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I currently work for an agency that I have been with for the past 5 years. Although some staff in hospitals have a negative opinion about agency staff, this is not always the case. The harder you work the better your reputation is with facilities and staff. The agency that I am with has offices in Toowoomba, Noosa Heads, Nambour, Bundaberg and Rockhampton. If you are anywhere near one of these offices I would recommend the agency Regional Nursing Solutions. They have a web site so that you can see what they are about. Good Luck

Hi, although I graduated about 11 years ago, I decided not to apply for a graduate program place. I felt comfortable with my level of knowledge and experience from uni to go without it ( and being a registered nurse was my first and only job). I had no problem finding a job then or since. Although grad years are designed to help you through your transition from beginner (novice) I believe that facilities support staff whether you are in a program or not. Of course it is always buyer-beware. One positive effect of nursing shortages is that there are jobs to choose from if you aren't offered a place. Goodluck nonetheless.

Wow if I had the chance to do a masters in one year I would take it. I am currently completing an honours year which gives you NO financial benefits in the workforce (though I can now streamline straight into a PhD). However, if you choose your masters topic wisely you may enjoy some financial rewards. For example a nurse practitioner (MASTERS DEGREE) means a higher wage and greater scope of practice. Just a thought. Cheers

Unfortunatelky I think that John Howard is ill-informed regarding nursing and nursing education. At what point do we as professionals allow others (no-nurses) to dictate what we should know and what level we should be educated at. Although it would be a novel idea to have education in the hospitals it is rather short sighted. What is the input from the medico's. Do they honestly want nurses who can DO tasks rather than thinking, preempting and evaluating care? Additionally, we would be looking at another form of a tiered system in our profession (much like with the enrolled nurses). Would an RN from this proposed system be the same as one with a bachelors degree? I think that the public deserve to receive nursing care from professionals with a quality education rather than nurses who have similiar qualifications as tradesmen. Finally, nursing education providers need to have their programs accredited by the state's nursing boards, which is not an easy nor cheap task. Without consultation with this licencing/ accrediation boards - good luck.

I live on the sunshine coast and am a science student at USC and the staff are wonderful. Although the nursing degree is relatively new, it was designed by staff from several different unis, so they have used positive qualities from their past experiences in designing this program. The student population is small and as a consequence the class numbers are small. This is great, as it is more personable. All of the practicum rotations are in hospitals , nursing homes and community placements on the sunshine coast, so you do not need to leave town like with some other unis. Additionally, the staff understand that some students have responsibilities outside of studying so if you have special needs (such as needing start your clinical later because of child care) they understand and allow you to start later. The uni also runs free transition programs to help people transition smoothly into study mode. Such programs include science and academic writing. Good luck

I have been using a PDA for the past 5 years, however I work for a nursing agency so it is helpful to have current information at hand particularly during patient education. I started off with a PALM however have moved over to the micorsoft platform. There are plenty of resources for PDAs which you can buy from the internet (mobipocket, medscape etc). If you want an easy platform to start with I would suggest the Palm however to ensure you have a machine that it multipurpose I would suggest using a smartphone or a PDA with a phone. These allow you to turn off the phone component when you are at work but still use the computer. Goodluck.

I have a degree from australia and have had problems with registration in the US as a result of the university I studied through here. However I do know of a Uni (University of the Sunshine Coast) which will accomodate anyone who is interested in eventually working in the US. They will ensure you meet the theorectical and practical requirements. Additionally, they have a fast track degree for people who already hold a degree (no matter what discipline), that is they recognise your prior learning experiences and this should mean that you study for 2 years rather than 3. I think the two main things to remember is shop around before you decide on a degree and be specific when you are enquiring about their ability to help you to meet the necessary requirements.

Sunshine Coast/ Private Sector Wow! I work nights and I can have anything between 7 to 19 patients in a med/surg ward.

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