Comparison of Nursing School: Alaska

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.

http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programsearch.asp

And here is the link for Alaska Board of Nursing page.

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/BoardofNursing/ApplicantInformation/Education.aspx

Instate tuition for University of Alaska Anchorage is $5494 for one academic year (2014-2015) compare to $19, 532 for Charter College.