Does he own his apartment? Does he own a car? Does he own anything that could be considered valuable? (computer, phone, home stereo, collectibles, etc). If he doesn't, sure, then take out the loan, and be ready to jump ship every time the debt collectors come calling (and considering he cares for and visits his mother regularly, that's out of the question unless he wants to live in fear the rest of his life). If he defaults on a loan, then his credit rating will be shot (I know it's a bullshit system and it should be dismantled, but we have to calculate what risks are worth taking; we're not niggers after all) and debt collectors will be chasing him. If he wants to stay where he is, his best course of action is to wait for them to fire him and then get a casual job that can pay the bills (and he's said in another post that there's multiple businesses with "Help Wanted" signs, so there's no lack of available jobs). Then once the hospital realizes how badly they fucked up, he's got them over a barrel. "Oh, you want me to come back after you fired me? Well, I'm sorry, but I'm in stable employment now, and it's helped me reduce my stress levels [complete bullshit, but they don't know that]. I couldn't see myself coming back without a 40% payrise".