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

dbluke · Mar 3, 2014

Hi, I'm from India. I got my registration from APHRA recently. I studied in Perth under IHNA . It was a private Institution and most of my classmates are from Philippines and India. i only had one year of experience and expected the best when coming here but never thought that I should've been preparing for the worst. It took me a lot of struggle to get the APHRA offer letter. The biggest mistake I made was not enquiring about the work conditions here and the type of visas I can apply for.

For those who are preparing for the bridging program from overseas please do the skill assessment for International nurses. You can apply for it as per the instructions on the ANMAC website. it is because you should be prepared for applying for a PR too. As the ANMAC takes 14-16 weeks for processing, you can have the remaining time looking for a job (it's going tobe hard ) or applying for an expression of interest to any of the states here.

And with my Visa(the subclass 600 ) valid only for 3 mths, I had to renew it again for 335 Aud. The filipino guys are lucky coz their visa is valid for an year with an entry in 3 months. Out of the 28 classmates, I am in contact only with a few of them and a very few of them could find some interviews to attend. It was pretty hard for me to complete the clinicals because I talk less. They warned me a few times that they will fail me if I'm not performing upto their expectations. I barely managed to do that and they were quite happy with the results. I have to thank my friend and my roommate( he is from philippines) in helping me to overcome my shyness.

Now I'm in a tight situation as my extended visa is going to expire soon and I still couldn't find a job. Unlike all my friends here who stays with their friends and relatives, I had no contact here and had a tough time finding an accomodation in a very tight budget. The visa restriction of ' NO WORK PERMITTED ' makes things even worse. For those out there with limited experience like me and who have plans to come to Australia,I would recommend them to work for 3-4 years as it is experience in a speciality is what most employers ask for and it's always good to have some contacts too.................

Have a nice day nurses (p.s my grammar and sentence structuring is not that good........sorry)

samosasam · Mar 4, 2014

Dear dbluke

First, congrats for making up to Australia.

Here I am your compatriot, nurse with 4 and half years experience in Icu setting, who had been dreaming to work as an RN in Australia.But recently I have reconsidered my plans and have called off my .'Australia dreams' despite having many many contacts and friends over there..Given the long processing time, huge expense, limited job opportunities, and almost non existant visa sponsorship...I think I made a wise decision.You should feel wanted in a country you work in.

Better to look for places were experienced nurses are in demand..were there are welcomed without much visa/language restrictions or strict immigration laws.

dbluke · Mar 4, 2014

I'm happy that you made a good decision. If there are any changes in the present scenario, just make a quick enquiry to your friends and relatives about the job prospects and then you can make your dreams come true. All the best........ :up:

ceridwyn · Mar 5, 2014

Tosamosasam

I do believe every country has immigration laws, some even more complex than the Australian. Not sure what you mean by not being welcomed into a country to work, just because the jobs are not as available as once before and even when jobs were aplenty, Australia still had immigration requirements. As for the language restrictions, I think this is a no brainer, every country in the world wants their nurses to speak and be clear with communication, people feel volunerable and scared when they are sick and look to the nurse as their advocate....so of course Australia will want a nurse to have a very/good, excellent command of english- though accents are another thing.

AHPRA has only brought in more requirements only because nurse applicants were coming here and getting registered, after being pushed through bridging courses, with nursing assessment skills not of the same standard of the requirements of a nurse in Australia, from nurssing schools that are even consider poor quality education in country. Or suspect transcripts written special for Australian conditions.

Perhaps a look at ones own environment may show just the same sort of requirements, maybe even more stringent than that of other countries, in both being able to Register as a nurse and being allowed to stay and work as an international nurse from another country.

As a nurse with much ICU experience puts you in the box seat for a specialty and most likely at this time sponsorship, but let alone being able with more than 3 years experience get a permanent residence visa, where you are free to work, where, when, how often, you would definately find enough work and you would not require sponsorship.

Do not cut your nose off to spite your face, just because a country is not laying out the red carpet and giving nurses of your experience a free, easy ride, it is your lose of "'the dream''

samosasam · Mar 5, 2014

Tosamosasam
I do believe every country has immigration laws, some even more complex than the Australian. Not sure what you mean by not being welcomed into a country to work, just because the jobs are not as available as once before and even when jobs were aplenty, Australia still had immigration requirements. As for the language restrictions, I think this is a no brainer, every country in the world wants their nurses to speak and be clear with communication, people feel volunerable and scared when they are sick and look to the nurse as their advocate....so of course Australia will want a nurse to have a very/good, excellent command of english- though accents are another thing.
AHPRA has only brought in more requirements only because nurse applicants were coming here and getting registered, after being pushed through bridging courses, with nursing assessment skills not of the same standard of the requirements of a nurse in Australia, from nurssing schools that are even consider poor quality education in country. Or suspect transcripts written special for Australian conditions.
Perhaps a look at ones own environment may show just the same sort of requirements, maybe even more stringent than that of other countries, in both being able to Register as a nurse and being allowed to stay and work as an international nurse from another country.
As a nurse with much ICU experience puts you in the box seat for a specialty and most likely at this time sponsorship, but let alone being able with more than 3 years experience get a permanent residence visa, where you are free to work, where, when, how often, you would definately find enough work and you would not require sponsorship.
Do not cut your nose off to spite your face, just because a country is not laying out the red carpet and giving nurses of your experience a free, easy ride, it is your lose of "'the dream''

Dear, Ceridwyn

It seems you were piqued by my response or it sounded so.Sincerely I was not whining for the not so bright employment opportunities in Australia or anywhere in particular.

And on that language part, I can only concur with you .But it was not au that was in my mind when I said so, I implied the UK guidelines where language tests are necessary for native English speakers while it is not required for non English speaking EU countries.Hard to believe.! Funny

What ever the justification for that be, not concerned.

Let me here make myself clear, a country welcomes foreign workers when a shortage is felt, making itself attractive for immigrants and when the situation turns to the gloomy, it lays tough road ahead for overseases S Labours. No denying fact.

In addition, Australia have always been an immigrant friendly country.

Love the continent.

littlemissnurse07 · Sep 17, 2014

Hi guys, I just like to know if what kind of visa is required when taking the IRON/BP program? Is a student visa sufficient? I got a flyer from Deakin University and one of the requirements states that one must be "a permanent resident of Australia" or "have a VALID VISA." What visa type could that be? Thank you!!

dbluke · Sep 17, 2014

Hi there,

Usually Bridging Programs are for 3 months. So if you are an overseas applicant a tourist visa or subclass 600 visa is enough. This is not a student visa and therefore no work is permitted during your stay in Australia as a nurse. The period of stay can vary from different countries and you can contact the Immigration and Border Protection Department (IBDP) to check your visa status. I've heard of some universities offering Bridging Programs with a period of one year. It would be better if you could contact APHRA and ask them directly.

Cheers........

littlemissnurse07 · Sep 18, 2014

Thanks for the advice dbluke! :)

jerwin1986 · Nov 8, 2014

if you're an overseas nurse who had just been registered with AHPRA and you had 3 or more years of nursing experience in your home country, the best thing to do is to apply for a PR. you would definitely be very much qualified for a PR visa. ok, let's all face reality..it's really hard to find sponsorship in Australia for a nursing job, albeit this country really needs a lot of nurses (so many job vacancies for nurses, yet just a few institutions and health facilities offering sponsorship). if it's the expenses that you're worried about, a wise move would be to apply for a nursing job in UK, work there for 2 to 3 years, than transfer to Aussie without having to worry about the "overly-priced" nursing bridging course in Aussie :)

samosasam · Nov 13, 2014

Hey..do a U.K. registered - trained outside Europe nurse require bridging program to register with AHPRA?

dbluke · Dec 2, 2014

Probably not . Registration is mandatory to work as an RN. APHRA might ask you to produce the academic transcripts and your UK registration for the assessment. It is the same for NZ and Ireland

gloucenurse07 · Dec 5, 2014

It depends also in your area of specialization and the license you are gonna apply for. They prefer those who have worked in special areas such as NICU ICu etc