Alaska offers unique challenges in healthcare and nursing. Valued for its vastness and pristine beauty, all that remote land can be a stumbling block when it comes to patient care and nursing recruitment.
One school of nursing is accredited in Alaska: the University of Alaska – Anchorage provides Associates, Baccalaureate and Masters degrees in Nursing.
For Practical Nurses the Alaska Board of Nursing approves one school: Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Anchorage.
A trend in the state is the recruitment of minority nurses, specifically Native Alaskans. This sizeable population also has access to some of the more remote and underserved areas in the state and armed with RN licensure could provide valuable care to a largely neglected communities.
The Alaska Nurses Association Foundation Grants provide $500 in assistance to individual RNs or professional groups with research funding needs. Public Health Nurse Grants are also available for research.
Teachers and Healthcare Professionals Housing Loan Program, made available through the office of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, offers additional assistance to nurses and teachers looking to buy a new home in the state.
Through the University of Alaska’s School of Nursing, Alaska Natives and Native American nursing students may apply for scholarship stipends. The Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing program is available to pre-nursing candidates, as well as those currently in their nursing programs.
As you might imagine Alaska offers fertile ground for Advanced Practice nurses. RNs with autonomy and patient care experience are positioned to offer care in underserved areas possibly not under the care of an immediate doctor. The Alaska Nurse Practitioners Association is the “voice” for dozens of specialized NPs throughout the state.
Active and vital nursing associations include Alaska Nurses Association and the Alaska Nurse Practitioners Association.
Average salary range for a staff RN in Anchorage is $66,600 to $81,000. The salary range in Fairbanks only drops about $1,000. For an LPN the salary range is $42,800 and $51,500.*
*Salary.com