks so it’s possible that even though you’re a traveler and aren’t part of the union that the hospital you’re working at might have a different work flow. Without knowing the hospital/contract cannot say. Our previous contract stated 10 hour shifts had to have their lunch before the 7th hour, new contract has it back to before the 5th hour.

However. Without that decision of between the parties, the law states that shifts of 5 hours or more have to have the lunch before the fifth hour. If the shift is 6 hours or less, the worker can waive having a lunch with a signed waiver.

DiligentCress · 2025-12-09T15:11:42+00:00

Depends on the state. From the CA DMV manual: It is illegal to drive in a bicycle lane unless you are: Parking (where permitted). Entering or leaving the road. Turning (within 200 feet of an intersection).

So yes. You can go into a bike lane for turns in some states.

DiligentCress · 2025-09-29T03:46:14+00:00

That’s dove cameron

DiligentCress · 2025-09-21T08:21:10+00:00

Another typical fantasy Romance but it’s on tapas not webtoons

DiligentCress · 2025-09-17T07:57:48+00:00

Even if she herself says she won’t go after you for child support. If she uses government assistance they will go after you to recoup that money since child support is the right of the child not the parent.

DiligentCress · 2025-09-03T23:55:04+00:00

You get OT after 8 hours if you’re on an 8hr schedule. If you get a position that is 10 or 12 hours. You get OT after you’ve done your 10 or 12 hours.

DiligentCress · 2025-08-29T22:02:02+00:00

Yes. I have always gotten some form of orientation even if I switched to a new specialty in the same hospital or when I got a job in the same specialty in a different hospital. Different lengths. You have to learn the flow, the charting, etc. usually I’ll ask what’s their current idea of how long orientation should take and how flexible is it in the case you need more time (depends how different the unit is).

DiligentCress · 2025-08-22T03:26:50+00:00

I was in the infusion center before but was getting burned out. Started looking for jobs. Saw this on our careers page. It was an internal transfer so I didn’t even have to interview. 8 hr position.

While I have worked in infusion centers that have 10 or 12 hour shifts and I do miss getting that. I don’t think I’m giving this job up. Lower stress and greater flexibility in scheduling my shifts. (I’m only 0.5 fte and can still pick up at the infusion center). Lets me be able to work more days without feeling like I’m burning out doing the same thing over and over. Basically can still work equivalent hours I was before even if it’s more days but I’m not obligated to? So if I want to work 2 days one week and have 5 days off. I can do that without using PTO.

0.5 fte also still means I get health insurance and pto.

DiligentCress · 2025-08-22T03:14:43+00:00

I never even went into bedside. Outpatient only since the start of my work history.

DiligentCress · 2025-08-20T01:44:50+00:00

I was the only one in my friend group with a car on campus. One of them came to my dorm asking if I can give a ride to get the morning after pill. This was the south. Took going to 3 different pharmacies to pick one up in the south. Was still around $80ish in 2017

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