New Grad looking for advice

corjen1226 · Aug 3, 2008

I just recently graduated from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico. I contacted the depatment of public health here in CT and I was told that as long as my school was accredited that I can apply for licensure and take the NCLEX without the P.R. license.

sunset357 · Aug 10, 2008

hey guys. I moved backed to the island to get my BSN. My first B.s. was in microbiology.

I decided to go for the BSN because it would take me the same amount of time as the ADN. And second it was more economical than my options stateside.

ChanelCinq · May 21, 2009

i am interested in the universidad interamericana de puerto rico but i want to make sure i would not have any issues at all when i return to ca.

i can't send messages yet because i don't have enough posts. i would love to drill those of you that went to universidad interamericana de puerto rico like corjen1226.

how much did the program cost? i can't find the tuition anywhere online but i don't read or speak spanish. is it an issue to not understand spanish? i know the program is in english. how long was the program exactly? i already have a ba in french. yeah too bad it was not in spanish.

anyone who attended universidad interamericana de puerto rico please, please email me

thank you in advance.

mod note. please do not post email addresses as per terms of service

corjen1226 · May 23, 2009

To all those interested in attending the Inter American Univ. of Puerto Rico. First thing that you need to understand are the cultural differences. Everything in Puerto Rico moves at an alarmingly slow pace compared to the states. People are much more relaxed and never in a rush (except when driving). Do not bother to call the school service offices (admissions, registration, etc) they wont have answers for you. You need to call 787-250-1912. You can choose the english option and ask an operator to give you the number to the school of nursing. An advisor there will tell you what you need to do. You can print and mail an application like you would for any other university. Admissions is pretty much automatic, if you can pass the classes you can get your BSN in two and a half years depending on how many general education credits you transfer. The school is not too ddifficult but it is extreemly time consuming. Since it is an accelerated trimester program your clinicals can run from 4-8 hours a few times per week and thats not including you lecture and lab times. You will pay per credit, not a fixed tuition per trimester. Depending on how many labs and clinicals you take per trimester it will run you between $1600-$3500 per trimester including fees. Books are seperate. You will need to buy a clinical uniform (approx $45), a name tag (approx $7), non slip white shoes, and she university patch to sew to your uniform. You also need a health certificate. To get one you need to go to a physician that will test you for TB ($30) and send you to a lab for a VDRL blood test ($12). Once you go back with the VDRL results, if you test negative for TB and VDRL he will issue you a health certificate. All students will need to show evidence of Hep B vaccination series before being allowed on a clinical site. You will start clinicals your first trimester. And lastly all students need a certificate of good conduct. This is a certificate that states that you have no criminal record. To get one you will need to go to the police main headquarters in San Juan, the university will have directions, all you need is $1.50 for the two stamps that go on the certificate and you SS#. Both the health certificate and the certificate of good conduct can only be attained in PR, you cant get them state side. Plan on arriving at least a month before the begining of classes because you will need to meet with an advisor at the nursing school in order to be cleared to register for classes and the good sections go fast. Over all I think its a good school for those who want to graduate fast. However, it is alot to learn in a very short time and you need to be motivated to do alot of reading and self teaching. If you dont graduate at the top of your class you will have a hard time with the boards. I graduate with a 3.97 and passed the NCLEX the first time. Those students with GPA's lower than 3.0 will have a very hard time with their boards. As far as having issues with licensing in your particular state that is something to discuss with your local board of nursing. Some states will consider Puerto Rico educated nurses "foreign nurses." There are loop holes so dont be discouraged. Florida for example will not license nurses educated in PR unless they go through the CGFNS. There were many students in my graduating class with plans to return to Florida. They applied through a state that would license them ( NY, WI, CT, and many more) and then if they passed their boards later had their licenses endorsed by Florida. Post again if you have any questions.

ChanelCinq · May 24, 2009

Admissions is pretty much automatic, if you can pass the classes you can get your BSN in two and a half years depending on how many general education credits you transfer.

Thanks for all the info however 2 and 1/2 years does not seem accelerated. All the other ABSN programs run from 12 months to 18 months with the average program about 15 months. If an ADN is 24 months an ABSN needs to be faster than 24 months.

You were there for 2 and 1/2 years but did you already have Bachelors?

I was under the impression that for students who already had a Bachelors in any discipline (mine was French, but it doesn't matter) that a second Bachelors in Nursing would take 5 trimesters at Universidad Interamericana. Is this wrong?

I am having a hard time getting information from the school and a lot of emails I send come back returned.

corjen1226 · May 24, 2009

This program takes approx 2 1/2 years for those students that may have some college credits but do not have a degree. The curriculum is made for fresh out of high school seniors but it is a very big load as far as classes so the only ones that graduate in the 2 1/2 years are the ones that transfer classes. It is other wise impossible to finish on time and stick to the curriculum. There are a few reasons why the programs take so long for being an accelerated program. This program is not designed for those who already have degrees. If you have degree, many of the classes will not transfer. If you have already taken your science courses it wont matter because the science courses are integrated into the nursing classes. You learn it all at the same time so it does not reduce the number of classes you have to take. There are no pre req's. This program was created to meet the demand for new nurses in PR. The island has a very severe shortage of nurses. This program is like taking a 4 year degree and finishing in in 2 1/2. There were a few students in my graduating class that has BA's and still graduated in 2 1/2 years. Also, INTER is a christian university and therefore the general ed requirements are different than those you would have taken at a secular university and some wont transfer. The web site is hard to navigate if you dont read spanish. http://www.metro.inter.edu/facultad/cientecnologia/BachelorDegree.pdf This is the link for the school of nursing curriculum, and its in english. It list all the classes you need to take to graduate. Another thing worth mentioning, its hard to get ahead on the nursing classes because the school has a very limited number english speaking professors and therefore only offer the nursing courses during their designated trimester. That means that if fundamentals of nursing is offered in the trimester from august-october then you can only take it during that time. If you fail you have to wait until the next academic year to take that course. The trimesters run from August 1st-October 31st, November- Feburary (longest because of the holidays), and March- May. If you take general classes in the summer it will free up time during the trimester. It is very confusing. Post again if you have any other questions. The school web site is www.metro.inter.edu

ChanelCinq · May 24, 2009

corjen1226 thank you so much for the info. That link with to the download of the curriculum was helpful. This school will probably be my last option, as I really don't want to retake English, Art History, Stats and all the other classes.

Also I went to a Catholic University and had to take a certain number of religion classes. In the end I decided to minor in religion and take a couple extra.

corjen1226 · May 28, 2009

Your english classes will transfer, your art class will as well. The only classes you may have to take are History of PR, Global Society, and Spanish 1-3. Let me know if you need any more info. Happy to help.

abik · Jul 9, 2009

Hello,

I kind of joined this blog a bit late but I have a question for Chanelcinq,

I just moved to Puerto Rico in June 2009 and have applied for admissions at the Interamericana University, I was wondering if you ended up joining the RN program and how is it going or how did it go if you are finished. I have been advised that I should stick to this university but I wanted to get an update of a current student. I want to start the RN program in August, I applied for admissions back in May and havent heard anything from the school. Its almost mid July and I still don't know if I am admitted. Also, I already have a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona and I am so crossing my fingers that I don't have to take a lot of prerequisites. If you or anybody else here have any current info regarding the RN program, I will truly appreciate it.

Thanks,

ChanelCinq · Jul 9, 2009

Abik I have not applied and IF I do and that is a huge IF it will be for fall 2010 entry. I got extremely discouraged when people didn't reply to emails or return calls. I had sent emails to at least 5 different people and never ever received a response.

I had spoken to one person in admissions who told me to fax all my transcripts and she would evaluate them to see what additional classes I needed. She told me to follow up in a week or so. She said she was doing me a big favor by doing this. When I called her back she told me that she never would have said this and she will not evaluate my transcripts?!?!?! What are these people crazy!

I decided against applying after this type of behavior. I would be scared to attend a school like this. I can just imagine the professors loosing exams and telling you that you never took it.

Several weeks after I sent the 5 emails I called a couple people that had helped me in the past. Both those people said they forwarded my email to someone else. It has been a couple months and I have yet to receive an email response or a reply call.

They are EXTREMELY disorganized.

Let me know if you ever hear anything.

abik · Jul 9, 2009

Chanelcinq, thank you for your answer, I am experiencing the same situation. I can't seem to ever get someone to give me a consistent answer about any of the questions I ask. I understand they are busy and I'm just giving them the benefit of the doubt. I really don't have a choice, I am here now, will be here for 3 years and really want to get this degree, I am really looking forward to start school and I am trying to stay positive. One thing that will completely discourage me from starting the program will be if I have to retake Math and Statistics, other than that, I guess I just have to do it.

thanks,