New grad Filipino nurse wanting to work in Australia/New Zealand

[rnrn07]

Hi everyone, please help me.

I graduated last march 2007 here in the Philippines and I have my license here already.

Because of oversupply of nurses here, it's too difficult to find a job.

That's why I'm looking forward to working in Australia or New Zealand.

However, I'm confused. Esp about Australia.

I already have my bachelors degree here.

When I go there in Aus to work as RN, must I take a diploma in nursing first? can I work while studying?

After obtaining my diploma there, am I already a registered nurse?

Thank you!

[javRN]

I have a theoretical question. Anyone may answer. Do you think experienced, supposing two years, ICU nurse from a premiere hospital in the Philippines would meet the recency of practise standard? Like cioman, can BP be legally bypassed if the nurse considered is extra qualified, supposing, aside from being an ICU nurse he also got MSN. Thanks.

This is an interesting question as I have thought about this too. Here is my speculation:

According to the New Application form for Overseas Nurses the following categories of qualifications are as follows: (italics my comments)

In accordance with section 53 of the National Law, to be eligible for General

Registration you must be qualifi ed for general registration in the health

profession.

To be qualified you must either:

a. hold an approved qualifi cation for the health profession;

(graduates of approved nursing educational programs in Australia; BN, DIPLOMA, MSN,MN etc..; any nationality as long as the education was undertaken in Australia usually in a University setting and usually 3 years in duration )

or

b. hold a qualification that the National Board considers to be substantially

equivalent, or based on similar competencies, to an approved

qualifi cation;

( in the previous stateboards, this category include those with qualifications to practise in UK, Ireland, Singapore, Hongkong, USA, and certain EU countries plus having at least 1 year fulltime equivalent work experience and at the time of application must be practising as nurse in preceeding six months( meaning the work experience is very recent; even if the work experience is twelve years, but the practioner's last pracitse was more than 6 months ago, he is no longer qualified in this category( b). the nursing education may have been taken in the prevously mentioned countries. This category may include a Pinoy with BSN from let's say Medina College in Ozamiz City, but has a license to practise in one of the above countries and has at least 1 year full time equivalent nursing experience in that country.

At one point South African qualifications were included in this category but was then considered to be under category ©: I think the New NMBA will generally follow the same pattern although changes are bound to happen because the various boards before have different say on this area.)

or

c. hold a qualification, not referred to in (a) or (b), relevant to the health

profession AND have successfully completed an examination or other

assessment required by the National Board for the purpose of general

registration in the health profession;

(This is where most of us will fall under; We have to take the BP, CAS, or other Pre- registration courses.

or

d. hold a qualification, not referred to in (a) or (b), that under the National

Law, or a corresponding prior Act, qualifi ed you for general registration in

the health profession AND you were previously registered on the basis of

holding that qualifi cation.

(This is where our lucky cioman belongs. ( corresponding Prior Act in NT) and no one can go through this pathway anymore.) Practioners under this category are perfectly legitimate and legal and they have the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as with categories a,b, and c.

So unless you get a license from the countries in category b and have a one year fulltime equivalent nursing work experience in that country so that you may be considered under category (b), I think that even if you gain a PhD in nursing from Silliman or Cebu Normal University and you have 2 years ICU experience in St luke's or PGH, you will need to undergo a BP or CAS or similar assessments the Board may consider in the future under category ©.

for recency of practise, nursing practise outside australia is considered as long as you have the authority to practise in that area and the nature of the setting is similar to that of an australian setting.

Holders of NZ license may apply through another pathway using the transtasman mutual act.

Just my 2 cents a penny. But thats the most logical i can think of.

[bekimon]

hello, my 1st post here, tho been reading this thread for months, anyway, hope you could help me guys with my problem. I applied to NSW and NBV, I received my "letter" from NBV just this week. Problem is I much prefer to do the BP in NSW as I have a relative there who will take me under her wing, as compared to doing my BP in Vic which will be much much more expensive. but I still lack some papers for NSW like the verification and good standing from my US license.

What should I do? shall i still submit my papers to NSW?, Is there a reciprocity thing for the BP?

[drednag]

what are you waiting for? finish your bp then apply for licensure with nmba. get your license, then look for an employer!

don't wait till nmba will change its mind. naaah it wont change its mind. your eligibility letter i think is still valid.

whoa, javrn, chill..hehehehehe;)...i am actually due to take my bp this september..im using my eligibility letter from nbv though. i just wanted to make sure, all previously issued letters of eligibility are still valid..thanks for your input. :)

[kuri_288]

count me in, choosing between Univ of Ballarat Sept and Etea Oct.

hey! im aiming for the october intake too. but UB-WLI is too far and I havent considered ETEA yet.

Why didn't you consider Mercy Health if you don't mind me asking?:)

[javRN]

@drednag

hahahaha! if i were in your shoes, i would be thinking the same and would want to hear words that would dispel our doubts. if you already have enrolled and the bp provider accepted your payment, then that's the time we know for sure that previously issued letters are still valid. to those of you who were issued letters prior to july 1 and have successfully enrolled in a bp program after july 1, please share so we will all be relieved!

[ceridwyn]

Thank you for your kind words. Of course I respect your option not to buy the explanation offered. I choose to disregard your deleted comments on me going to law school and defend Ned Kelly, as I am not sure of your communicative intent. I don't know if it was meant to insult, to inject Oz humor, or to compliment.

Getting perfect scores in IELTS does not guarantee that miscommunication won't ever occur when communicating in English. It is true that there is a standard meaning for "bending the rules", "legal", or "back door" no matter in what country those words are spoken. But the meanings can change depending on the context, the background knowledge of the speaker, and the communicative intent the speaker has in mind. Conversely, It does not mean that a person whose scores in IELTS are all 5s cannot communicate effectively in English and I agree with you that the IELTS is not a true measure of one's "communicable language"( in my country, because it feels awkward we don't normally use the adjective "communicable" to describe language; because for us its standard meaning is capability of being communicated; or capable of being transmitted by infection as in "communicable disease"; it can also mean contagious; or readily communicated as in "communicable ideas", we don't normally use it to describe language because language is the medium in which ideas are made communicable. But it is perfectfly normal, acceptable and correct in your country). I think IELTS is culturally biased but IELTS will have to used until a better measure is developed.

The background context and background experience of the person is very important in conveying meaning, and we use language as a medium to convey meaning. Take for example the very simple word "FARM". Take the word farm, close your eyes and picture it in your mind. The word farm in English is supposed to have the same meaning, whether the person using it has an IELTS score of 5, or has an IELTS score of 9, or whether the user of the word is English, Kiwi, Filipino or Indian. But the picture the word farm will conjure in your mind I bet is totally different from the the picture it will trigger in my mind. To you it may give you pictures of brocolli fields, wide sprawling fields of wheat, or cows or kangaroos or whatever depending on your experience with farm. I am sure the picture you had in mind would not include a carabao, rice paddies, a buffalo drawn plough, bamboos and coconuts etc.., but this is exactly the picture I will have in mind when I think of the word farm. It would differ from yours. And I think that there is greater likelihood that a Filipino would think of the same pictures because of shared experiences and shared backgrounds. And the word farm is supposed to have the same meaning in the English language, right?

To illustrate further that background knowldge and context is important in conveying meaning, read the following paragraph:

The procedure is extremely quite simple. First you separate the items into different groups according to color. Of course one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere esle due to lack of facilities, that's the next step. Otherwise you are pretty well set.

The immediately preceeding paragraph when read casually by an English language user( Kiwi, Australian, Kenyan, Filipino, IELTS fiver or niner) in great likelihood would be hard pressed to understand the meaning conveyed when deprived of the context the paragraph was made. Even if there is no difficulty in understanding the individual words contained therein. The words: facilities, pretty, procedure, sufficient, etc. are simple words that can be understood quite easily by the reader. But devoid of background context and communicative intent, the paragraph simply does not make sense.

But when provided with background context and communicative intent in which the paragraph was made, see how it changes everything. If I provide you a background about the paragraph and let's say the intent was to describe "Washing Clothes". Now read back the paragraph and keep in mind " Washing Clothes", you will be surprised this time to discover that the paragraph is not senseless at all.

The same way, if you read casually the posts of lithotomy(a fellow forumer who is very smart) in this thread; devoid of the knowledge of his communicative intent you would readily conclude that this person is dumb, stupid, and incorrigible. Then you would wonder how this person can possibly pass IELTS. But that's the judgment a reader would make if he does not know the background of his posts. I hold him in high regard because I know the context that his posts are deliberate in order to inject humor. A Filipino humor that is hard to understand if you do not share the same backgrounds. If you can only see the response of kreuger to his posts you would definitely agree with kreuger.

I only tried to provide context regarding the "rule bending" post terdjay has made. Of course I could be wrong but I hope I am right. If what he really meant was to cheat, or misrepresent then let us come arm to arm in trying to catch him and with the aid of your friend from the Board and your solicitor hubby let us strive to put him behind bars. Hell, why defend him in the first place, it was his arrogance ( met by my own higher arrogance) that led to a regretable exchange of harsh words that made silverdragon to close this thread for a day, to the dismay of other forumers, and also to my shame.

Oh boy this is really off topic. But I do hope ceridwyn that you interrupt this thread from time to time because somehow you provoke thought. I may not always agree with you and vice versa, but you are always welcome here. You can post anytime here as nobody owns this thread.

And to my dearest terdjay, I am sorry for deliberately trying to bully you because I felt that you were trying to bully an old man like me (to think you are so young and my eldest daughter is probably as old as you are). It appeared that way to me but as you clarifed your communicative intent, I realise I was wrong. Enough of the childish dramas, don't limit yourself to 199 posts. You are needed here and ryan will be glad to have you back, as well as the other forumers. I hope you extend your love not only to ryan but to all of us. (Remember ryan's picture with the girls? He's already filled with love.Acc. to my idol= all girls him only boy).

Who says we can't quarrel and make up afterwards?

With all due respect, yet again, believe me when you say the word 'farm'and you are talking to someone from the asian region, we here in Australia are not totally culturally ignorant, no matter what you all think! As nurses to be culturally sensitive is part of our nursing degree ....pity does not work both ways at times......had to console many a patient that is not of english speaking, because a nurse from non-english speaking background, could not be bothered with someone from their part of the world, such as Italy, Greece, Aftica.....yes us of british heritage are not the only ones that are racist...going a bit off, off topic here.

So, when someone from Asia mentions backdoor, we too, think of that persons back door whether it be in wood, shingles, bamboo, whatever....and bending the rules is still bending the rules whether you are closing your eyes or not.....gees..us..you can talk the leg of an iron pot....and on that subject this Terd..jay lives in Australia.....knows the right lingo, wink, wink, say no more....

......if you have the gift of the gab, you can do or be anything......and yet maybe, for many with the gift of the gab, know nothing... (old Australian saying)......

.Not that knowing nothing is meant for you....as you appear to be very knowledgable about many things. :)

I personally hope the new board does review everything very carefully......and yes my lawyer husband does works for the health department, is this a problem, that it needs to be said? as I did edit it as I thought it did not need to be known....

To all those past and future that apply using the back door and bending the rules, just close your eyes and imagine a big circle,, with a triangle turning around inside this big circle, and everytime the corner of the triangle meets the circle, it pricks your consiousness, hope you can live with it.....

To those that apply with clear concious and are accepted and are workers and can see what needs to be done, welcome, its great to have you onboard .

[sweet_toothRN]

hello, my 1st post here, tho been reading this thread for months, anyway, hope you could help me guys with my problem. I applied to NSW and NBV, I received my "letter" from NBV just this week. Problem is I much prefer to do the BP in NSW as I have a relative there who will take me under her wing, as compared to doing my BP in Vic which will be much much more expensive. but I still lack some papers for NSW like the verification and good standing from my US license.

What should I do? shall i still submit my papers to NSW?, Is there a reciprocity thing for the BP?

Hi there bekimon and welcome! May I ask when did you send your application and other documents to NBV? Thanks.

[javRN]

......if you have the gift of the gab, you can do or be anything......and yet maybe, for many with the gift of the gab, know nothing... (old Australian saying)......

I agree. I like the saying above in the same manner I like Socrates when he said " wisest is he who knows that he does not know."

I also personally hope the new board does review everything very carefully; and I trust the board is capable and will do its duty to protect the public.

[bekimon]

Hi there bekimon and welcome! May I ask when did you send your application and other documents to NBV? Thanks.

I sent my applications first week of April

[shynern07]

hi everyone, im just new here. i just saw the new forms by the board. I would just like to ask the following:

a.) is PRC Board Certificate of Registration and Board Rating still needed as a requirement or just the PRC Certificate of Good Standing? It would be mailed by PRC direct to the Nurses Board, right?

b.) What are the academic qualifications needed? Just the BSN diploma, TOR and RLE records? Am i right? Could it be just a certified tru copy of each? Is it also necessary that the school would be mailing the requirements direct to the Nursing Board?

Also, is highschool diploma still needed?

c.) Section E: Work History

This means the work experience certificate by the employer right? Then we would still be making our CV or not?

Also, do you reckon that the Board will accept my application though I only have a voluntary experience and not a paid one? =(

Thanks a bunch!

[sweet_toothRN]

Thanks bekimon! Congratulations and happy (BP) school hunting! :)

[javRN]

@bekimon

hi, welcome to the thread. i think the best that you can do is call The College of Nursing in Burwood NSW, as it's the only program in NSW that offers BP for overseas trained nurses ( the University of Wollongong, used to have the BN for overseas but i can't seem to find the link). The College of Nursing in Burwood requires a letter from the former NMBNSW to be admitted to the program. please ask them if they would consider the NBV letter as you can no longer get an NMBNSW letter because the overseas RN registration matters are now under the AHPRA-NMBA. this has never been tried before. hope they will consider it and it would be nice if you can share with us the outcome. just google " the nursing college burwood nsw" and you will find the contact info. thanks