newly qualified in UK - want to work in Sydney

gwenith, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

You can apply direct to a hospital. Quite a few will take applications directly from UK students but it will also take quite some time. We have a UK RN waitning to come over and it has taken 8 months!!

bonzer · Jul 27, 2006

Thanks Gwenith! So the fact that I may not have any post-qualification work experience (due to the fact that there are so few jobs here) won't necessarily matter?

gwenith, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

It IS preferred but as they say there is no harm in trying.

Deesha · Dec 20, 2006

Hey Bonza,

I have the same questions. I will hopefully be qualifying in Aug. 2007 and want to flee this place for Melbourne Aus. Since you posted your questions did you find out anything else other than what was posted by Quenith?

When do you qualify?

Niksta · Sep 25, 2007

Hey

I'v just read what you were saying about trying to work over in Austraila. If you do find threads or have anything on someone I could talk to about moving and working in Australia once i qualify in July 2008 would be very greatful.

Cheers

sister s · Sep 28, 2007

How come there are no jobs in the UK? Are there that many nurses over there? I can't understand why we are short of RNs and the UK has too many.

You could do a new graduate programme over here with one of the hospitals if you got your registration through a BN course. Lots of the hospitals run these. They take applications around this time of the year with a view to start the one year course in January. You get paid the same as a level 1 RN, but you get rotated around the wards and supported within a structured programme. You could visit the local health authority web pages for more information - eg. Queensland health.

Sun*shine · Sep 28, 2007

can you come onto the courses with a BN and no work experience? sounds like a good way of getting into a job there. Are they very expensive to do?

allnurses Guide · Sep 28, 2007

How come there are no jobs in the UK? Are there that many nurses over there? I can't understand why we are short of RNs and the UK has too many.
You could do a new graduate programme over here with one of the hospitals if you got your registration through a BN course. Lots of the hospitals run these. They take applications around this time of the year with a view to start the one year course in January. You get paid the same as a level 1 RN, but you get rotated around the wards and supported within a structured programme. You could visit the local health authority web pages for more information - eg. Queensland health.

There are definately not too many nurses in the UK what has happend is that the many of the NHS trusts have run out of money and are in debt so they are looking ways to save money. One of the ways to do that is to freeze recruitment and convert qualified jobs to unqualified. This means taht if anyone leaves a job then that job will be frozen and not recruited. ALso as I have just discovered when a member of staff reduces their hours if they are not used immediately then the department will loose them.

THe NHS is in crisis it has happened before and I am sure it will happen again, at the moment it is not the best place to try to find a job :uhoh3:

sister s · Sep 30, 2007

Yeah, that's what they're designed for - new nursing graduates with no experience. You don't pay - the government or private hospital pay you the going rate for a level one registered nurse. At the moment, before allowances, such as shift work, it's about $45,000 AUS. I imagine you'd have to be an Australian citizen or resident. I'm due to finish mine in January. They're desperate for rns over here. There's a lot more private hospitals than in the uk - the government subsidise private health and you don't pay as much tax if you have private health insurance. However, the public hospitals are better to work in as a nurse - the moneys better and the support is better because they're not profit driven. Also the patients, although 'low class' are not inclined to treat you like they're paying for a service!

I'm from the uk originally - good luck with your career - maybe I'll see you down here one day!

Sun*shine · Sep 30, 2007

that sounds super! experience is something that worries me a lot when i'm looking at potential jobs, people seem to want a good couple of years experience in the fields. i take it you must like things over there then to be settled! When you finish the course, doyou stay on to work at the hospital? Or are you free to move around jobs then?

veritas · Oct 2, 2007

the NHS is a mess! yet they keep advertising in Oz for nurses to go over to UK! promising the world to the aussie nurses if they go over to UK... while UK nurses r fleeing UK! strange world

have you tried ireland? seems like there's a need there... a lot of advertisements asking for nurses to go to ireland... it'll be easier for u to go to ireland than come to oz i think.. esp if u have no experience.

you can try applying to "transition" or "graduate" programs in oz. but in oz, graduate places are limited as they have to be paid for by the government, and are usually given to 1)local students from the particular state, 2) then interstate students, 3) then international people. internationals will always get picked last coz the domestic people have to be covered first. also visa application takes ages, requires sponsorship and costs money and a lot of paperwork.

transition and graduate programs are free as the costs are covered by government in the public hospitals and investors in the private hospitals.

be prepared to wait for a long time for the approval to come through. you have to apply to the state nursing board for approval before you can apply for any program or job in the country. this can take many many months. and if you change states, you will need to apply to the new state you change to. it is true. i know people who after 8 months are still waiting on approval. each state has a different nursing board. and different ways to apply for the programs. and different number of places available. you won't be guaranteed a place. i think there's on average at least 2 to 6 on-shore people applying for each available graduate position.

consider this: if u apply for the graduate or transition program, the place employing you has to shell out more money coz training, etc involves costs. but if you go straight into a position without being in any program, you are paid the salary and benefits and that's the end of it. to train a transition or graduate costs about $80,000 or more for each person. so there is a limit of positions available. the normal salary without training costs the hospital only about $50,000 a person. expensive thing training.

you can still apply for jobs without experience. as long as your degree is accredited and approved by the relevant nursing boards. the problem is this takes ages. so betweeen approval and getting the job, you'll probably have months to spare. what will you do then? you would not be able to work in Oz without approval. but i guess you might be able to work as auxiliary or domiciliary nurse. that's what most people do while waiting for approval. problem is how will you apply for immigration visa?

if you apply to the particular hospital you want to work for and they are willing to sponsor you for the visa, then they'll probably let you apply to work there as auxiliary nurse while your accredition is being approved.

usually if you do a program in one place, they want you to stay there for a few years after. coz they invested in you. if you leave they have to train someone else. esp in private hospitals. it's a waste of money to them if you leave with the skills they gave you. but in public systems, you might be able to change between facilities as they are under the same umbrella, so to speak.

i wouldn't necessarily say private or public is better. the standard is pretty much the same. the thing is private hospitals are usually not as large as public hospitals, so you don't get as much general exposure to differnt types of trauma or diseases. plus large hospitals are usually teaching hospitals so there's more diversity in cases and programs. private hospitals are more personal. everyone knows everyone. public hospitals being such huge places and staff being more or less "civil servants" are not as "intimate" as private hospital staff. i wouldn't necessarily say public has more support either. i find private hospitals to be just as supportive. preferably you'll join the nursing union to cover your ass whether you're in public or private. there are some really exceptional private hospitals around. and some good public ones too. each facility is different. and there's different personalities and cultures as well.

as a new grad without experience, if you get approved and accepted to work in oz, you'll most likely be on the med-surg general floor or mental or rehab wards. no ER, OR or ICU places. coz all the ICU, OR and ER places are even more expensive to train due to being specialties, and these places are usually given to domestic people...

hope this all helps!

:monkeydance: