World International
Published Apr 18, 2003
Aime
13 Posts
I'm a Div 2 nurse living in a large rural town in Victoria, and am on the casual nurse bank for the public hospital. Since being fortunate enough to get on the bank in March, I've been getting at least two shifts a week, but since exhausting all my saving whilst putting myself through the nursing course, all extra shifts are welcome at the present time, but those extra shifts just aren't coming. Some of the girls I graduated with aren't getting any work at all, yet the system is still pumping out at least 60 Div 2 nurses into what appears to be an overcrowded local workplace each year. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problem?? and is the situation the same in Melbourne??? We even have Div 1's that are struggling to find enough shifts to make ends meet, yet the papers are always full of reports of a "huge nursing shortage". What's going on here???
redshiloh
345 Posts
Gee...move HERE. We have had situations in which there are NO applicants for a nursing position.
renerian, BSN, RN
5,693 Posts
Wow I have not heard that. We sure could use you in the states.
renerian
J. Tigana
59 Posts
There are plenty of nursing jobs in England. You could come and get one. By the way what are division one and two nurses.
OzNurse69
245 Posts
Definitely not the same in the capital cities - I'd be interested to know which town you are in (PM me if you like). "Large" towns e.g. Ballarat, Bendigo etc. I would imagine would be more likely to use more casuals, whereas "large" towns along the Horsham, Traralgon would probably give their extra shifts to permanent part-time staff before using bank - just my observation, anyway.
But move to a capital city, & you'll get all the shifts you want, as long as you are flexible.
pickledpepperRN
4,491 Posts
Perhaps the better staffing keeps the nurses working in Victoria:
http://www.calnurse.org/cna/calnursesepoct01/austrn.html
The union movement "should be about more than just salary and benefits," says Belinda Morieson,
RN. She illustrates this principle by detailing how the nurses organization she heads went about
winning the first legally mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratio anywhere.
That accomplishment, and its ramifications in improving the quality of patient care, have captured
the imagination of nurses across her native Australia and around the world, fueling their
determination to raise the issue of staffing ratios to a new level.
It has also served to underscore that working conditions are the most common cause of the
worldwide shortage of nurses working in hospitals and better staffing ratios the increasingly
accepted formula for ending the crisis.
Morieson is secretary - the leading position - of the Victoria
Branch of the Australian Nursing Association. Since
securing nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in that Australian
state last year, 2,600 nurses who had moved to work in
other settings have returned to the hospitals there. This has
meant an overall 13 percent increase in the active nursing
workforce.
This was due in part to reentry and refresher courses
conducted by the major hospitals and overseen by the board
of nursing. Over 1,600 of the returning nurses came through
the courses and last month there were 300 nurses waiting
for training slots.
RN from OZ
75 Posts
Wow move on over the the Central Coast in NSW ! we have no applicants for positions that we advertise in medical wards esp as well and a terrible midwife shortage...we are almsot at crisis point at my hosp and there is talk of closing Labour ward !
gwenith, BSN, RN
3,755 Posts
Move to QLD this sounds like a local phenomena. You should be able to register in other states - apply through your registration board. If you are worried apply for work through a nursing agency before you move.
Grace Oz
1,294 Posts
Must correct two INCORRECT statements in the article (link)posted by spacenurse.
Firstly, in Australia we DO NOT have LPN's! Apart from RN's, we have ENROLLED NURSES-(EN's), also called DIVISION TWO nurses in Victoria. It would have been polite for the author of that article to use the correct title for our other level nurses! There is a difference between the US LPN & our AUSTRALIAN EN.Both the training AND the resultant qualification are DIFFERENT. Yes, I see the two compared & equalised all the time, but they ARE DIFFERENT. An Australian EN would NOT qualify to work as an LPN in the USA.
Secondly; The article stated that;"Victoria is the 2nd largest state in Australia"... HELLO???!!!
If the author intends that statement to reflect NUMBERS (of nurses), then I'll stand corrected. If however, said author intends it to describe state size.... then I'd suggest said author takes some geography lessons!
Nuff said.
Cheers,
Grace
auzzie
1 Post
I think the answer is obvious. MOVE.
There is definitely a shortage of both RNs and ENs in all major cities in Australia.
Beds have been closed and more will be because of our current shortage. It is unfortunate though that the answer means having to leave your current home but hey if you need work you need work.
sehbear
64 Posts
Re: spacenurse comments post #6
Belinda Morieson is my absolute hero!
I beleive that the nurse patients ratios, although will need to be continually reviewed, are certainly a fanastic concept. I beleive this has lead a number of staff back into the workforce into permanent positions therefore the need for casual staff is reduced. I think you will find that causal staff can only be used to fill sick leave and leave of unexpected absences as opposed to the days of old - well not that long ago really - when roster shortfalls are filled with casuals....
Spacenurse how do you know of the great Belinda all the way over there in the states? very interested to know.
:)
ozziern
9 Posts
There are small country towns just over the NSW/VIC border screaming for nurses. Wagga And Albury are also on the lookout. Your hospital is lucky to have a steady nursing workforce. Ihope the hierarchy appreciate it.