Advice for a NZ new grad applying for Australian jobs

[Libby3]

I have just completed my new grad year in New Zealand and my husband has just got employment in Sydney in Australia so we are planning to move there before the end of the year. My new grad placement comprised of two six month placements - six months gen. surg including a surgical assessment unit and six months emergency nursing. I would like some advice re applying for jobs in Sydney.

What kind of information are nurses commonly asked at Australian interviews? For example in NZ you can expect to be asked about how you apply the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi to your practice are there similar Australian specific questions that I should be aware of?

With only one years experience what kind of jobs can I reasonably expect to get? I have really enjoyed ED and would love to keep working in an acute environment, I also really enjoyed surgical nursing and prior to training as a nurse I worked as a support worker in mental health and liked that. I am a good nurse - but a good first year nurse so a bit anxious about applying for jobs.

Is it better to apply online for NSW govt jobs or to send paper copies of your application?

I guess any advice that other nurses think would be helpful in this situation would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[talaxandra]

Australia has a poor track record compared with NZ when it comes to our First People, so there's no Treaty equivalent; mentioning your experience with patients/relatives/staff from different cultures will be useful.

I don't know what the situation's like in Sydney but in Melbourne we're very fond of Kiwi nurses, and have hired several on my ward with only a year or two or experience (plus half a dozen grads) in the last couple of years. Good luck :)

[imaginations]

I know a lot of NZ new grads got interviewed for grad jobs this year (and a lot of NZ grads did their grad years here too.) It sounds like you've got the requisite experience for applying for any standard RN job as you've done a grad year with two solid rotations.

If you were interested you could look into applying for "Transition to Speciality Practice" programs. These are on the job programs run by hospitals for second year RNs onward who would like to move into an area they haven't worked in before, such as paediatrics, oncology, intensive care, theatres etc. It's a good way to gain extra skills whilst working and often they are linked with contnuting education through universities for grad certs or grad dips, which can articulate into a masters.

Here is an example of how one hospital (Monash Medical Centre) offers a Transition to Speciality Program. Click the links on the left hand bar to see the different programs in detail: http://www.southernhealth.org.au/page/Health_Professionals/Education_Training/Nursing_and_midwifery/Transition_to_specialty_practice

[ninx72]

Nah with one years experience you'll be sweet getting a job, and once your in the system you can always move around to get exactly what you are looking for. At my interviews they have always asked questions about conflict with a patient or another staff member, team work, medication safety, and its good to have a few examples up your sleave to illustrate how you would react in certain situations, ie conflict situation, also your strengths/weaknesses, what you can bring to the organisation, why them? all that usual interview type stuff. Nothing too tricky. They also often ask a scenario type question, i.e what would you do for a patient with chest pain or whatever.