AFTER GRADUATING from a Denver nursing school in 2016, Neil Rudis knew the real training wouldn’t start until his first job—ideally in acute care at a Level 1 trauma center treating the sickest and most injured patients. So he was excited to sign on at the neurological intensive care unit at University of Colorado Hospital, the flagship facility of one of the state’s largest and richest health care employers. His contract included a catch that’s become common for new nurses: If he quit or was fired before a year on the job, Rudis would have to repay UCHealth up to $7,500 for training, with any debt accruing 12 percent annual interest. The arrangement is called a Training Repayment Agreement—critics add the word “Provision” to round out the acronym.
Rudis focused on what he thought he’d learn, and not the position the deal would put him in. “I definitely want to go into a TRAP,” Rudis remembers thinking. “I’ve
