ADVICE PLEASE!!

Nurses Career Support

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Heart Greetings everyone,

I am a BSN graduate of 2003-2007 batch,I graduated from Ragiv Ghandi University of health sciences​ ,India. I am relocating to Texas this year, will be taking the N-CLEX exam by August.I have 3 years of experience as RN in India.Will i be considered as a fresh graduate in US or will my experience from India be considered ? The Education record evaluation agency have stated that my degree meets the BSN standards of USA.I always wanted to be a doctor ,currently i am 29 years ,really confused about my career advancements as time and money really does matter at this stage.Is there any scope for MBA in Hospital administration or MPH in health planning and policy.what are some of the best possible career choices that i could make and upgrade myself?What is the pay scale for BSN RN currently?Back in India the patient ratio is 1:6-9 in wards and 1:3 in ICU's. What is the patient ratio in US? How is the work environment in ICU'S?.Is it very stressful?Kindly also suggest some specialty units that would give job satisfaction Thank you all for your time.Looking forward to your suggestions.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I cannot speak for all organizations, only my own. We categorize all newly arrived foreign graduates as "New Graduate" until they have at least 12 months of full time RN experience in the US. Nursing practice is very different in the US, so previous experience in another country is not equivalent to US experience. Overall, there is very little wage differential for BSN nurses in staff positions, as salaries are primarily associated with the job that is performed and BSN nurses perform the same bedside role as their ADN & Diploma colleagues.

If you are seeking career advancement in nursing, you would need to obtain an MSN, as this is the recognized graduate degree for our profession. It is the minimum requirement for nurse leadership positions in most US health care organizations.

At this point, new grads are grateful for obtaining ANY job so the chances of obtaining the 'perfect' job are very small. Nursing Jobs can be stressful. In the US, nurses carry the burden of compliance with extensive legal and regulatory requirements, so the the administrative burden (documentation & paperwork) is much greater than other nations. Salaries can vary dramatically across the US.

If you are looking at other graduate degrees that are valuable in US health career, an MHA (from a top rated school) is #1, followed by MBA with a focus on Healthcare finance. Healthcare finance & operations in the US is very different from other US industries, therefore dramatically different than other nations. Therefore, I would say it is very unlikely that a foreign grad to gain entry into healthcare leadership without first gaining many years of US experience.

My advice? Focus on passing NCLEX first. Then, once you are licensed to practice in the US, begin your Job Search. It may be a very lengthy process. If you are determined to become a physician, you will need to enroll in medical school and pursue that educational pathway.

Thank you Hou tx guide...

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