Californian to Sydney experienced PICU nurse looking for advice.

talaxandra · Jan 17, 2012

Welcome to AN as a participant :)

I live in Melbourne, and work with adults, so I can't help with most of your questions. Every public hospital I know has rotating shifts, though many nurses have a degree of flexibility with their rosters. I, for example, work nights at least nine months a year, and I've worked with nurses who hadn't done a day shift in several years. A lot of this depends on the needs and putlook of the NUM, of course, but I haven't ever seen an advertised position for one shift only. Also, I believe NSW, like Victoira, predominantly works an 8:8:10 roster - for the most part 12/24 shifts are limited to ICU and psych.

You seem surprised that a Masters as an international student is of comparable cost to one at home, though I'm not sure why. Full-time nurses in Victoria, and I imagine it's the same or similar in NSW, are entitled to paid leave for post-graduate study relevant to their current role - here that's 4 hours/week for 26 weeks a year, plus up to five days annually for study, conferences and exams. The more usual issue is people on student visas working, so I'd be surprised if this was a visa issue, but it's not a bad idea to check with the Immigration Department.

NSW recently one nurse: patient ratios, so that's soemthing that won't be too different :) Good luck with your move - I hope it goes smoothly, and that other members are able to give you more specific adice about PICU and NICU units up north.

kitdikat · Jan 19, 2012

Thanks for your response, talaxandra.

Well, I was surprised that the cost of doing my masters overseas as opposed to in my home country is the same, because we have RIDICULOUS fees for international students here in the USA! When I was an undergrad, one of my close friends was studying at my uni but was from Japan. I paid $5k a semester in tuition--she paid $12k, and this was only for her undergrad, as well as 7 years ago. We charge so much, so it's nice that I won't have to sell a kidney down in Mexico to pay for a masters abroad :)

Thanks for the further info. From what I remember, NSW has something like 1:5 on morning and evenings, 1:7 on nights for wards? To me that seems chaotic and unsafe, but then again where I work, we don't use LVNs or CNAs (I guess that's your equivalent of an EN and then an aide that just helps with ambulation, stocking supplies, linens, etc) the RN bears all responsibility and care, so I don't know how that factors into the workload and patient safety over there.

Does anyone know if all the ICUs are 1:1 there? I remember a friend mentioned that ICUs had ratios long before the other units but haven't been able to find much info other than 'suggestions' of how raitos should work based on those in Vic. Our PICU is usually 1 nurse, 2 patients, 1:1, or 2 nurses for 1 patient depends on how critical they are, the inotropes they are on, or other procedures.

Anyway, thanks, hope to get more feedback soon! :)

talaxandra · Jan 20, 2012

I'm not as familiar with the NSW ratios as I am with ours in Victoria, but my understanding is that they're pretty much the same as ours. The ratios depend on the acuity of the hospital and the kind of ward - for tertiary level hospitals that's 1:4 on general wards, 1:2 in HDU and 1:1 in ICU.

Victoria currently has an all-nurse acute workforce, though our government's trying to introduce aides, and I believe they've been introduced into acute care in NSW, though I'm not sure how they fit into the ratio system there.

Hope that helps, and (bump) for any of my colleagues north of the border :)

allnurses Guide · Feb 7, 2012

Higher education fees in general are dramatically less in Australia, so that's probably right. My $47K masters degree from the US would have probably cost me $10k (if that) in Australia. You can study on any work visa, you just can't work on every student visa.

red_hot_chili_oreo · Feb 17, 2012

Hey Kitdikat! I'm pretty much on the same boat as you are, though from the other side of the world! I'm also from PICU and I'm planning to make the big move to Australia soon. I haven't started anything yet coz I'm still studying the whole process and man, I'll have to agree on the headache it gives! But I'm sure all the pain would be wiped away by the joy of working/living there, eventually. I just wanna share that I originally intended to move to California since I have a lot of relatives there, but since the Obama policies arent doing foreign nurses any favor, I'm dropping the thought for now. Maybe I'll just pay them a visit once I'm settled in Australia, hahaha...

I also plan to take further studies in the future, so it's nice that you mentioned that in your post! Talaxandra, what you said about paid leaves for post grad studies was a good chunk of info! That shows studies are welcome/encouraged, unlike in other places where it's considered burdensome because of staffing issues. I wonder though, does it have to be within the specialty you're on? I'm considering health information management, would that be an issue, since it isnt exactly bedside nursing? :)

talaxandra · Feb 18, 2012

I've had paid study leave for all my post-grad qualifications, and none of them were even in nursing (health ethics, social health, medical anthropology/health sociology) albeit with a focus on nursing clinical practice. If it's a little more tangental then it rests a fair bit on your manager's discretion but - nothing ventured, nothing gained/dont ask, don't get.

red_hot_chili_oreo · Feb 22, 2012

Point/advice taken. Thanks talaxandra! :)

myfavouritescar · Feb 24, 2012

Greetings,
I have been reading allnurses.com off and on since I first entered nursing school, but finally decided upon making an account here. I am a RN (with a bachelors) with 4 years of experience in PICU and NICU. I have traveled to Sydney about 6 times in the past 2 years--and I must confess, I am absolutely in love with the city and its people.
I am hoping to move to Sydney and work as an RN by the end of the calendar year. Over the last few weeks I have been researching what I need to do in order to be able to work there. It's giving me a headache! So much paperwork, so much wait time. My goal when I arrive in Sydney is to work in a reputable childrens ICU. I am currently employed with a very respectable children's hospital, and qould like to have the same sort of fast-paced work environment. I do have a few questions though, and hopefully someone has some answers.
1) I've looked at different hospitals, and the Sydney Children's Hospital at Westmead sounds ideal. What other hospitals in Sydney have good PICUs and NICUs? I know that I can just go to wiki and look for hospitals with PICU and NICU, but I'd rather hear from people who have experience with various hospitals and the aforementioned units.
2) Do all the hospitals require different shift work? I have worked 12 hour NOC shifts for 4 years, but I've seen most position vacancy descriptions mention the requirement to work days, evenings, and nights in combination. Is this common practise?
3) From what I've gleaned, it appears I have to apply first to ANMC and -then- to AHPRA? So much paperwork (and fees!!). For those of you who have gone from USA--->AUS for nursing jobs, what was your wait time like? How was your experience?
4) Ultimately I'd like to get my masters done in the next few years. I saw that University of Sydney offers a masters in critical care nursing, and their international fees are about what I would pay here in the states for my masters! Does Australia have a type of visa that would allow me to work as an RN as well as attend uni? I have tried to look online for an answer but didn't come up with much.
I ask that if any one had advice, or better resources than multiple tabs open in my browser, please respond! I would love to hear your thoughts and also get some advice. Moving to a different country can be scary, but hopefully the community can make it less so :)

I work at the Sydney Children's Hospital at Westmead although not in PICU. I'm happy to try and answer any questions I can. A full-time nurse in PICU works 38 hours a week averaged over a 4 week roster which works out to be 1xeight hour shift and 12xtwelve hour shifts in a 28 day block. Generally alternating days and nights some people work permanent nights but permanent days are not usually offered.

There are only 3 children's hospitals in NSW, Sydney Children's at Randwick, Sydney Children's at Westmead, and John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. Westmead is the biggest. There are a lot more NICUs around, close to one in every major public hospital, the NICU at Children's at Westmead is the only surgical NICU in the state as far as I'm aware.

I don't know about visas but AHPRA is our licensing board, ANMC just sets out the criteria and professional standards.

Snowleopard · Mar 8, 2012

Greetings,
3) From what I've gleaned, it appears I have to apply first to ANMC and -then- to AHPRA? So much paperwork (and fees!!). For those of you who have gone from USA--->AUS for nursing jobs, what was your wait time like? How was your experience?

I would highly recommend to obtain your Australian RN license first, and then to apply for a modified skills assessment with ANMAC. This way it's easier, faster, and cheaper.