Nursing student could not find a job while studying ...

[Butterfly_Light]

I'm an international student currently having finished my first semester of Bachelor Nursing Degree but not done my first clinical placement yet. I live in Darwin, Australia. I tried to apply for a job in Residential Aged care Facilities and was told that Certificate III in Aged Care is preferred and because I don't have experience in physical care. Although I stated that I'm keen to learn and willing to commit to long-term training, it was said that University Students are not as skillful as vocational ones.

I wonder why employers always ask me to have experience but no-one gives me opportunity to gain it?

I started desperate as my university just teaches me theories and unnecessary academic essays, and I'm not learning basic nursing skills. I wish to pursue a career as an aged care registered nurse but I feel like my course is just focusing on scientific and clinical aspects of Acute Care. My study plan has itself eliminated gerontology and aged care placement.

Is there any other Australian student like me outside there ... ? Just give me some advice.

[awentz01]

Try again after you have done your first clinical placements. Residential facilities are more open to people who have hands on experience as they want to hire someone who has experience, not someone that they will have to train. Once you have completed a clinical placement try again and maybe see if your clinical tutors will be your reference?

I have just completed my bachelor of nursing and I found the same thing while I was training.

The more experience you have from your placements the easier you will find it to find some work :)

[Butterfly_Light]

Thank you for your advice, ashleighw. What you're thinking is what I'm thinking. Actually, my first placement is an only 2-week duration, and I'm just afraid that 2 weeks can not be considered as minimum experience.

By the way, where did you go after your bachelor degree,friend... ? do you undertake a nurse graduate program... ?

[Mopples]

I'm guessing your at CDU? You need to have completed your first year of your nursing degree to work as an AIN. Some places even wallet second year. Try again once you have completed first year.

[Butterfly_Light]

Thank you Mopples. But the problem is that I took the July commence and my study plan has transferred the first placement to second year (the end of semester 1). So I have no practical units in year 1. That makes me feel frustrated.

I guess that you're studying in other university, right? Because we don't have AINs here but PCAs (Patient Care Assistants). But usually there are not many hospitals and PCA vacancies, so we may be in high competition and surely the local students will have priority rather than me.

In Aged Care, it's referred to as Personal Care Assistant working under Registered Nurse's Supervisory. And I think that many opportunities will open to me in this sector as not many students like working in aged care due to lower wages compared to hospital settings.

Cheers

[tristessa]

I know a lot of aged care facilities and hospitals advertise for Assistants In Nursing with either Certificate 3 or people who are students in Undergraduate Nursing degrees-usually have done 2nd or 3rd year of Uni. Keep going, don't give up, you sound enthusiastic and hopeful an employer will see this and give you a job.. Good luck

[pfongk]

I work in Queensland at an aged care facility as an AIN and the facility I work at regularly hires students following their placements. The company I work for even put me through my cert 3 in aged care. You may be able to get a job somewhere else in a facility and then transfer over to nursing. We've had a fair few staff do that, they've gone from diversional therapy or hospitality services to nursing and then work pays for them to do their cert 3 or even their EEN/RN.

[Mopples]

I actually started my degree at CDU, but have since changed uni's. I was also a mid year starter, so I know where your coming from. You will need to have completed NUR125 ( I think it is now, or whatever the prac unit is). It used to be 3 weeks when I did it, have they shortened it?

It is annoying to have to wait, but rules are rules unfortunately. I had originally enrolled in a cert III aged care at the same time I started my degree, but I got a job as a ward clerk, so never completed it.

[Butterfly_Light]

It's true that my friends studying nursing in Sydney became assistant in nursing after completing 1st year. But I think it should be more difficult for me, as we don't have many hospitals or nursing homes here while there are a lot of students undertaking nursing course at CDU. It's so sad

[Butterfly_Light]

I work in Queensland at an aged care facility as an AIN and the facility I work at regularly hires students following their placements. The company I work for even put me through my cert 3 in aged care. You may be able to get a job somewhere else in a facility and then transfer over to nursing. We've had a fair few staff do that, they've gone from diversional therapy or hospitality services to nursing and then work pays for them to do their cert 3 or even their EEN/RN.

I guess that you're a national student ??? Because the tuition fee for international ones seems to be fairly high and increasing more and more every year. So it's not easy for employers to pay for our courses' fee.

[Butterfly_Light]

I actually started my degree at CDU, but have since changed uni's. I was also a mid year starter, so I know where your coming from. You will need to have completed NUR125 ( I think it is now, or whatever the prac unit is). It used to be 3 weeks when I did it, have they shortened it?

It is annoying to have to wait, but rules are rules unfortunately. I had originally enrolled in a cert III aged care at the same time I started my degree, but I got a job as a ward clerk, so never completed it.

I'm not sure about the duration of placement but "2 weeks" or "3 weeks" is not the concern here because NUR125 was placed in my 2nd year while it must be in the 1st year. And now I'm so disappointed of just learning theory in my classes. I wonder why we have to sit for Bachelor Degree if we don't know basic nursing skills like other students do in their Cert III or IV. It's really unfair that after finishing Bachelor program, most of us are advised to apply into Graduate Programs.

[pfongk]

Yeah, I'm a local student. I also work for a company with over 8,000 staff so it's fairly large which I think helped.