U.S citizen, opinion on doing BSN in India or New york?

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Hi,

I have few questions about my future career as a REGISTERED NURSE with bachelors. I m a US citizen..but I am thinking of doing Nursing in India, because of many reasons, it will also be less expensive there. My friend who has done nursing there in India told me that they are not required to do as many chemistry classes as compared to in U.S. so i am just considering to stay in india to do my BSN and come back and work in U.S.

my concern is that what is it that i have to do when i come back here in U.S in order to work here. will i be repeating any classes in U.S even after completing my bachelors RN in india?

so I wanted to know that If I do Bsc Nursing in India, what will I have to do to work in US ?? do I have to study again to work in US or just the state exam and the other CGFNS exam?

i will be waiting for guidance on this subject.

thank you.

Also one more question i have done my bachelors in Psychology already, will that help me in any case?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Educate yourself in the country in which you plan to practice. That is all.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

I do not understand why you would waste the time, energy, and money in studying in a foreign country where you will have to apply as foreign educated nurse and have to have your transcripts evaluated, etc,. to work in the United States.

Why don't you look at an accelerated nursing program since you already have a BA in psychology.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
My friend who has done nursing there in India told me that they are not required to do as many chemistry classes as compared to in U.S.[/Quote]

When you say "done nursing in India," do you mean received her education in India? You use the same phrase in the previous sentence, referring to nursing education. If so, is there a specific reason she is able to compare the two? Her comparison confuses me -- that the difference is Indian schools require less chemistry... many US programs don't require ANY chemistry classes.

I work/have worked with many nurses who were trained in Kenya. Once one of them told me that in Africa (at least to her knowledge) nursing ed is more focused on maternal/child, and less focused on acute care with NO focus on critical care.

You would be schooled according to....

India's primary healthcare needs -- is there equal incidence of diabetes, heart disease, obesity? What about infectious disease -- are the major ones similar to the US?

Indian scope of nursing practice

the Indian healthcare personnel models -- do hospitals in India utilize nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, rehab professionals, speech pathologists, dieticians, nurse practitioners etc. in a similar fashion?

Indian health policy and culture -- how is healthcare financed? Are nurses discouraged from refusing inappropriate physicians' orders, or like in the US are nurses EXPECTED to? How are ethical dilemmas resolved? Are core measures similar? What about vaccination practices? What efforts are made to prevent re-admission to the hospiral? How does organ donation work?

Indian standard care -- Are Indian women discharged 24 hrs after giving birth? Do cardiac surgery patients walk out of the OR? Okay I jest there :laugh: -- but it's true that hospitalizations are shorter for a lot of people than they were in the past. How is polypharmacy viewed? Does elder care look the same in India and US?

Healthcare among the greater Indian culture. Granted, learning about the myriad cultural groups in the US is tricky, and I feel like nursing textbooks grossly simplify things. That said, I have cared for members of two different refugee groups, bloodless surgery patients (typically Jehovah's Witnesses), the big Native American nation in my area, Amish... I do feel that my program have me a good starting point for awareness of the area populations.

Now to be clear I am not saying that Indian nursing education is inferior -- just that it is different, with content that is unique to nursing in India, as it should be.

Add to all of that the very real hoops you would need to jump through to become licensed as a foreign educated nurse...... for me, any $$ saved would be outweighed by the trouble of this process.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

As a graduate of a foreign country....don't do it! Stay in the US. I say that because the red tape to come back here and practice is horrendous and there are no guarantees that your classes in India will be appropriate or sufficient to qualify you to take the NCLEX. Yes, you will still have to take the NCLEX over here anyway. It would be a waste of time and resources.

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Specializes in Cardiac Stepdown, PCU.

I somehow find it very hard to believe that it is less expensive to relocate to India, for what.. 2 years? Longer? learn, live, and experience another culture, go to school in a completely foreign setting, and then go through the process of relocating back to the US, and paying for whatever avenue will be required for you to actually get licensed over here after having been schooled elsewhere.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Get your education in the country you are intended to work. This is one of The 10 Most Important Rules of Successful Immigration, written by blood and tears.

Re: being cheaper, it can be correct about top tier US institutions but definitely not so if we are speaking about mid-range public universities. Plus, there are chances that foreign BSN will require additional coursework in the US. The institutions which provide that type of "catch - up" coursework are few and far between and cost $$$$$.

Plus, some states, California being the most infamous example, are very difficult for foreign nursing grads to obtain certification even after they pass NCLEX.

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Specializes in Educator.

The time and effort it takes to pass a chemistry class (if you need it) will be minimal compared to the time and money you will spend to gain a US license as a foreign educated nurse. Getting transcripts evaluated by CGFNS, taking the NCLEX and any needed classes required by the BON are much greater. If your only motivation is to avoid a chemistry class and save a few $$'s I don't think this is the best option.

Even if you get through all those hurdles, you may be on a steep learning curve as you adapt to the US healthcare system.

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Hi dear..i am also thinking same..

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