Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Henrico County-Saint Marys Hospital School of Practical Nursing

This hospital-based nursing program navigates a tricky position: peer programs nationally suggest first-year earnings around $51,744 against an estimated debt load of $18,241, producing a reasonable 0.35 debt-to-earnings ratio. That's manageable on paper—you'd be looking at debt equal to about four months of gross income. However, the lack of actual outcomes data here matters more than it might for other fields. Nursing is heavily licensed and regulated, with wide variation in pass rates and job placement that determines whether graduates actually reach that $51,744 figure. Some practical nursing programs prepare students who pass boards on the first try and move quickly into work; others struggle with both.

The school's lower Pell population (19%) compared to typical community college nursing programs might suggest either higher entrance requirements or less financial support infrastructure—worth investigating during a campus visit. What you're really buying here is the clinical training quality and the school's relationships with Richmond-area healthcare employers. Before committing, get specific answers: What's the NCLEX-PN pass rate for the last three years? Where do graduates actually get hired? The estimated earnings are reasonable for practical nursing nationally, but you need to know if *this* program's graduates achieve them.