OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego Health in 2020 launched a tuition-assistance program for employees who would like to advance their training. To date, a total of 30 employees have benefited from the program with Oswego Health financially investing more than $383,000. The employees include registered nurse (RN) Melissa Johnson, who was one of 20 RNs who […]
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego Health in 2020 launched a tuition-assistance program for employees who would like to advance their training.
To date, a total of 30 employees have benefited from the program with Oswego Health financially investing more than $383,000.
The employees include registered nurse (RN) Melissa Johnson, who was one of 20 RNs who received tuition assistance in 2022 to advance their training and education, Oswego Health said in an Aug. 23 news release.
Johnson graduated this past June from Chamberlain University with her bachelor’s degree in nursing.
“I’ve wanted to go back to school for quite some time but never made it a priority for myself,” Johnson said in the release. “After learning about the tuition-assistance program and having the support and flexibility from Oswego Health, I knew that I could complete my degree at my own pace. What pushed me to finally pursue my degree was having the financial support and the confidence in knowing I could balance work and family time.”
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing recommends that registered nurses earn a bachelor’s degree to prepare for the “complex” tasks they will encounter in their duties. For many nurses, however, cost represents “one of the main challenges” of returning to school, Oswego Health said.
The organization’s RN tuition-assistance program offers up to $10,000 per year to current employees at Oswego Health looking to advance their training in nursing, medical imaging, or laboratory science.
Johnson is married, has three children, and manages a family farm in Mexico. She joined Oswego Health in 2015 as an emergency-department technician.
She went on to pursue her nursing degree and in 2017 was a surgical graduate nurse, before becoming a licensed RN later that year. From there, she returned to the surgical team as an RN before transferring to the center for surgical services in 2020.
Throughout the pandemic, Oswego Health says Johnson has “continuously stepped up” in her role as an RN to help other areas of the health system as they dealt with staffing shortages or increased patient loan, including the emergency department and the medical-surgical unit.
Oswego Health says it is the third largest employer in Oswego County.