Australian nurse and the NNAS story- comparable

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Hi all,

I am just writing up on this topic in case anyone needs information during there application process , there was not a lot when i was looking earlier this year.

I am an Australian Registered nurse, i studied in Queensland at USC and graduated 2016. I have been working as an RN ever since. Before i was an RN i was an EEN for a few years.

I started my NNAS application process 29/01/2019.

Timeline:

Form for registration with AHPRA sent 29/01/2019 via normal Australian post. Requesting a certificate of good standing, also sent the NNAS form to AHPRA to see if they would complete.

29/01/2019:

Sent education forms to University of the Sunshine coast to complete via normal post.

30/01/2019:

1st employment: sent employment form to previously worked at hospital on the 30/01/2019 with a registered international envelope inside.

30/01/2019:

Current employment form sent to NNAS via Registered international mail on 30/01/2019.

30/01/2019:

Student forms sent to SBIT via Australian Registered post on 30/01/2019 with an international registered envelope inside.

31/01/2019: Met with legal public notary. Notarised: Passport, drivers license, birth certificate and marriage certificate. Documents stamped, sealed, red ribbon and associated written document by lawyer also provided. Sent via international registered post.

01/02/2019: 1st employer has sent application form to NNAS via international post.

22/02/2019: AHPRA confirmed they have sent required documents to NNAS.

26/04/2019: documents received and under authentication by NNAS from USC (Uni RN degree)

26/4/19: documents stamped and sent today from SBIT- (TAFE for my EEN diploma)

19/6/2019: NNAS "ready for review"

19/10/2019: Ready for final review. Everything meets requirements.

02/11/2019: NNAS request additional from university via email. Date discrepancy.

06/11/2019: University confirms they have emailed NNAS the required clarification.

07/11/2019: Advisory report issued that night, and received a comparable report at 68.5%.

08/11/2019: applied to CARNA and i have emailed the requested documents. Now awaiting next steps from CARNA.

TIPS:

Get all your information together as soon as possible.

Send the application for AHPRA via their email, not via post (silly mistake on my behalf, i didn't realise i could, this would have made things a bit quicker).

Have a big discussion with your uni about what is required, do you own hours breakdown so nothing is missed. The more info they have the better. Ask for a copy of everything they send to NNAS, so the NNAS cant say something was missed (if the NNAS lose something for instance) This will also give you an opportunity to make sure everything looks right and ask the uni to make changes were needed. The schooling stuff takes the longest to get.

SEND EVERYTHING via EXPRESS international post- my mistake, my mail took nearly 4 weeks to arrive in the USA, and then one of the forms i sent with an express post arrived after 4 days, this would have sped up my time i believe. The NNAS is slow and will not give you a time frame after they have received all your information.

My Nursing hours breakdown from the NNAS report:

I had a total of 549 pages of syllabus combined sent to the NNAS.

960 hours of clinical placement

148 hours of lab hours

1050 direct theory hours:

Maternal/infant nursing: 8 hours and 2 hours of lab

Paeds: 51 theory hours, 2 lab hours and 40 placement hours

Mental health: 77 theory hours and 80 hours placement

Medical nursing: 296 theory hours, 41 lab hours, 260 placement hours

Surgical nursing: 135 theory hours, 34 lab hours, 260 placement hours

Geriatric nursing: 114 theory hours, 1 lab hour, 200 placement hours

Community Health: 87 theory hours, 8 lab hours, 200 placement hours

Anatomy & Physiology: 81 theory hours

Pathophysiology: 78 theory hours, 12 lab hours

Pharmacology: 124 theory hours, 47 lab hours

If anyone has any questions, ask away. Ill update on how CARNA goes, now i might need to study for the NCLEX!

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Thank you so much for the information! How did you get paeds and maternity hours? have you done the midwife degree as well ?? :)

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Hi thanks for the information.I applied to NNAS in December 2018 and am still waiting for my advisory report.When I called in October I was told they had an influx of applications and are trying to get all processed at the same time so give them a little more time so am kindda surprised that you have already received yours.Anyway nothing before its time and wishing you the best of luck going forward.

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11 hours ago, naseo said:

Thank you so much for the information! How did you get paeds and maternity hours? have you done the midwife degree as well ?? :)

No i didn't do Mid. My uni had "the child client" as an elective which i did and "child youth and family" as a core subject.

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Specializes in RN.

Hi,

I am also graduated from USC , we studied child , youth and family as well. But They did not write anything in my pediatric hours section , have you done any obstetric placement or theory ? Thanks

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3 hours ago, GARY SONI said:

Hi,

I am also graduated from USC , we studied child , youth and family as well. But They did not write anything in my pediatric hours section , have you done any obstetric placement or theory ? Thanks

Hey,

Yea.

Maternal/infant nursing: 8 hours and 2 hours of lab- this was my obstetric- no placement.

Paeds: 51 theory hours, 2 lab hours and 40 placement hours

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Specializes in Medical Surgical, Telemetry, Acute Pulmonary Care.

Hi Chelesa,

Thank you for sharing your story. Its really helpful because I'm in the same situation. Background: SC, USA license nurse completed BSN and MSN degrees in the US. I started my application in Feb 2019 and submitted all the required documents in Oct 2019. I received the "Ready for Review" status about two weeks ago. NNAS stated it will take up 12 weeks for the final review to be completed and then a report will be generated.

Also, I ran into some trouble with NNAS needing more documents and information from my schools but was able to get everything they requested. I do have copy of what the schools completed and submitted to NNAS as well.

I have a couple of questions:

1. When you received your report and the comparable score did it breakdown what the % meant?

2. When you applied to CARNA how long did it take for you to hear back?

3. Would you advise looking for a job before getting your license from CARNA?

4. This is probably a silly question but, do you think I have a chance of getting my report back in time to apply to CARNA?

Thanks.

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Specializes in ICU, education, peer support & paediatrics.

Hi Chelsea,

I nearly cried when I read your post. I am wanting to be with my partner in Pennsylvania. I am about to start this process. I would love your support/help if you would be open to it? I did my Maternity nursing at the old Royal Women's Hospital years ago and then hospital based EN, then my Bachelor of Nursing at ACU, then post Grad Dip in Critical Care nursing, then Grad Cert in Adult and Voc education, then cert IV if training ect, plus a Masters in Education. I have certificates in Family Partnerships, Immunisation certified, and Clincial Supervision course/experience, I work in the kids hospital one day a week in recovery, I have ICU experience in Adults and kids, I work as a clinical nurse consultant 2 days a week in the children's obesity clinic....how do you think I'll go with registration in the US? Many thanks for any advice. I love your timeline....Thanks, Ingrid.

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3 minutes ago, Ingrido said:

Hi Chelsea,

I nearly cried when I read your post. I am wanting to be with my partner in Pennsylvania. I am about to start this process. I would love your support/help if you would be open to it? I did my Maternity nursing at the old Royal Women's Hospital years ago and then hospital based EN, then my Bachelor of Nursing at ACU, then post Grad Dip in Critical Care nursing, then Grad Cert in Adult and Voc education, then cert IV if training ect, plus a Masters in Education. I have certificates in Family Partnerships, Immunisation certified, and Clincial Supervision course/experience, I work in the kids hospital one day a week in recovery, I have ICU experience in Adults and kids, I work as a clinical nurse consultant 2 days a week in the children's obesity clinic....how do you think I'll go with registration in the US? Many thanks for any advice. I love your timeline....Thanks, Ingrid.

Hi Ingrid,

I am not sure if it is the same process for the USA, this was for Canada. However I did get a comparable report from NNAS and I only had a very small amount of obs/paeds. You sound like u will do great! When I applied to CARNA in Alberta, they said I was not comparable and I had to complete 2 obstetrics courses, one online and one in person that went over a 3 days, I had a year to complete them but than COVID happened and no one can travel, so unsure on what I will do now.

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Specializes in ICU, education, peer support & paediatrics.

Oh bummer, I got excited, I thought it was the USA...I hope I do great, it's such a complex system to navigate. Do you have any idea what or when you'll be able to move over? Where are you going to? How exciting either way!

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Hi Chelsea,

I graduated from University of Sydney in December 2019. I have submitted my application to NNAS in January 2020 and required documents were sent by March 12, 2020 but still no update on my account. I called and emailed their support account but they couldn't provide any update. Is anyone in the same situation?

I would like to which province you are applying to and if your training was deemed comparable by the nursing college. Thanks for your help.

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2 minutes ago, Maryamibidunni said:

Hi Chelsea,

I graduated from University of Sydney in December 2019. I have submitted my application to NNAS in January 2020 and required documents were sent by March 12, 2020 but still no update on my account. I called and emailed their support account but they couldn't provide any update. Is anyone in the same situation?

I would like to which province you are applying to and if your training was deemed comparable by the nursing college. Thanks for your help.

Hi,

you know much until August and then nothing will probably be finalised until November/December, it took 11 months for me and I was so fast with my documentation.

I got a comparable by the NNAS and not comparable by CARNA (Calgary, Alberta) I needed more obstetric hours. They said I needed to enrol in some courses in Canada about ($1000) 1 theory that I could do online for 6 weeks and 1 prac class done in Canada over 4-5 days. Than I would be deemed comparable. CARNA took about 4-6 weeks o get back to me also after the NNAS had submitted my application.

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