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

World Immigration

Updated:   Published

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!

Specializes in Aged Care.

@rajotolentino

hi sir,

you are very lucky to have 2 nurses in the family! if you intend to work and/or migrate here, i am sure you will find australia very nice. in order to work here you really need to invest effort, money and time. but i assure you the rewards will be great. this is a very long forum with almost 600 pages. i hope some of the forumers will take time to answer your queries one by one. but while waiting for their response/s, i suggest you do some back-reading of the pages. yes it's really long, even longer than noli me tangere but the information you gather will be worth the time. i myself have read this entire thread from page one to the last page more than three times since 2008. Most of the answers to your questions have already been answered and also by reading the entire thread, you can see the ups and downs, victories and defeats of fellow forumers in their quest to become nurses in australia. i hope you have a good time reading and finding your answers. Good luck and congratulations to you for deciding to give australia a try as it's an awesome country to work and live in. If you are really in a hurry, maybe you can start at page 350. cheers and mabuhay!

Specializes in ER / RENAL / ICU.
Hello sir,

Depends on the employer and on your negotiation skills. Technically they can give you the lowest level because you are recently registered in Oz. Although a lot also would depend on which state you practise. Each state has an Industrial agreement which varies depending on the state. The Industrial agreement is akin to our minimum wage law in the Phils though not totally the same. But generally, yes, your experience outside Australia is counted.

Thank you sir :)

Specializes in Aged Care.

but as a summary:

1. start by getting registration. read AHPRA website. when registered, apply for work, decide on various pathways- working visa, employer sponsored PR visa, Regional sponsored PR visa etc. then work according to how rich you want to become.

2. self apply or agency: either is OK. depends on your preference, money, willingness to do research

3. this is very interesting. i hope others will explain. I don't know about your specific case. you may or may not need experience to be registered. but to find employment afterwards, if you have loads of experience your chances are high

4. yep. you are right. u already have an idea

5 depends on the work rights of your visa type. some have work restriction, some don't. restriction will be lifted if you are granted another visa that has work rights. it varies in length. earliest is 2weeks for some it may take months.

6. assurance of job? hmmm. let's just say. if you don't get a licence, definitely you will not find a job as a nurse.

if you want details, i think you just have to take time reading the entire thread. hope this helps

Specializes in Med-Surg / ICU / Aged Care.
@rajotolentino

hi sir,

you are very lucky to have 2 nurses in the family! if you intend to work and/or migrate here, i am sure you will find australia very nice. in order to work here you really need to invest effort, money and time. but i assure you the rewards will be great. this is a very long forum with almost 600 pages. i hope some of the forumers will take time to answer your queries one by one. but while waiting for their response/s, i suggest you do some back-reading of the pages. yes it's really long, even longer than noli me tangere but the information you gather will be worth the time. i myself have read this entire thread from page one to the last page more than three times since 2008. Most of the answers to your questions have already been answered and also by reading the entire thread, you can see the ups and downs, victories and defeats of fellow forumers in their quest to become nurses in australia. i hope you have a good time reading and finding your answers. Good luck and congratulations to you for deciding to give australia a try as it's an awesome country to work and live in. If you are really in a hurry, maybe you can start at page 350. cheers and mabuhay!

@javRN.... hahahaha, noli me tangere, nice one javRN.... perhaps its el filibusterismo....

@rajotolentino.... i agree with javRN and recommend you read this thread, it's your life at stake here... besides you may notice that me cioman had already existed in page 30... anyways, to encourage you a bit, here's the effort i made in order to get an australian nursing license:

way back in late 2008, i spent 6-9 hours every day for 3 successive weeks in the internet cafe reading/researching about nursing in australia.. way back then, there were 8 nursing boards, i browsed each and all websites of that 8 nursing boards and read all the nursing policies of each of the 8 nursing boards.. (of course i paid hundreds of pesos to the internet cafe)... i did it because it is my future that is at stake.. you are lucky there is only 1 nursing board now on which you should research on as advised by javRN..

nonetheless, just shoot your questions and we will answer them as javRN has already answered it (shown above post)..

welcome and good luck...

Specializes in Med-Surg / ICU / Aged Care.
me and my wife are planning to work in australia. we need help in some of our quiries:

1. what is the first step in applying for work in Oz? who should we contact first? ANSWERED BY javRN

2. can we apply on our own or should we find and agency to help us? ANSWERED by javRN

3. how many hospital experience do they require? Depends on whose point of view or requirement: the AHPRA/Nursing Board (as i understand based on what other forumers had explained) may not require experience as long as you undergo BP... The BP Schools, many of them require experience (but some do not require), so you must also check which BP school you may qualify relative to your length of experience... The employers/hospital, that's another thing, meaning some employer require certain number of years of experience, while some do not.. Now you see that it depends whose point of view the experience requirement would matter...

4. how long does the bridging program last? some say 3 months while others say 1 year... YES you have an idea as javRN said, and for further details check each BP schools and read AHPRA too..

5. are we allowed to work while undertaking the bridging program? if not, then when will that restriction be lifted? If you enter australia as an immigrant, then you can work any job without limitations (of course you cannot work as RN because you do not have yet an Aus RN license).. if you enter under student, 456 visa, well there are limitations on the number of work hours and that is if you are allowed to work.. check the "DIAC Australia" website (just google it and you'll find it), australian immigration laws and visas had been changing recently so better read that site for updated policies like working hours..After you finish your BP, and once you get an employer then you will process your working visa, then you can now work full time..

6. is there an asurance of a job upon finishing the BP? depends on your resume esp. length of experience, but here's the thing, if you have a 6 months experience as a volunteer nurse or undergone 6 mos. nursing training in a hospital, my bet is that you can find job somewhere in far north queensland near the great barrier reef, or in the rural towns of south australia where forest/bush fires occur or in Tasmania.. my opinion is (opinion ko lang ha, others may correct me), that yes you can find job surely, the question is what nursing job and where....

we are both filipino nurses by the way where in the philippines are you? GMA? Batanes? Davao?

thanks...

:nurse:

GOOD LUCK..

Even in your own baranggay, you can approach the Brgy chairman and talk with the Public Health nurse and come up with a project that would address the health needs of the community. You may use COPAR, health campaigns, case finding, health teachings, immunisations, Mothers' classes etc..you can work alone or in groups of 5 or groups of 50 etc. create a health program. consult your professors and ask for assitance on how to create such programs, boy the possibilities are endless.... just because you can't work in a hospital setting doesn't mean you can perform roles that impact on safe, effective delivery of services in the nursing profession and/ or use your professional nursing skills."

Great idea. Community nursing is still nursing! This would be a great addition in the Philippine thread. Anyone who wants to start a community program in Metro Manila, PM me. I can use a couple of you :)

i can't seem to reach AHPRA thru phone, I really can't call them several times a day as I have work 8-5, I've emailed regarding my problem, but no reply yet..hmmm what to do what to do...

Specializes in Aged Care.

@bekimon

i think ahpra is really busy with the transition and just imagine the number of calls from practitioners whose expiry dates are not as expected, certain qualifications no longer there.. etc. if TCN in burwood will accept your NBV. then that should be ok. if they accept tbe nbv letter, many of the people here will be happy because it means that bps are no longer confined to the state where application for registration was made. im wondering though if you have contacted tcn in burwood nsw. and that would also mean that letters from nmbwa will also be accepted in other states.

yeah bekimon. im sure people here are just waiting for you to tell them how it goes :)

Will being an MD help?

has anyone tried applying with MERCY HEALTH?

and for those who did, do you have to have 2 years of paid experience?

Specializes in Aged Care.
Will being an MD help?

hi antigone,

i assume you are also a doctor. being a doctor at the same time is helpful in the sense that it may equip the practioner with better physical assessment skills which in turn is important in nursing . however, it may also disadvantage the person when working as a nurse and because of being an MD, the person might perform things that are essentially good but outside the scope of nursing practice. this has happened not only in australia but also in the USA which resulted to some form of liability and loss of RN license. if you know your scope of practice and operate only within that scope, there will never be a problem.

if what you mean is if by being an MD helpful in obtaining an RN license in lieu of nursing experience, i think it is not. when obtaining a license to practise as a nurse, you must meet the essential standards established by ahpra-nmba, MD education is not considered Nursing education and MD work experience is also not considered RN experience.

if you are an md, there is also another pathway to work in australia as an md. MDs are in high demand especially in the regional and rural areas. although you still need to meet the essential requirements set by ahpra-mba (medical board of australia). registration details for international MDs can also be accessed through the ahpra website.

although there is no restriction in being registered in both professions here in Oz, on the practical side you only need to choose one. whether you choose md or rn pathway, it is still expected to cost you a lot of money. you still need ielts, and pass exams. for md, the first round of exams will cost you more than 2k aud, and the clinical component will cost you more than 4k. if you are smart and have access to australian medical practice principles ( the diseases and treatments are basically the same but the way of doing things really differ), it is possible to pass the exams in just one take. so you are expected to spend approximately 7k. in contrast to BP for OS nurses, the cheapest now is around 10k.

if you are a medical specialist already, there is yet another pathway. but that would be another story... good luck

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