Alaska is a great opportunity for Registered Nurses.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov), there are 5780
registered nurses in the state of Alaska. RN is one of the highest numbers
employed out of all other professionals in healthcare industry as a whole. Here
is a comparison to understand the demand of RN compare to other popular
professions in healthcare setting in Alaska; currently, there are 500 Physical
Therapist, 480 pharmacist, 540 dental hygienist, 580 LPN, 640 Medical health
and record technicians, 1750 nursing assistants and 1440 medical assistant compare
to 5780 RNs. Undoubtedly, RN has more opportunities and growing exponentially
with time.
RN in Alaska are also paid one of the highest in the nation,
in fact, it is the fourth top paying state for RN in the nation. Current median
hourly wage is $41.12 and annual mean wage is $85, 740. Below is the chart for
top 5 states;
|
State
|
Employment per
thousand jobs
|
Hourly mean wage
|
Annual mean wage
|
|
California
|
16.75
|
$47.31
|
$98,400
|
|
Hawaii
|
17.39
|
$42.42
|
$88,230
|
|
Massachusetts
|
24.05
|
$41.23
|
$85,770
|
|
Alaska
|
17.79
|
$41.22
|
$85,740
|
|
Oregon
|
18.44
|
$39.87
|
$82,940
|
If you are planning to enroll to pursue RN program in Alaska
it is critical for you to choose the right school, the school which is approved
by board of nursing, accredited by ACEN, good passing rate in NCLEX and above
all an affordable school. Here are few links for you to find the right school
for you. However, if you need one on one advice, you can always write to me for
help navigating these links which will direct you to the right school
convenient to your location.
There are only two schools listed under nursing board,
Alaska. University of Alaska Anchorage, school of nursing should be the number
one choice since it has both board approved and accredited by ACEN. The other
school Charter College only offers Associate degree in RN which is not widely
desirable for employers, most of them looking for BSN. And also, they are not
yet accredited by ACEN. Here is the link of ACEN page.
And here is the link for Alaska Board of Nursing page.
Instate tuition for
University of Alaska Anchorage is $5494 for one academic year (2014-2015)
compare to $19, 532 for Charter College.
