A little help from anyone who has the time

rubystar · Aug 14, 2008

Are you speaking of doing an international conversion? If you're a bit out of practice the couple of weeks offered by those programs might be enough to get into the swing of things. My university offers one but I'm in WA, so that's not of much use but I'm sure they exist elsewhere. It's a couple of weeks in the clinical setting getting you up to speed. I'm sure they exist in other programs.

The difference between part time and casual is you get sick days and holiday pay with part time, not with casual but the pay is higher as a casual employee and you can cancel your shifts as a casual without a big drama or even a reason. Trouble is you don't get permanent shifts, you just become the go to person when they need somebody to work.

You can work in a hospital or aged care facility, if you've done a 4 year degree I'm sure they're not going to jump up and down that you don't have your certificate 3. Just make sure you know your job description, the boundaries of what you have to do and what you can't do vary from other places I've read on this board, even facility to facility.

Aelith · Aug 14, 2008

Thanks rubystar! Did you mean the Assessment or the Bridging program? I was told it is some kind of a test and it is completed after 2-6 months (varies from state to state). However, like I said, I'm a bit hesitant about that hehe. Thing is I haven't really practiced nursing at all.. well except the 2 1/2 to 3 years worth of training I had when I was still in uni. Apart from that I have none. So I don't know If I can really make it.

There are 1 year and 2 year programs that are being offered by universities all over Australia for overseas registered nurses. I know most will just probably go after the bridging program but I'm just not so confident now compared to 2 years ago when I finished my degree. I've also been working in a different job area for a year now. That's why I thought it's best to study again, although it is a bit more expensive.

Thank you for the clarification on casuals and part-time. I keep getting those two mixed up. But just a follow up question, If I can work 2-3 days per week depending on schedule in uni and can work for upto 24 hours per week (8 hr/day for 3 days or 12 hr/day for 2 days).. what classification would I go for then? Also, is it possible to have that kind of shift? :S

How's WA btw?

sunnie16 · Aug 28, 2008

If I can work 2-3 days per week depending on schedule in uni and can work for up to 24 hours per week (8 hr/day for 3 days or 12 hr/day for 2 days).. what classification would I go for then? Also, is it possible to have that kind of shift? :S

Depending on the facility you could get these hrs. I am an EEN in QLD and I'm working on my RNs. I work 25-30 hrs a week at an aged care facility. I am on part time there and they are happy with what I can do. Casual would probably be a bit more flexible if you need that with UNI and all. All the best with everything! I'm sure you will be a great nurse :)

josie_au · Aug 29, 2008

1. Is western sydney really a "no-no" because most of the troublemakers live there? However, I find the public hospitals in that area to be really good and am considering studying in UWS (BN - graduate entry) if I do decide to stay in Western Syd.
I live in Western Sydney and it is by and large quite okay to live in. There are some troublesome areas, but there are troublesome areas everywhere. Western Sydney has the largest growing population in Sydney, and a big migrant population. I work in the largest hospital in western Sydney and find it quite a good place to work.
2. Among the three universities - University of Western Sydney, ACU, University of Newcastle, which do you think is a better choice? If there are other universities you know of in Sydney that is good in nursing too will be of much help. I just want to know your experience if ever or anything that applies, may it be hear-says or whatever. Bad sides are very much welcome too :wink2:
If you are going to stay around the western Sydney area I would say UWS. I find that ACU don't do as many acute care clincial placements, and have never seen students from Newcastle, so not sure what sort of clinical experience they get. Academically I would say they were all fairly even.
4. As a student, I am planning to work while I study but preferably in a nursing related job. Can I apply at public hospitals or only in Aged Care Homes? Also, I'm really confused between Casual and Part-time, can anyone explain those two to me?
You can definitely apply to work in public hospitals, or at least you can where I work. If you are an undergraduate nurse at the hospital where I am then you work as an undergraduate, which means that you can do most basic cares and observations for patients. This does change between facilities and area health services, so you would need to check it out at the place you wanted to apply to.
5. Lastly, I'm sort of really concerned about racial discrimination in Australia. Is it highly experienced both in Queensland and Sydney? This applies to both workplace and universities.
There is such a large multicultural population in Sydney that, although there is potential for racial discrimination anywhere, most Sydney-siders are used to working alongside people from many different racial groups. I would not say that it is highly experienced, but then I am caucasian, so I would not be able to say from any experience. The areas where I work have people from many different backgrounds - racial, cultural & religious - and they are treated the same as everyone else.The only problems that may occur is when language forms a barrier to communication, which can cause some troubles. There may be the odd time where some form of racial discrimination could occur from patients not wanting certain nurses to look after them because of their race, but really that is very rarely observed in my experience.
Sorry if this seemed to be a long enquiry but I just want to make sure I know pretty much everything I need before I do some major decision.

I hope that helped!

Cheers, Jo :)

Aelith · Aug 29, 2008

Aww.. I can't thank you enough for all your help :) I realized there will always be bad sides in any place and discrimination happens everywhere so why should I be bothered with that in the first place. :chuckle

The only dilemma I have now is which uni to go to. I have found out that Usyd, UWS and UTS offers the course in Sydney. They all seem good to me and it's so hard to decide. And I hope University wouldn't matter as much when I apply... after all they have certain rules to follow to be accredited anyway so that makes all of them good schools. I guess the only difference would be the clinical exposure. If you guys can share anything else, I'll be grateful.

Thank you once again! I really appreciate it :) And hope to see you there soon!