Opportunities for employment in foreign countries

fly-gal · May 17, 2005

Yes, there are plenty. Australia like the US is suffering from a shortage of nurses. I am currently planning my move from San Francisco to Sydney - but there are tons of great cities in Australia who need nurses so you have a lot of choices.

The only problem is, as an American nurse, you need to commit a minimum of one year as it's very unlikely that any hospital or agency will go through all the cost and paperwork to sponsor your work visa, if you plan to work for less than that. Since the US has no work exhange programs, we are not eligible for the working holiday visa program which allows people of EU and commonwealth countries, among others, to work 3 months at a time for up to a year.. another reason for America to not close it's borders so tightly.. but I won't get into that.

Let me know if you have other questions - I can help with the whole process of applying for registration as I'm in the midst of it myself but I'll let the locals sell you on their various locales.

gwenith, BSN, RN · May 18, 2005

We don't have "travel nursing" as I understand it. You can come out and work for an agency and go to different hospitals but don't forget that most of our hospitals are public and an awful lot like long term employees.

I tell everyone NOT to come out here to do rural/remote nursing as our rural/remote can be very isolated (think middle of Yukon). The laws governing practice are different, practice itself is slightly different, even some of the generic names are diffferent. It is a minefield - however, if you work at a larger city for a while you will adapt and then be able to work in some of the more remote areas.

Tigger_RN94 · Jun 1, 2005

Gwenith,

In one of your other posts [i think] you mentioned about Government hospitals vs. private ones. Could you expand a little on that for me. I'm a BSN with 10 yrs experience, have worked for our government [Veterans Hospitals] for the entire 10 years.

I will be moving to Victoria next year to marry my current boyfriend who is an Aussie. I am looking for jobs that are a Monday - Friday job as opposed to rotating shifts.

Any insight you can give would be greatly appreciated.

gwenith, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2005

The majority of our hospitals are goverment owned since we have a national health service. They are run by the states but funded by the federal govement (if that makes sense). Overall you are usually better off working in a goverment hospital as they are usually (not always) somewhat better staffed. Talaxandra would be able to fill you in more on the Victorian nursing scene at the moment.

Tigger_RN94 · Jun 2, 2005

The majority of our hospitals are goverment owned since we have a national health service. They are run by the states but funded by the federal govement (if that makes sense). Overall you are usually better off working in a goverment hospital as they are usually (not always) somewhat better staffed. Talaxandra would be able to fill you in more on the Victorian nursing scene at the moment.

Gwenith,

Thanks so much for the information. Is Talaxandra a person here.. or an agency?

suzanne4, RN · Jun 2, 2005

Nurse here who posts frequently. You can try sending her a pm. :)

ruthiebaby88 · Jun 7, 2005

Are there any travel nurse opportunites for US nurses to work in New Zealand or Australia?

yes there are tons of opportunities over here - i haven't worked in new zealand - when i checked it out over there the pay was like 22$nzd per hour with no benefits - for conversions you can use http://www.xe.com

i worked in australia last year for 4 months and have returned this year when i plan to stay for 6-12 months. an alternative to working for one hospital for a whole year is to get your temporary business visa sponsored by a nursing agency instead of by the hospital - this way you can work anywhere that your agency can place you instead of having to stay in one spot - for the agency you can work casual or placements of 4-13 weeks - up to you and current availability - personally, im planning to get to as many new places as i can this year!

the agency may try to convince you to stay for a year (of course) but if you show interest to stay for at least 6 months they will still sponsor you - or if that one won't there are plenty of other ones who will so just try calling a different one - i only promised to stay for 4 months last year and although they weren't thrilled they still wanted me - i was a bit worried they would be upset when i left - but they have offered me a job again this year on my return so i don't think they were too miffed - you know they always want to keep you as long as they can! but if you don't want to stay that long just hold your ground and mention that you might go with another agency that will take you for a shorter term

the paperwork is a hassle as usual - but not much worse than getting licensure for another state in the us (i remember florida in particular was quite a headache) - some differences are they will ask you for 2 written references - so it might be handy to bring those with you from home - and they will ask you how many hours you have worked as a nurse since their pay scale is based on this - you can estimate by multiplying the number of weeks you have worked full time x 40

it helps if you can get your nursing registration before arriving in oz - saves you a month of waiting for paperwork - look up the nurses registration board for the state you would like to go to and download the application from the internet

if you come over with that the rest of the processing for the visa takes about 4-6 weeks - more or less time depending on how busy they are and how hard your agency pushes them to get it through

i think it's a good idea to wait until you get here to choose your agency so that you can interview them in person - choosing the right agency can make a difference of up to 10$aud in your wage - and can make a big difference in the number and location of jobs that will be available to you

once you have chosen your agency you can turn in your paperwork and bugger off for 4-6 weeks exploring the country while you wait for your visa to come through - just make sure you get an australian cell phone so that they can contact you if there are any problems

i have spent the last week researching agencies and am considering - nursing australia, code blue, and mediserve - they seem to be offering the highest wages and flexibility with assignments

keep in mind that in australia benefits and pay are nothing like what you will get in america - housing is occassionally provided in a dorm like setting for rural and remote placements but usually you are not reimbursed or assisted with housing in any way - it's up to you - also insurance is not provided and you are required to carry your own policy before they will hire you - i use http://www.imglobal.com for mine - although you might get better coverage with an australian policy if you are planning on staying here

as a year 8 med/surg rn (this is the highest level) the highest pay rates i have been quoted are 36.25$aud for day shift 40.32$aud for pm shift and 41.13$aud for noc shift 49.23 saturday 57.41 sunday and 81.82 for public holidays - this is the private hospital rate - rates are based on your years of experience - with some companies they are negotiable with other they are set in stone

also know they don't work 12 hr shifts here unless you are in critical care - so you will be stuck with 8hr shifts or 16 hr shifts - the whole time i have been asking around i have only heard of one hospital where you can work 12 hrs shifts by doing a funky split shift day and eve - so get used to the idea of the 5 day work week!

oh and with this type of visa you are required to work at least 35hrs a week minus the annual 4-6 weeks of holiday you are entitled to - the agencies i spoke with were happy with me working more hours one week to take off extra days the next - just as long as the average over all comes up to 35hrs

hope that's helpful - email me with any further questions - maybe ill see ya over here!

ruthiebaby88 · Jun 7, 2005

also just wanted to mention that there may be some variance between states - i was working at st.vincent's hospital in sydney, nsw - and i heard the opposite that the private was much better staffed than the public

i was in the private sector and the staffing was absolutely superb = 4-6 patients with an rn and cna days and eves = it was a very posh hospital and a great place to work = i heard public was harder?

also in nsw nurses who are on the sponsored visa aren't really allowed to work at public hospitals because according to the stipulations of the visa we must be paid by whoever sponsors us - the hospital pays the agency and then the agency pays you - however because of some new law - the public health sector in nsw is only allowed to work nurses on its own payroll - a few recruiters have told me there is a way around this but only by special permission - and other recruiters told me it was impossible - they also believed that the northern territory is getting ready to pass a similar law -

the private hospitals are very nice though so i can't imagine going through extra trouble to work at a public unless it was in an area where there wasn't any private hospital work available

i have never worked in victoria though so this might all be specific to new south wales - i don't know

fly-gal · Jun 9, 2005

also just wanted to mention that there may be some variance between states - i was working at st.vincent's hospital in sydney, nsw - and i heard the opposite that the private was much better staffed than the public
i was in the private sector and the staffing was absolutely superb = 4-6 patients with an rn and cna days and eves = it was a very posh hospital and a great place to work = i heard public was harder?
also in nsw nurses who are on the sponsored visa aren't really allowed to work at public hospitals because according to the stipulations of the visa we must be paid by whoever sponsors us - the hospital pays the agency and then the agency pays you - however because of some new law - the public health sector in nsw is only allowed to work nurses on its own payroll - a few recruiters have told me there is a way around this but only by special permission - and other recruiters told me it was impossible - they also believed that the northern territory is getting ready to pass a similar law -
the private hospitals are very nice though so i can't imagine going through extra trouble to work at a public unless it was in an area where there wasn't any private hospital work available
i have never worked in victoria though so this might all be specific to new south wales - i don't know

Hi Ruthie, actually you can work for public hospitals with sponsorship but they have to sponsor you directly ie. hire you directly. I e-mailed one of them and they do take RNs who have worked at least one year. Also, Health Staff recruiting is an agency that recruits RNs for NSW public hospitals but in the end you sign directly with the hospital and not the agency. Might be that the agencies told you whatever they did because they want you to sign up with them??

I'd love to hear more from anyone out there about working for public vs. private hospitals especially in NSW or sydney.

thanks for your prespective!

ruthiebaby88 · Jun 9, 2005

Hi Ruthie, actually you can work for public hospitals with sponsorship but they have to sponsor you directly ie. hire you directly. I e-mailed one of them and they do take RNs who have worked at least one year. Also, Health Staff recruiting is an agency that recruits RNs for NSW public hospitals but in the end you sign directly with the hospital and not the agency. Might be that the agencies told you whatever they did because they want you to sign up with them??
hello! first of all i should clarify that the public/private stipulation is only in effect in new south wales. in new south wales public hospitals are prohibited from working nurses who are not on their payroll. so they can sponsor you directly to work for them. however most hospitals are only interested in sponsoring nurses for a minimum of one year. for me this rules out the possibility. because i haven't lived anywhere longer than 6 months since 1997, the idea of making a contract in one place for a whole year carries a scare factor on a par with getting married or having children. especially if you have never worked a shift there - how will you know if you like it. and if that hospital has sponsored your visa it is time consuming and expensive to change your sponsorship to another hospital
however for those who may be less commitment phobic than i this may be a good option!
the good thing about being sponsored by an agency is that you can move around and work a shift here a shift there, or take a contract if you want. the hospital pays the agency and they agency pays you - which is why i am not allowed to work in public hospitals in new south wales (without special permission)
when i was in the usa trying to research the possibility of coming to australia - the only thing i could find were agencies and hospitals that wanted to lock me into a one year commitment with one particular hospital - but when i came to australia as a tourist i found that wasn't true, there are lots of agencies here where you can sign up and they have offices all over australia so you can travel and work at different places getting to see some more of the country
last year i worked for an agency for 4 months - the first month i was doing shift work - a day here a day there in different hospitals and nursing homes in sydney and then they landed me the contract at st. vincents - all of my paychecks came from the agency and not the hospital - so i was not allowed to work in public hospitals

fly-gal · Jun 9, 2005

Ruthie, that's cool that you were able to sign up for only 4 months. Guess the agencies try to draw you in for a year but sounds like they are desperate. Of course, the difference could be that you have been a RN for 8+ years. By the time I go I'll be an RN for less than 2 years. Some of the agencies I wrote to wouldn't even consider me unless I had min. of 2 years.

The private sector is beginning to sound very interesting. Could you tell me which agency you went with to sign up at St. vincent's. Were you pleased with their service and pay? So you agency actually gave you vacation pay?

I am still debating whether to sign up for a full year direct with a hospital. As I'm still relatively new at being an RN, being a traveller might be quite a challenge. A full year would also give me health insurance too. But you are right about such a big committment to a place I've never worked in. I simply can't afford to go there and interview before hand, nor am I sure I can afford not to work for 4-6 weeks as my cash is going towards paying off my credit. I am sure I'm over thinking this. Guess, I should just get the registration and then worry about it. In the meantime, if you have any other insight to the hospitals in Sydney, where to stay, agencies etc. etc, please let me know. YOu can also PM me. Thanks so much for your help!