IUON, St. Kitts, International University of Nursing, Robert Ross

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From a current student, I tell you this:

You want a school to go to without a waiting list, without worries of jobs conflicting with school, or that living in a exotic place will be worth the expense?? You think you've found your fantasy island??? WAKE UP

First: Do not go.

Secondly: Don't go

Thirdly: Please, don't go....

The school was constructed after Ross sold his successful Med and Vet schools to DeVery. With that being said....the time of "growing pains" has passed and all that is left is a dismal failure of prepping students for the nursing career.

1) You are in a country that is 2-3rd world standards, beautiful, but freakishly expensive and woefully struggling in all areas.

2) Most private loan companies will not give loans out w/o a co-signer, and in todays failing bank climate, the prospect of getting a loan in almost nil. (Last I was on Kitts, SallieMae, Chase and Citibank refused to loan money to students, due to Kitts being a foreign country) So, most students can't afford to live there.

3) When its all said and done, you'll be 100k+ in debt (housing, car, airline tickets, fun-n-the-sun, food, school supplies, random testings, partner school expenses, etc..all add up).

Now, on to the acadamia:

As a student, we understand that somethings we just have to swallow and do. Though when it comes to the amount of money you are putting out, and the fact that you are being promised a shorter time to graduation than stateside, you ask questions, and a lot of them.

Which led us to realize that we as students were second on the list to admin/professor politics, and before all was the al'mighty dollar.

So, yes our education was below standard. Some teachers were amazing, most were using the job as a retirement gig. Again, some teachers were amazingly phenominal...and they are the ones that even questioned why (we students) stayed.

Now, after your stint in Kitts, you spend your last semesters in a partner school stateside. This is key, because it allows you to sit for the NCLEX. And every group that went to a partner school, every last one was deemed inadequately trained, and had to take another semester of "refresher" course. So, your nifty little timetable has just been screwed with again and your debt just increased again.

Some states don't recognize IUON credits, so dropping out and transferring your credits isn't a solution. Also, you want to know partner schools? There are 4 ADN, and current 1BSN. BUT, some of the ADN are putting a hold on ADN students from IUON, citing a state validation and not wanting to lower their chances to pass it. The BSN, well....thats another story, currently it is in Puerto Rico.

Yes, some students passed and will say that had a blast and was well worth it. Most will not though. If you're set on going, know to get the best, THE VERY BEST out of iuon...you'll need to self learn all the material and that there will be non-nursing courses you will be required to take.

So, how to get into a accredited school and avoid a waiting list and getting the best dar-n education you can? Well...look beyond your backyard.

Look on the opposite coast, look in the states that you'd never imagine yourself being at. Also, get loans, the cost for a state school is way cheaper than 1 semester at Kitts.

Now, also look into US territories...you want sun and beach's? Look into PR, yes Puerto Rico. Its NOT bilingual, its spanish at mac10. BUT there is a nursing school that is taught all in English, you're partnered w/a bilingual nurse in clinicals...and its inexpensive. (The name? Thats your homework to find out, you didn't think I'd give all the answers? hint? hmm, ok...part of the name has the fourth word of my country.)

If I could have done it all over again....:rolleyes:

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Thanks for this great posting. I was looking into this school which at first sounded like an exotic place to study, but after reading your post....I will look else where. So I tried googling RN schools in PR, but couldn't find the school you were talking about. Can you please give more info????? Pleeeeease:D THanks

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Inter American University of Puerto Rico, San Juan.

I gave them a call and reconfirmed that they do have nursing classes in english. :up:

Good luck!

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(just cause I like animals) :D

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Thanks Scuttles for the info. :yeah:

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I agree with you! IUON is not worth it. I graduated and wish I could turn back the time. NEVER again IUON.

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I am a graduate and i definately agree with u. If i had another shot at life i would never made the mistake of going there.

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OH the school in PR is Universidad del Turabo that IUON is hitched with. Not sure how that school is. Have not heard good things from other students.

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Ok all, here it is. Sit down and brace yourself. I have updated information, oh, I have graduated with a BSN degree!!! its a victory at a great cost...

There is a lot that I wish I knew prior to signing on with iuon. If I knew just 3 of the things I know now, I would have stayed the heck away and preached in front of their office and taken out ads and bought radio/tv/done college tours to advocate staying away from iuon. Is it that bad? well, $120 THOUSAND+ dollars later...yes.

Why, to save time just scroll up/down and reread what I have stated in prior posts.

Now, I had stated earlier that iuon is partnered with a school in Puerto Rico for a BSN degree. That is Universtiy of Turabo ( UT ). I also stated that if you wanted to, go to the Inter-American Unviresty in/near San Juan Puerto Rico.

Well, don't...to both.

After graduating from UT, and earning the dual degree from UT and iuon, and can first-hand tell you that it was hell. And not in a good "nursing-school-hell," the very bad kind.

To simplfy things I will bullet em, this is for ut::::

-UT is in Puerto Rico..period.. What does that mean? Well, a lot. IF you were hoping to go through iuon and get into Florida or Cali...forget it!!!! FORGET IT!!! DO NOT GO TO iuon...

-1) Puerto Rico is considered a FOREIGN country by FL/CA/and a few other states...let that sink in....k, with me. What that means, IF you wanted to go to FL, CA, or even a few other states you NEED to have all your credits evaluated by a 2ndary company. Thats about $400 when all said and done. THEN that company sends it to FL /CA...you pay their nursing fee; only to get rejected when they see iuon on your transcripts.

******FL and CA Nursing Board has come down and FINALLY said "they do not recgonize iuon as a accredited school."******

..now wait, if Jane/John Doe got into FL/CA from Timbuktu, why not me from iuon/ut? Well, they worked in Timbuktu for 2yrs or more. FL/CA both have stated that if you work anywhere for less than 2yrs your credits still need to evaluated, and iuon well be the red-flag that will get you rejected.

-Teacher, at ut and iuon, are too laid back, there is no accountability. During UT, students were begging the Dean to do something about teachers not showing up, being late, dismissing the class early, allowing homework to be turned in late, showing up late to clinicals, *sigh*....list goes on. Teacher were smart, most were working 1-2 other part/full-time jobs and then there is the "its raining, I couldn't come in...it was raining" excuses....We had one teacher that showed up to 4 classes out of a 3 month long course. ..4...for a class that met 3x's a week....4 times....*sigh* There was one teacher that was amazing!! but worked another job, drove a few hours to the clinical site, and at times became so tired she cut the clinical time in 1/2. We had to go back to campus and do...*gasp* more powerpoints assignments

- The lack of discipline, ut & iuon, drove almost every student in my group to slack off. Literally, a few took 3 days to go off island, miss class and clinicals "just cause." The make-up assignment...nothing. Nada. zip... Then there are those of us who hated that, complained (to the teacher, the student, the dean), and got nowhere...

-The language in Puerto Rico. You either know spanish or you do not. If you do, great. If you don't, well sucks for you. Patients will talk in spanish (comfort level), if they talk in english its cause they lived all their life in the US and moved back to retire or its spangilsh. Can you learn spanish? Heck yes!! LoL with all the free time you have you could. Most of us just ended up getting into study groups and tried to learn what we were suppose to know about nursing to pass the Nclex.

-UT, some very nice people, but what a wacky setup. We graduated in December, but our offical transcript were not ready for 4 months. The 2nd group of iuon students graduate in May and their transcripts won't be ready till June/July. On the nursing applications we noticed that they wrote down our graduation was January 9, 2009, instead of December 22, 2008. I don't want to hear about schedules, or "well its when you walk across.." or even "they need to make sure you actually passed..." No. Its just the way UT does it. In 2005/2006, we were told, that they only use to give out transcripts ONCE a year and issue a diplomia ONCE a year. They changed due to "a change in times." So, if you were hoping for expediance in getting paperwork done; you're not. Think military, "Hurry up!! and wait..."

Now you may have done research or have a friend that is in iuon and going gaga over island life, and will say "they have a BSN in CO! Scuttles is an idiot!! Come on down!!" ..wait for it..waaiiiiitt...

The CO college has put a "hold" on more iuon students!! LoL just the way the AZ school did. Is anyone from iuon going to AZ??? heck no. Its a dead deal or better known as a "Conditional Contract" ...a 1 time deal.

Then there are those that ARE working in CA from iuon and a partnership school....well, those students came from a STATESIDE partner school. From what we are able to gather is that the boards do not see iuon students, they see that the iuon'ians were "re-educated" by the ADN/BSN stateside schools.

Robert Ross should have stopped at the Med and Vet. schools. He took time and effort to get those up before running with them. Oh, iuon isn't iuon anymore it is a college within the University of Medicine and Health Sciences, because he is combining the school to take in students who want to be doctors. So the future for the nursing school side of it looks like it will be slowly absorbed to a full doctor school. ((easier for medstudents to get loans, than bsn students..medschool is a graduate level education, while BSN is a undergraduate degree.))

Is it all bleak and dire gloom? No, it is just that if you know yourself and you are not self motivated and can not sit down and challenge yourself to self-teach the information, then iuon and ut may not be the school for you. Teachers hands down were better at st.kitts than in ut, but those teacher weren't teaching medsurg. They were teaching community, and mental. And thats still not saying much. The group behind my group, never were taught about burns, and the Parkland formula.

Will people still shout praise about their time in iuon, oh heck yes. I do too, but its about the friends, not about the school or the challenges they presented to us to become nurses. WE challenged ourselves to know the material. We had potluck dinners (money was tight), We went over cranial nerves and head-to-toe (cause it was glossed over), We made fast friends and shared in something that was unique and is hard to get into writing.

Though if you ask each one of us, we would tell you not to go to iuon.

:paw:Scuttles

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WELL SAID and 100% TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I have to say that I disagree with this post. Granted it was started a long time ago, but things have changed and I would say for the better. Everyone has their opinions and point of views and this is only mine.

I graduated from IUON is April of 09 and transferred to a US partner school. There are a number of US partner schools now and they are very reputable. Some of the current ones are Purdue University Calumet, Colorado State Pueblo, Moorehead University, and Louisiana State. I found that we were just as prepared, if not more than the other students that started at these programs. It is my current understanding that students are no longer going to Turabo in Puerto Rico.

I was there when the medical school was first started and it was owned by Ross then as well as the veterinarian. The vet school was only sold recently. These schools are businesses and when they are prospering, it is only natural to sell for a profit and reinvest in something new. Again just an opinion.

I also feel that IUON is really what ever you want it to be. The facility is beautiful and the skills lab is better than anyone that I have ever seen in the US. Yes the hospital is lacking in technology, but what do you expect? The hospital was not built to teach US students how to become nurses and doctors. It was built for the nurses and doctor and patients of the island who will continue to practice in that environment. I learned and experienced things that I would never have seen in the US and for that I feel fortunate.

Yes things are expensive, but it is an import country. It is no different than going to any other island ( St. Thomas, Maarten, Hawaii). They have to make a living. Plus 1 US dollar equals 2.50EC so US goes a longer way. Unless you are going to the Marriott or Reggae Beach, Beach House.

This is only my experience. If you have reservations about going ask tons of questions. If you feel like you aren't sure ask students that have gone and research around. :)

I apologize if I have offended anyone, but this was my experience and yes I am sure IUON is not for everyone, but if you are interested it is worth looking into.

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I have to say that I disagree with this post. Granted it was started a long time ago, but things have changed and I would say for the better. Everyone has their opinions and point of views and this is only mine.

I graduated from IUON is April of 09 and transferred to a US partner school. There are a number of US partner schools now and they are very reputable. Some of the current ones are Purdue University Calumet, Colorado State Pueblo, Moorehead University, and Louisiana State. I found that we were just as prepared, if not more than the other students that started at these programs. It is my current understanding that students are no longer going to Turabo in Puerto Rico.

I was there when the medical school was first started and it was owned by Ross then as well as the veterinarian. The vet school was only sold recently. These schools are businesses and when they are prospering, it is only natural to sell for a profit and reinvest in something new. Again just an opinion.

I also feel that IUON is really what ever you want it to be. The facility is beautiful and the skills lab is better than anyone that I have ever seen in the US. Yes the hospital is lacking in technology, but what do you expect? The hospital was not built to teach US students how to become nurses and doctors. It was built for the nurses and doctor and patients of the island who will continue to practice in that environment. I learned and experienced things that I would never have seen in the US and for that I feel fortunate.

Yes things are expensive, but it is an import country. It is no different than going to any other island ( St. Thomas, Maarten, Hawaii). They have to make a living. Plus 1 US dollar equals 2.50EC so US goes a longer way. Unless you are going to the Marriott or Reggae Beach, Beach House.

This is only my experience. If you have reservations about going ask tons of questions. If you feel like you aren't sure ask students that have gone and research around. :)

I apologize if I have offended anyone, but this was my experience and yes I am sure IUON is not for everyone, but if you are interested it is worth looking into.

I read your post - it sounds a lot better than a couple of the prior ones on this topic - I;d like to hear more- would you do this again or just wait until you got into a shoreside school? Thank

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I don't think it's worth going there after all the negative remarks and especially when there is only a handful of students attending there. How about the staffs there? Were there any improvement, I heard there were a bunch of incompetent administration that are working in New York. I am a still debating, the tuition fees are ridiculously high sure hate to dumb my money if nothing change.

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