Looking for information regarding being an emergency room nurse in Australia

lippy · Jan 14, 2013

hello, I work in regional south coast NSW hospital ED. Yes, there is bed delays due to the fact that a lot of the smaller hospitals have to transfer their pts to major hospitals for review. We do not have orthopaedics, paediatrics, obstets,only do minor surgery...so hence heaps have to either get treated and discharged from our hospital or transferred. The smaller hospitals do not have trauma call teams, resus teams, resp teams ... we are it!!! so we as RN's tend to utilise our advance skills more...but no extra pay which is dissappointing. However, I like utilising my skills, sometimes by the time the doctor has "clicked off" on the EMR to see the pt, all the pathology,radiology results are back, the pt is painfree and hydrated if required!!!!

We have had pts in our ED for days waiting for transfer , generally we can transfer pts to our wards for routine medical admits. Mental health system not so great here. the pt has to be medically cleared by ED m.o then they get seen by psych clinical nurse consultant then have to wait for a psych registrar to get admitted!!!! I feel very sorry for these pts . They are already stressed out of their brains and have to sit in the ed sometimes for more than 24hrs and we have a large mental health unit attached to the hospital!!!

jenah9 · Jan 16, 2013

Hello,

I just came to Australia from Houston, Texas I got my nursing license in Canada and I am hoping to start within a month in emergency. I am in WA and went for a tour of a level 1 trauma center I asked about TNCC PALS and ACLS (becuase mine just expired) she said it is not necessary for this particular hospital but a lot of the nurses do have it. Thats all I know so far. If you need any help from a american/canadian nurse let me know!

markbrewn · Mar 12, 2013

Hi Jenah9,

Hope everything is going well with you there.

I am planning to move to Australia. I have a critical care experience in the US.

How is the work in Australia compared to the US?

How did your application in APHRA go?

Thanks in advance.

joeldew · Mar 15, 2013

How does a "normal" day run? (I know its an ER... what is normal!) Do many hospitals have extended bed delay for the ambulances? Or hold admitted patients in the ER due to lack of beds?
Also are extra qualifications such as TNCC (trauma nurse core course) ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) needed before employment?
If so where is a good place to take the classes in NSW?
I'm taking the first steps in moving from the USA to Australia. I'll be coming from February through March this next year. Hoping to get as much done as possible to make the official (next December) move more straight forward. Any info you share would be wonderful.

G'day,

I work in ED of a major hospital in NSW

We have five units within ED:

- Acute

- Sub Acute

- Extended Stay

- Pediatrics Emergency

- Resuscitation

(Of course, the above units are contained within any major hospital)

The Trauma Unit (with whom we closely work) is another ward altogether.

We try to assess, treat and manage patients within 4 hours of admission.

If the patient requires further management, he/she will be often admitted into the wards.

Of course, there have been times when there are "bed blockages"; in which case, the patient remains in ED for a longer period of time until a bed is made available.

The qualifications you mentioned are not required to work in ED. The Hospital in which you work will provide training and mentoring to ensure that you achieve the required competencies. The rate of mobility and progression is a major contributing factor for deciding which hospital to work. For example, some major hospitals require their nurses to have at least two years experience in Acute, Sub Acute and Pediatrics Emergency before being trained in Resuscitation whilst others would have commenced triaging by the end of their second year in ED.

ED nursing is challenging at the best of times but very rewarding.

Best of luck in your endeavor!

redrn007 · Apr 6, 2013

Thank you for the information, it has been very helpful. I'm planning on moving to the coastal NSW area. What is the nurse patient ratio at your hospital?

redrn007 · Apr 6, 2013

Hi Jenah9--

How is work going in WA? Any major differences you notice in being a nurse from USA? How long will you be staying in Australia? Did you buy a car or are you using public transportation?