Aussie Nurses Help Pls

Published

hi everybody , I need some advise me and my husband work as a nurse in uk . we have a job offer in australia ,Is it wise just to be his dependent and work as bank nurse or apply direct to the hospital in australia ? Will I be losing money if I apply direct. The agency offer us 1000 gross a week ,What is the difference nursing in uk and australia ? thanks

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi, agency nursing does offer you a lot of variety and choice and normally the rate of pay is higher as well. You couldf apply directly to a hospital only you will not know what it is like until you have started working there. Will you get all of the lousy shifts, being put onto nights, working every weekend and public holiday there is, the answer is probably yes. I worked in the UK for a shot while, I was originally planning on working for 12 months but after 2week at Ashford outside of London, having to dish up the peas and carrots for patients and being charged for sub standard nursing accommodation, I quit and went traveling which I thought was a very good idea. The cost of living in Australia is a lot lower then the UK, our wages therefore go a lot further. I think we have more autonomy nursing in Australia and the weather here, what can I say apart from come on over and find out for yourself. Always have a contigency plan in place just in case. Also there are pleny of agency paying varying rates so have a look around.

Good Luck

Up Vote Up Vote ×

thank you very much...its true I have to try to do some agency to know if I like it .. ...;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in "jack of all trades".

hi littlestar, i agree with braggy; its not hard to find work here; i haven't worked in the UK but worked in most states of Australia. Agency work can be stressful if the hospital hasn't got good staffing and you are in an unfamiliar hospital. I won't do it anymore. I prefer to work for individual hospitals "casual pool" / "relief pool" / "bank"which i think is the best of all worlds: complete flexibility of shifts, and also access to paid hospital orientation and education programs, so that you get to know the hospital's procedures properly. In my experience, hospitals don't usually advertise casual (per diem) staff vacancies, but if you contact a hospital's "human resources department" and ask the nurse recruiter; you'll find they're always employing new people into the casual pool.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

with agency, you can keep changing agencies if you don't like any particular one. some agencies offer more benefits then others and some have excellent rewards program. some are pretty bad. if you would like recommendations, please PM me as i dont want to offend any agencies that might see this post.

agencies also pay more than hospitals. its the nature of agency work. as a casual in a hospital or as an agency personnel, you might not be able to access any benefits such as paid leave and health cover. casuals get paid more than permanent staff becoz permanent staff have benefits but casuals do not.

in the long run, i think a permanent position pays better than agency. unless you are able to manage your agency jobs really well. i know of people who work for more than one agency and gross much more than hospital staff. agency work also usually requires you to travel to different places to work. sometimes you can do a contract with one hospital.

from what i hear from my colleagues who come from UK, they hated working in UK becoz the workload in UK is about double compared to Oz. Oz is more relaxed. most UK nurses do very well in Oz. they seem to have good experience and adapt pretty well.

how much the agency offers you per week really is a ball park thing. what you get paid is how much hours you put in. agencies like to brag about how much they can pay! its a recruitment tactic.

some people don't like agency work becoz they dont like travelling, and they can't adapt to different places. you have to be very flexible to be agency nurse. every hospital and setting is different. also, some permanent staff in hospitals dont take kindly to agency staff. for some reason they think agency staff are invading their space or are not as qualified! it's a work culture thing i guess... humans... have a fear of invasion. also, permanent staff have a rapport with other permanent staff... new staff can be seen as intruding... in time they'll accept you .... in time :p

but generally oz is a great place to work. people are pretty friendly. bullying is not as common as in other countries i believe. :monkeydance:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion