Chances of getting a nursing job after bridging. What are the factors?

dinnomac · Sep 18, 2013

Hi guys, so I just got my offer letter for the 13 Oct intake at Lonsdale Uni, to the frequent commenters on this thread, do you think I should push through with the BP? considering the changes with the 457 visas? thanks

DreamCatcher14 · Sep 28, 2013

Hi danceinstructor! How is your job hunting going on so far? I am eyeing for La Trobe Uni intake on January 2014.

QUOTE=danceinstructor;7263370]SCENARIO IN AUSTRALIA.

It has been quite some time since I last visited in this site and I felt the need to post what I had experienced while doing the bridging program here in "The Land Down Under" to discuss with what is really happening. I hope this will somehow facilitate those who are aspiring to come and do the BP.

OVERVIEW. I am from BOHOL, Philippines and have just completed the IRON program (batch 7) of La Trobe University- Bendigo last month. The course runs for 13 weeks which started last 14 Jan 2013, however, I qualified for an "early exit" that's why I was able to finish it in just 8 weeks. One will qualify for such if you can carry out the National Competency Standards for RN here in Australia regardless if you have enough experience back in your own country or none at all. We were 40 international trained nurses in our class, 29 which were from the Philippines, 2 were from Japan, 1 from Taiwan and the rest are from India.

I would like to stress out the phrase "regardless even if you have enough experience or none". Yes, you can PASS the bridging program even if you have ZERO experience and you can also FAIL the course even if you have ENOUGH experience. Failing the course means you are not competent to be a RN Div 1 here in Australia, you may be competent in your own country but it does not necessarily give you an assurance that you can also be competent here. And that is happened to my other FILIPINO classmateS (Plural from) who FAILED the IRON program. THEY HAVE HAD ENOUGH EXPERIENCE back in the Phils, and yet they failed. The reason? I do not know. :no: :down: There were already nurses from other countries in the previous batches who were sent home because of not passing the course.

REGISTRATION. Those who succeed in the "early exit" got their certificate of completion from our school last 13 March. Some got their AHPRA registration in just a week's time, some in 2 weeks while I waited for 3 weeks for my registration to be finalized. Those who did not qualify for the early exit by some means finished the course a few weeks after we graduated. The course will supposedly end on 12 April and our 575 student visa will expire on 12 May to most students. If you will pass and finish the course in the 10^th or 11^th week then you do the math if it would take you 3 weeks for your registration to be processed. Time element is really a big factor. :yes:

JOB. Amongst the 40 nurses from our class, ONLY 1 got a job offer at the moment. Some already went to NSW, QL, SA yet still, no sponsorship has been given. Some of my classmates have a well calibrated experience from the top hospitals in the Phils but they are having a hard time in getting a sponsorship. Yes there are still LOTS of RN jobs available but most of them do not offer sponsorship for 457 visa anymore, some are casual and part time positions only. For one to qualify for the Employer sponsored 457 (work) visa, you should have a permanent full time position. The thing is that they are now prioritizing more on the locals/ residents here, and that is also 1 reason why the 457 visa will have strict changes starting 1 July this year. On top of that, you will be competing with the Graduate nurses here and the Div 2/ Enrolled nurse for they are the ones that most employers would most likely hire at present.

There are also many job openings for RN in special areas like ED, theatre, CCU/ICU, NICU but you should have at least 1-2 years experience in that special area, some hospitals even requires post graduate course certificate in those fields but still it does not guarantee that it will likely be sponsoring you for your working visa.

ACCOMMODATION. Bendigo is one of the regional areas in Australia and their minimum rent per week basing on what my other classmates had were between AU $ 150-175 PER WEEK. Some of my colleagues who were in an agency with a "fly now pay later" scheme had a temporary accommodation for almost 1 month only and after that they were on their own of finding a place in their remaining days of stay here. I was lucky enough that I got an accommodation for AU $ 120/ week that is just a 15 min walk to the hospital where I did my acute clinical placement and a 10 min walk to my non-acute placement but it took me 2 rides in going to the school. Somehow it was okay that I stayed away from school since there will only be 3 weeks classroom lectures and the rest are for the placements. I spent roughly AU $ 5 PER DAY for my fare to school.

If one is planning to come here then he should be tough and be prepared for every possible thing that may happen. Hope for the best and expect for the worst. Some students who finished their BP in other schools but couldn't find a job yet have already enrolled to other courses just to extend their stay here and continue their job hunting. I guess every one already has an idea of how much is the cost of their courses especially if you are an international student.

To the next IRON batch of LTU, good luck and believe that dreams do come true! You may PM me if you have queries like accommodation and others. I am not sure though if I can regularly check this site for any comments but you can also send me sms in my roaming Smart mobile no. +639185728503 for urgent matters.

Thank you and God bless us all!

belle_v2g, BSN, RN · Sep 29, 2013

Hi dreamcatcher. Dance instructor is a friend of mine and he's been working for quiet a few months now. :)

DreamCatcher14 · Oct 6, 2013

Hi dreamcatcher. Dance instructor is a friend of mine and he's been working for quiet a few months now. :)

Wow! Thank you Ms. Belle! It feels great when we read positive news in this forum. God bless us all! :-)

faith_in_U · Oct 23, 2013

Hi guys! I’m super new in this thread and I’m an avid reader/fan of this forum. I just wanna get some advice to the pros in nursing. I’m 21 years old and already have 1 year experience in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines as a RN HEALS(basically just like a staff nurse). I graduated in a prestigious school with honours. My dilemma, however, I was given two choices of pathways, both of which will be financially assisted by a loan.

First is that I can take a bridging course in Australia.

Second is, I can take a pathway with numerous steps before I can be a nurse in Australia. For 3 months, I must study here in the Phil to acquire a Cert III in Aged care. Then afterwards Study again using student visa, this time in Australia for 2 years to get a Diploma in Aged Care. During this, I will have a sure part time employment as promised by my agency. After that, I need to study again to get a Bachelor’s Degree, yet study period will be shortened because units from my previous schooling (Aged Care) will be credited.

With this I have some queries.

1. If I take up the Bridging course, do you think I can have a job after that, considering my qualifications? I can accept any kind of nursing job, nonetheless,as long as I will have an income to support my family and to pay the loan. However, I’m afraid if I can’t find a job after, since I’m hearing that a lot of those who have undergone the bridging were sent home because they had not found a job while their visa is still valid.

2. What if I take up the long way, however, I have a security of a Job after ( I heard that one can apply for PR after 2 years-pls correct me if Im wrong), is this pathway worth the wait and effort? My agency told me that there are many jobs offered by those taking these pathway i.e. Aged Care. However, if I take this choice, I feel that my 4 years of schooling will be useless as nothing can be credited from it. My sentiments is, I really did study so so hard back then.

I will really appreciate any advise from you guys. You see, we are not wealthy but I am willing to take a risk just for my family. Hope you enlighten me your ideas. Im praying for good replies.. Thank You! God Bless

ceridwyn · Oct 23, 2013

Disclaimer: I am not a immigration specialist.

pathways 2,

You can work 20 hrs a week while studying.....however how can you work in aged care if you do not have the qualification, things are getting tough there also.

2. You cannot work as a certified aged care worker when you are finished, it is not on the skilled shortage list so no visa.

3. You cannot apply for a graduate visa as having studied for 2 years, as these are for studies 2 years and over at bachelor degree and higher.

4. Why spend all this money on these piddly courses? I thought you had honors as aBSN?? why wait for 4 years the nursing shortage will not appear by then, it is going to take 10-15years. Meanwhile sponsorship visas are getting less and less.

btw there is no such thing as a diploma in aged care and so therefore no work visa. There is no shortage of aged care workers so therefore no visa, not the legal way at least.

Enrolled nurses - diploma courses are on the skilled shortage list but.....you still need 3 years experience paid in this field to apply for a pr visa and no hospital or aged care going to sponsor overseas enrolled nurses!!! This is the domain for RN's with specialist experience in an area of shortage,, not an for Enrolled nurses.

IMHO run, run as fast as you can from this agency and no agency can/should guarentee work. as locals must be considered first.

It is interesting that you have been offered an Australian qualification overseas, thought this was not possible to run a course overseas as the Australian qualification network council cannot be watching nor qualifying a course overseas even if run by Australians.

Just because you manage to hang around in Australia for 2 years doing piddle courses will not give you a way to apply for a pr Visa.

If you want to be an

RN then do the 1 year conversion a uni or the bridging courses, neither will give you PR if you have not worked 3 years paid experience, the only way is to get a sponsorship visa.

and in the long run, if you want the money to live in Australia, which is very expensive and have money to send home and pay big loans back, you will need the money of an RN not an EN and diffentely not that of an aged care worker

Sorry to be Debbie downer but there is no sure way, no short cut to PR in Australia and a job as an RN. As of all the professions on the skilled shortage list.

sephine, LPN · Oct 24, 2013

just curious, any tips when having hospital interviews by phone?

Any new questions worth thinking ahead?

Just curious.. THanks everyone

iamnomad · Oct 24, 2013

just curious, any tips when having hospital interviews by phone?
Any new questions worth thinking ahead?
Just curious.. THanks everyone

I guess it's pretty much the same as having an actual face-to-face interview. The HR people and nursing managers are pretty good at gauging whether an applicant is truthful or not. And with any job interview, be sure you know the hospital, their vision and goals, the services they offer. But as equally important is that you know what you're applying for.

iamnomad · Oct 24, 2013

Hi guys! I’m super new in this thread and I’m an avid reader/fan of this forum. I just wanna get some advice to the pros in nursing. I’m 21 years old and already have 1 year experience in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines as a RN HEALS(basically just like a staff nurse). I graduated in a prestigious school with honours. My dilemma, however, I was given two choices of pathways, both of which will be financially assisted by a loan.
First is that I can take a bridging course in Australia.
Second is, I can take a pathway with numerous steps before I can be a nurse in Australia. For 3 months, I must study here in the Phil to acquire a Cert III in Aged care. Then afterwards Study again using student visa, this time in Australia for 2 years to get a Diploma in Aged Care. During this, I will have a sure part time employment as promised by my agency. After that, I need to study again to get a Bachelor’s Degree, yet study period will be shortened because units from my previous schooling (Aged Care) will be credited.
With this I have some queries.
1. If I take up the Bridging course, do you think I can have a job after that, considering my qualifications? I can accept any kind of nursing job, nonetheless,as long as I will have an income to support my family and to pay the loan. However, I’m afraid if I can’t find a job after, since I’m hearing that a lot of those who have undergone the bridging were sent home because they had not found a job while their visa is still valid.
2. What if I take up the long way, however, I have a security of a Job after ( I heard that one can apply for PR after 2 years-pls correct me if Im wrong), is this pathway worth the wait and effort? My agency told me that there are many jobs offered by those taking these pathway i.e. Aged Care. However, if I take this choice, I feel that my 4 years of schooling will be useless as nothing can be credited from it. My sentiments is, I really did study so so hard back then.
I will really appreciate any advise from you guys. You see, we are not wealthy but I am willing to take a risk just for my family. Hope you enlighten me your ideas. Im praying for good replies.. Thank You! God Bless

The bridging program (BP) route is the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to become an RN in Australia. However, the visa that let's you study this program doesn't entitle you to work in Australia. If you can't find a job after the BP, you need to go back to the Philippines.

The conversion programs (6 months, 1 year, 2 years duration) are probably your second best option. This normally requires a student visa, which gives you a privilege to work 20 hours per week.

The last option, and probably not recommended at that, is the completion of an Aged Care certificate course (Cert III and Cert IV), then the Bachelor of Nursing degree after that. I urge you not to go this route because it's expensive, exhaustive, and uncertain. I don't know what the agency is promising you but I'm pretty sure they're just after your money.

First, your aged care course won't be credited towards your Bachelor's. I know some Cert IV Aged Care staff who applied to Uni but they had to start from first year. There's no Aged Care to Bachelor of Nursing program that I know of but there are Enrolled Nurse (EN) to RN programs.

Second, jobs, as with any country, cannot be guaranteed especially for international students.

Third, HOLY COW! Imagine your expenses. I recently supervised an international nursing student and he's paying $20,000 a year! And nursing is 3 years here in Australia. Do you really want to be in that much debt?

So if I were you, I'd take the BP route. I know job sponsorship is uncertain. But in just 3 months, you'll be an RN. You'll finish 2+ years ahead than by doing the Aged Care route. Finishing early means more time for finding work while there's an opportunity. If you opt for the aged care route, the "nursing shortage" will be almost non-existent by then. Plus, if you have an AHPRA registration, you pretty much can apply for a PR (subclass 189) without a sponsor. You just need an ANMAC letter and a superb IELTS score. You do not necessarily need a 3 years experience. However, this visa is points tested. You need to have 60 points to be eligible. 3 years experience is equivalent to 5 points. Anything less than 3 years is 0 points. In this case, you need to have IELTS 8 (all subtest) to compensate for points.

Good luck

Magneshium · Oct 28, 2013

Thanks for your thoughts on this matter. As an RN with 3 yrs experience in the ED, I found your last sentence very heartening! Whew

Magneshium · Oct 28, 2013

Ah, sorry that message was for ceridwyn. I'm new here, apologies:specs:

ceridwyn · Oct 28, 2013

The experience is to be paid work as well, which I know many have past by the wind....it is not queried if past work says Staff nurse on past work experience, but it is for the sake of all the visa,s clearly stated, paid work, is to be counted for work experience.

If you can manage to get by with volunteer experience, so be it.