Can US RN with Associate's degree work in Australia

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I am a Registered Nurse with 2 years experience as an RN with 2 previous years experience as an LPN here in the US. My RN experience is in Maternal Nursing - Postpartum. I would like to work in the same area in Australia. My husband is Australian and we are looking into what it would take for me to move there and work as a nurse. I have seen that RN's need a Bachelor degree there. Is there a bridge program that I would have to take? How long do you think all this would take for me to actually be able to work there. Our son was born there in Brisbane and I noticed that all the staff working on the Maternity ward were Midwives. Would I have to go back to school to become a midwife in order to do Maternity nursing there in Australia. Thanks for all the help in advance.

It's now a Bachelor's degree level that is required to work as an RN in Australia after the National Boards went into play. They made their standards similar to the NMC of the UK. From what I read and reviewed with the new boards for international applicants, that is what I got. Correct me if I am wrong please.

Though I'm not so sure about Enrolled nurses.

i just recently contacted aphra, www.ahpra.gov.au who now handles aus registration.they sent me these attachments for registering for an aus rn lic. how i understand it is first you need to apply for an lic., then you can either find a hospital to hire you through employment agencies or find one yourself. then you apply for a visa with the help of that hospital. there other options for getting a visa, here's the link, http://www.visabureau.com/australia/nursing-job.aspx. hope this helps!

sorry, my links don't come up, but if you go to www.ahpra.gov.au you can find the info. they have an update to the new registration process that says assoc degree nurses can get their aus license. see below

nurses and midwives qualified in the united kingdom, the republic of ireland, the united states of america, canada, new zealand, hong kong and singapore who have a degree or a diploma and further education and who are registered as a first level nurse in these countries, are deemed to have the equivalent qualification as a practitioner qualified in australia.

specifically, this means nurses and midwives who have successfully completed a minimum

six semester (or equivalent) bachelor degree or associate degree (or higher) in general nursing at a university in one of these countries, who also has professional licensure as a registered (first level) nurse in the country of education, will be considered to meet the requirement for equivalence to an australian degree completed at an australian university.

sorry, my links don't come up, but if you go to www.ahpra.gov.au you can find the info. they have an update to the new registration process that says assoc degree nurses can get their aus license. see below

nurses and midwives qualified in the united kingdom, the republic of ireland, the united states of america, canada, new zealand, hong kong and singapore who have a degree or a diploma and further education and who are registered as a first level nurse in these countries, are deemed to have the equivalent qualification as a practitioner qualified in australia.

specifically, this means nurses and midwives who have successfully completed a minimum

six semester (or equivalent) bachelor degree or associate degree (or higher) in general nursing at a university in one of these countries, who also has professional licensure as a registered (first level) nurse in the country of education, will be considered to meet the requirement for equivalence to an australian degree completed at an australian university.

i have been reading on ahpra website, i would like to know what does the highlighted statement really means.

"...six semester (or equivalent) bachelor degree or associate degree (or higher) in general nursing at a university in one of these countries, who also has professional licensure as a registered (first level) nurse in the country of education, will be considered to meet the requirement for equivalence to an australian degree completed at an australian university."

does it mean to say i need to study in australia or the other way around? by the way, i got my adn here in the us, passed my nclex-rn and been working for 3 years in a hospital here.

thank you

Specializes in Medical.

It means if your ADN was over six semesters (or three years) and in general nursing (i.e. not psych or mid etc) and you're registered as the highest level of nurse (ir registered nurse not licensed nurse) in the country where you received your qualification then AHPRA will consider your education equivalent to that of a nurse educated here.

What did you mean by

Does it mean to say I need to study in Australia or the other way around?
Specializes in icu.
I have been reading on AHPRA website, I would like to know what does the highlighted statement really means.

"...six semester (or equivalent) Bachelor degree or Associate degree (or higher) in general nursing at a university in one of these countries, who also has professional licensure as a registered (first level) nurse in the country of education, will be considered to meet the requirement for equivalence to an Australian degree completed at an Australian university."

Does it mean to say I need to study in Australia or the other way around? By the way, I got my ADN here in the US, passed my NCLEX-RN and been working for 3 years in a hospital here.

Thank you

Best thing to do is simply throw your hat into the ring - what is the worst they can do? Put in your application with as much supporting data as possible

Specializes in Medical.

Also know that they have document criteria that they don't lay out on the site. A friend is in the process of renewing her lapsed registration - it's been three years, so she doesn't have to statrt from scratch. First they didn't accept a letter stating her length of service from her previous employer (what they wanted was a statement of service, but what the site said was "a letter"). Fair enough, I suppose. But then she's had to get all her copies of documents re-certified because she had a pharmacist do it, and according to AHPRA (but once again this isn't on the website), the witness can't be a member of the health profession, because that's "a conflict of interest"! Not someone who knows her, any member ofthe health profession, including the pharmacist she used, who she'd never met before!

Specializes in icu.
Also know that they have document criteria that they don't lay out on the site. A friend is in the process of renewing her lapsed registration - it's been three years, so she doesn't have to statrt from scratch. First they didn't accept a letter stating her length of service from her previous employer (what they wanted was a statement of service, but what the site said was "a letter"). Fair enough, I suppose. But then she's had to get all her copies of documents re-certified because she had a pharmacist do it, and according to AHPRA (but once again this isn't on the website), the witness can't be a member of the health profession, because that's "a conflict of interest"! Not someone who knows her, any member ofthe health profession, including the pharmacist she used, who she'd never met before!

I have an American friend here who was less than complimentary about AHPRA and I do not blame him - they held up one part of his registration for 6 months and "lost" some of his files!!

So is it true that in order to work as a registered nurse in Australia, you must have a bachelors degree in nursing?

I am a registered nurse from the US. I have my Bachelors in Public Health ( not nursing), and my Associates Degree ( ADN) in Nursing*.

( * an ADN means 2 years to get into the program with pre-requisites such as Anatomy, Chemistry, Biology, etc, and then another 2 years of actual nursing school and hospital hours).

I began my application with AHPRA April 1st, 2016, and have now ( Dec 19th, 2016) received a rejection from AHPRA. I am a fresh graduate, and have no nursing experience ( other than caregiving for 5 years).

I was deemed an AQF 5, offered no bridging course, and need to basically do a BS in nursing. I dont think it is worth trying from the US if you have an ADN

I am a registered nurse from the US. I have my Bachelors in Public Health ( not nursing), and my Associates Degree ( ADN) in Nursing*.

( * an ADN means 2 years to get into the program with pre-requisites such as Anatomy, Chemistry, Biology, etc, and then another 2 years of actual nursing school and hospital hours).

I began my application with AHPRA April 1st, 2016, and have now ( Dec 19th, 2016) received a rejection from AHPRA. I am a fresh graduate, and have no nursing experience ( other than caregiving for 5 years).

I was deemed an AQF 5, offered no bridging course, and need to basically do a BS in nursing. I dont think it is worth trying from the US if you have an ADN

Hmm. Did they say what the shortcoming was, exactly? The only thing I notice here is a slight deficit in the recency of practice. If that is the case, it would only require working for approximately 3 months full time in America, as an RN, after graduation. Of course, there could be some other things that influence this. I am available to check into this.

Hello US RN in OZ,

They said my shortcoming was that I dont have a BS in Nursing. I strongly believe ( after contacting every University that has a Nursing department in Australia, and speaking to them directly) that even if I had gotten a BS in Nursing ( abroad) they would still not accept it.

In 2013 AHPRA changed their rules of admission, and the AQF scale is completely broad in language in how they deem equivalency in their high and mighty nursing schools.

I spoke to AHPRA about fighting this, and if I had more work experience, if I could then do a bridging course and they said that it has nothing to do with work experience, just education.

I assume you became an RN here before 2013 right?

Nope. Very end of 2015.

Sometimes, it's some missed info on documentation.

How many clinical hours did you have to complete in you school? Do you have all the course outlines? Did your faculty write an official letter saying yuppie pharmacology course covered those three specific items in pharmacy... Pharmokinetics, etc.? Somethings not adding up right. I'd be happy to take a look at the stuff. From the information I've heard so far, there is no reason their should not accept you... bedridden getting a few month experience post grad.

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