Meeting AHPRA requirements as a International Trained Nurse from the Philippines

[Silverdragon102]

New thread discussing meeting APHRA requirements if trained in the Philippines.

Resources

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)

International registration / Nurses / Home - Nursing Council of New Zealand

Part 1 thread New grad Filipino nurse wanting to work in Australia/New Zealand

Part 2 thread New grad Filipino nurse wanting to work in Australia/New Zealand

I have started a thread in the Immigration for Immigration requirements for Australia/New Zealand

[official02]

But the PH does have a robust system for meeting criteria 2 & 3 -- providing the school was accredited indeed. We must trust in CHED's system, otherwise we're all screwed. I'm not very sure of this but a colleague of mine mentioned that NZ's system had this in place for quite some time now and could possibly be the reason why CHED is aware of such requirements. A friend of mine managed to have enough influence that an electronic copy was sent to her before the physical copy was sent to AHPRA. The letter was inclusive of the school's status with other private accreditation bodies. In her case, PACUCOA's. So all things considered, candidates from PH accredited schools should have no problem providing documentary evidence that would satisfy criteria 2, 3 & 8 unless AHPRA wants to see something else.

The LoE is good for a year, I believe that gives all your credentials a year's worth of validity. The extra charges if there are any, would be the present registration fee (and possibly application). Other than that the assessment fee wouldn't make any sense since they won't be looking into those documents anymore. On average, a nursing registration is about 2 to 4 weeks after completing the BP.

I really trust CHED in dealing with our papers. They worked quickly and efficiently when I requested for Criteria 3. And yes, the one we asked for our AHPRA is an ordinary thing for them. They call it CAV and applicants going abroad, not just for Australia, can request for it. That CAV is being used also for DFA red ribbon authentication.

Now, all points taken... why still slow dear AHPRA?

---

Do you know what new application form is that? Is that the AGOS still?

[bunnyhunter]

Here's my AHPRA processing timeline:

June 18 - sent AGOS-40 with all its attachments

June 20 - AHPRA's notification that they received my application already

June 24 - tracked receipt of my IQNM requirement from CHED (still can't trace my IQNM requirement from school)

Aug 20 - received an email from AHPRA that I need to complete IQNM 2,3,8 and I replied to their email, confirming if they had already received my documents from school and from CHED.

Aug 26 - RO replied:

I can confirm that confirmation for the accreditation of the program of study was received by AHPRA on 24 June 2014

Please be advised that the following information is required:

- Evidence sent directly to AHPRA by the external accreditation authority confirming that the education institution was externally accredited at the time that you undertook your program of study

- Certification from your education institution, provided directly to AHPRA, that you successfully completed your course of study which covered medication management including drug calculation,pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics

They sent me a PDF file with a new format of the instructions to the educational institution and to the regulatory agency for nursing/midwifery which now requires an attached documentary evidence of professional accreditation approval.

I went to my school and called CHED, but this seems to be new to both of them. Anyone in the same boat as mine?

[jmolina1985]

The same thing happened to me on July 25th. I received an e.mail from a new case officer requesting for criteria 2 3 and 8 with the new template.

In my case though, it happened to have been overlooked. Here's how my conversation went with my Case Officer:

--------------------------------------

Outbound Message to AHPRA 1 [Jul 28]:

Dear ,

On Friday, I received an e-mail from your office requesting me to supply further documentation to satisfy criteria 2, 3, and 8.

I had arranged for these documents to be sent to directly to the AHPRA IQNM division as early as March this year and have received verbal confirmation from the Melbourne office on April and again, on Friday (the 25th) via phone contact (reference number: [Ref #]) that the said documents have been entered into my file. These supporting documents were officially received on the 31st of March according to the person I talked to on the phone. I was also informed that the documents had been scanned for collaboration purposes within the department.

To assist you in navigating through the volume of documents presented, kindly allow me to point out the headers:

Criterion 2 -

Criterion 3 - Commission on Higher Education

Criterion 8 - (attached to Criterion 2 supporting document).

By a minor misunderstanding, my liaison from the Philippines had them sent to the Melbourne address instead of NSW, I hope this will not have any bearing as the contents remain the same.

Kindly advise me as soon as possible if these documents will be accepted for the purpose of assessment. Otherwise, I will have to find a representative once again who will process these requests to be sent directly to the designated address at the soonest time possible.

If you require additional clarification and supporting documents, please do not hesitate to contact me, I would be very happy to take an active role in assisting you and the board to arrive at a decision at the soonest time possible.

Thank you,

Respectfully,

****

Outbound Message to AHPRA 2 [Jul 29]:

Dear ,

I would like to follow-up my concern that I raised with you through an e-mail yesterday. I refer to the issue of the documents required in order for my application to progress.

Given that AHPRA's letter demands that the requirements be met within a specified number of days, I am desperate to know your response.

I am attaching the content of my letter from yesterday as well as AHPRA's letter to me in this e-mail.

Please advise as soon as you can.

Thank you.

Respectfully,

***

Inbound Message from AHPRA 1 [Jul 29]:

Dear ,

Thank you for your email. I have located the files mentioned in your email.

Please be advised that we have now received all your outstanding documents as per the request sent previously.

A national review team will assess your qualification for substantial equivalence to a National Board-approved qualification in nursing. Please note, you may be requested to provide further information by the national review team at a later date following initial review of your application.

Your application will then be presented to the National Board, who will contact you once a decision is made.

Due to the current high volume of applications from internationally qualified nurses and midwives we are unable to provide a timeframe for a decision on your application. For information on "assessing your application under the new model" please visit the following link: http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Registration-and-Endorsement/International/Assessing-your-application.aspx

The National Board has released information on the AHPRA website in regards to timeframes and assessment process. For your information please refer to the National Board website for details if you wish through the following link: http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Registration-and-Endorsement/International/Assessing-your-application/Processing-time.aspx

Please be assured that the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and AHPRA continue to work to expedite the assessment and determination of your application for registration.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly via email if you have any concerns or require any further explanations. My email address is .

Regards,

-------

It is only in hindsight that I noticed that they are asking for an attachment under the new format but my CO didn't point it out nor ask for it and my application was sent way before the new format was out.

You might want to talk to your case officer in a similar manner and do ask about that attachment and what it means since you've sent documents before this was required.

[jdyboy]

Anyone thinking on getting a CPE credited Bs Nursing course? They say it may be taken in just 1 year, what do you think are the pros and cons of the 1 year Bs Nursing?? Im still awaiting for my AHPRA

[nursessist]

Anyone thinking on getting a CPE credited Bs Nursing course? They say it may be taken in just 1 year, what do you think are the pros and cons of the 1 year Bs Nursing?? Im still awaiting for my AHPRA

I would rather wait for my LOE than do a 1 year conversion course. I'm not quite sure about this, but I think your years of experience will be disregarded after completing a conversion course as you will be considered a new grad after completing it. Meaning, you will have to start as an entry level nurse, RN 1, instead of RN 5 after the bridging program if you have 5 years of experience back in the Philippines. The difference in the salary is quite significant, mind you.

[Markusuno]

Anyone thinking on getting a CPE credited Bs Nursing course? They say it may be taken in just 1 year, what do you think are the pros and cons of the 1 year Bs Nursing?? Im still awaiting for my AHPRA

When did you lodge your AHPRA application?

[jmolina1985]

I would rather wait for my LOE than do a 1 year conversion course. I'm not quite sure about this, but I think your years of experience will be disregarded after completing a conversion course as you will be considered a new grad after completing it. Meaning, you will have to start as an entry level nurse, RN 1, instead of RN 5 after the bridging program if you have 5 years of experience back in the Philippines. The difference in the salary is quite significant, mind you.

I am not sure about this my friend, I know people who have done the BSN course and enetered the work force and with different grades depending on their employer. Here is a link for the Victorian Nurses and Midwives enterprise agreement (2012-2016). Page 59 onward will have thorough information on grading and classification. Re-entry nurses are quite interesting as I would imagine that is similar to BP.

Anyone thinking on getting a CPE credited Bs Nursing course? They say it may be taken in just 1 year, what do you think are the pros and cons of the 1 year Bs Nursing?? Im still awaiting for my AHPRA

Well, we're in the waiting game my friend. The BSN with RPL duration depends on which school you have talked to and while these institutions have general assumptions on the qualification of Filipino nurses, it will still depend on their individual assessment of the credentials you present. For example, Deakin Uni is generally happy to credit enough units to bring the duration down to one academic year, Australian Catholic Uni on the other hand will grant credits but is unwilling to provide the course for anything less than 2 academic years.

I'd say the main advantage of studying the BSN is of course the Branding effect and that you yourself will have enough time to test out the waters in Australia and form a strategy on how you can start your career and look for potential employers. Basically, you are buying time and investing at the same time. Having a student visa also enables you to work in Australia. In terms of duration, if we are talking about your first visa, the Post Study Work stream is something to consider as a reward for studying for 2 years (we're talking of a Bachelor's). Again, completly up to you.

[jdyboy]

I lodged my application last March 2014, and I was given an extension. Their extension is due this September, hopefully there would already be a decision by Ahpra! Its been taking too long.

About the 1 year Bs Nursing, they say that taking the Bs N in Australia gives u international qualifications as a Nurse, also this gives you a wider experience in terms of nursing in Australia, and that is what employers are looking for, unlike the bridging course which is 3-4 months experience as a nurse in Australia.

Any advise about work experience here in the Philippines while waiting? Is it really better to continue working, as this gives additional experience as a nurse when you apply in Australia? or the requirements from AHPRA when you apply, is enough?

[jmolina1985]

I lodged my application last March 2014, and I was given an extension. Their extension is due this September, hopefully there would already be a decision by Ahpra! Its been taking too long.

About the 1 year Bs Nursing, they say that taking the Bs N in Australia gives u international qualifications as a Nurse, also this gives you a wider experience in terms of nursing in Australia, and that is what employers are looking for, unlike the bridging course which is 3-4 months experience as a nurse in Australia.

Any advise about work experience here in the Philippines while waiting? Is it really better to continue working, as this gives additional experience as a nurse when you apply in Australia? or the requirements from AHPRA when you apply, is enough?

Lucky you. My CO never mailed me anything about deadlines except when he was asking for more documents, when I raised the issue all he replied was "rest assured... etc.." In October, AHPRA would be reaching 1 year since they implemented this new framework, if no recommendations for bridging for Filipinos come of it, then I would find that very distressing.

International qualification as a nurse... now that's interesting. I must concede, having an Australian qualification is a major bonus to anyone's portfolio. Nursing however, as far as I'm concerned, if you want to practice in another country, you must go through their regulatory agency first otherwise you are likely to be practicing illegally. Take the US for example, despite having an Australian degree, you maybe required to take and pass the NCLEX this is pretty much standard fare even for their own local graduates. Oh, and according to my CES report from years ago, the nursing degree I finished from the Philippines is comparable to that of the courses in the US. Australian BSN may be directly recognized by other commonwealth countries such as NZ through the trans-tasman agreement. If at any help, it will just make it easier for the countries to assess your credentials if you are crossing borders with an Australian BSN.

Employment wise, like I mentioned before, it is about branding. I would say it depends largely on the employer if they are willing to discriminate between IRON graduates vs BSN graduates but I am inclined to believe one thing: Aussies and PRs first as not many are willing to sponsor working visas nowadays. Referring to my earlier post once again, a BSN degree will buy you time in exchange for a more expensive course. Take your pick.

I'd say stay for now, if you are gainfully employed as a nurse, just stay where you are until you've made a decision to do the BP (when you get the LoE) or do the BSN. More experience will grant you more points when applying for permanent residence.

[jdyboy]

Thanks for the advise, well with regards to work, I havent been working since I resigned last November, but all in all I have nursing experience for 3.2 years now, do you think thats enough? I know in Ahpra they only requir 3 months work experience, and other BP requires 2 years... Any advise?

[ceridwyn]

Australian nursing degree is not international. The only place it is accepted without too much hoo haa is New Zealand.

[jmolina1985]

Australian nursing degree is not international. The only place it is accepted without too much hoo haa is New Zealand.

What she said, I reckon it's all marketing when they say it's international. As for experience and BP schools, I once asked IHNA in behalf of my friends interested in the BP some of which have no experience at all. While they recommend​ a certain amount of experience, they would not refuse a student who has been granted an LoE so that considered, as long as AHPRA gives you the get go then you should have no worries.