UK Nurse experience?

K+MgSO4, BSN · Mar 31, 2018

Hi LoopyLu,

Give yourself at least 1 or better 2 years experience in the UK before migrating. With no experience hiring managers are seeing that they will have to make a significant investment in you as most Australian RNs go through a graduate year once they qualify, you again will be competing with them after 1 year experience as they apply to ongoing RN positions.

There are people and places that will hire you with 1 year experience however - some of the private hospitals or regional areas. My struggle in recruiting currently is for experienced nurses as there is a glut of year 1, year 2 nurses.

Good luck!

sparticus2008 · Mar 31, 2018

As above, you don't need experience to register, but you will struggle to get a job if you don't have 1-2 years experience

LoopyLu · Mar 31, 2018

Thanks guys :) Can I ask a couple more things:

How easy is it to find family accommodation before moving out there?

What is cost of living like?

As an Adult Nurse in U.K., am I only allowed to be an Adult Nurse in Oz?

:)

sparticus2008 · Mar 31, 2018

Cost of living: totally going to depend on where you live. if you are planning to live Sydney/Melbourne, then it will be higher than other parts of Australia.

Wages vary between states. So the starting level of pay is:

$64,292 a year in Queensland

$58,011 a year in Victoria

$62,957 a year in South Australia

$65,697 a year in West Australia

$60,881 a year in New South Wales.

Penalty rates vary between states for night shifts, weekend shifts, overtime etc.

Ease of finding accommodation will depend on where you want to live, its worth having an idea of what part of Australia you are wanting to go to.

We don't have an Adult/Paediatric/Mental health division in nursing training in Australia, once you are registered you are eligible to work in any field. (so yes, you can do into paediatrics in Australia if you trained as an adult nurse in the UK)

LoopyLu · Mar 31, 2018

That's very useful, thank you. Is there any part of Australia you can live where it stays hot / warm all year?

Oh that's great news about the nursing specialities, as I was told by a nursing agency that I'd have to remain an Adult Nurse.

sparticus2008 · Mar 31, 2018

The whole of northern Australia :)

Brisbane: average winter temp is 15 degrees

Darwin: average winter temp is 24 degrees

Townsville: Average winter temp is 20 degrees.

If you are doing agency then you need 1-2 years experience in the area that you will be available for, as agency is hard enough since you are unfamiliar with the ward, let alone if you are also unfamiliar with the specilaity, so yes, whilst employed by that agency you would only be able to get adult work.

However, you can apply for jobs as a paediatric nurse, but it can be a hard area to get into, you may find it easier to get a job at a hospital which does both adult & paediatric & offer to float to the paediatric ward to network etc. if this is a field you are wanting to end up in.

LoopyLu · Mar 31, 2018

Wow heat! Haha. That's not even our summer in the UK. Is it easy to apply for jobs directly to the hospitals? I know in America it's agencies really if you want to get there, but folk seem to have an easier time getting work directly in Australia- is that accurate?

sparticus2008 · Mar 31, 2018

I'm not sure what is best for migrating here having not personally done it. However, I would say that most of the UK nurses i have met (which is a lot!) are working directly for the hospitals.

However it may be easier to negotiate a position with an agency, some will work with you to help you with APHRA registration, visa requirement etc, where as applying directly to the hospital you need to already be eligible to work in the country, so I'm guessing maybe people start with an agency.

This agency may be a good one to talk to if you aren't already: Overseas Applicants - Healthcare Australia

LoopyLu · Mar 31, 2018

Thanks, appreciate all your replies :) Do you like living in Australia? Is it paradise? haha. Also, do you know anything about policing there? My hubby would like to join the Force (I'm aware you've got to be a citizen to do that first which means 4 years of living in Oz). I'm so excited!

K+MgSO4, BSN · Mar 31, 2018

That's very useful, thank you. Is there any part of Australia you can live where it stays hot / warm all year?
Oh that's great news about the nursing specialities, as I was told by a nursing agency that I'd have to remain an Adult Nurse.

Many people do post grads or exclusively work in some areas. It is about being sensible when signing with an agency and saying no to shifts that you don't have the skills to do.

K+MgSO4, BSN · Mar 31, 2018

Wow heat! Haha. That's not even our summer in the UK. Is it easy to apply for jobs directly to the hospitals? I know in America it's agencies really if you want to get there, but folk seem to have an easier time getting work directly in Australia- is that accurate?

It depends on the location, the hospital and time of year. Jan-April is rough as the academic year runs Jan-Dec therefore most grad years run Jan-Jan. Once it is over you are competing with local nurses for the position and if you are looking for sponsorship with only 1 or 2 years experience then I would be taking the local as if I am sponsoring you I have to complete paperwork for the Dept of Immigration stating I searched for an Australian resident/ citizen but none had the skills I needed in the applications.

Try looking outside of the capital cities e.g. Geelong or Newcastle for example as most have 2 public hospitals and a few big private hospitals are expanding in these regional towns as more people move to them as they cannot afford to live in Sydney or Melbourne.