Will'smum

Hi, PMH are doing a huge recruitment drive at the moment. There are adds in all the papers. I'm sure you won't need any extra qual's - they will happily train you. Good luck and:welcome: to WA Jodie

Hi there, I'm not sure what it's like in the US, but I work in a General Practice (I assume that's the same as a family Physicans office) in Australia. I love my job. It can be hard and frustrating and yes we are all very underpaid (money is not why I work!) and some of us are undervalued, but I am lucky to work with a group of Doc's who see me as an equal and we have great support from our reception staff. I think that if you love your job, you'll stick at it and maybe thenurses you spoke to need to move on. They are probably burnout as you said. As far as your paper goes you have to tell it like it was. Rather than smelling roses you can style your paper around the fact that these nurses are burnout and that unless there are changes this is not an area that you would be interesting in working in Hope this helped a little;)

I am sorry to hear about your mum. I know this won't help but she is definaitely not alone in the way she feels. Many relies of mental health patients feel lost, alone and somehow responsible for what is happening. have you suggested that she seek counselling? ARAFMI is a group that is for relatives of mentally ill and in the area that I work they are piloting a carer support network for people exactly like your mum as they have identified such a huge need. Let me know how you go :rolleyes:

The cost of living in Perth is okay. That $40 000 that you post is probably going to be a bit more when you add in overtime and shift penalties, Not to mention that we are currently going through wage negiotations with the government. Have worked in mental health for 10 years (not at Graylands though) and still enjoy it, although like any job it has it's moments !! Perth is a beautiful city, very laid back and easy going and there is opportunity for you to travel down south to wine regions and up north to beautiful beaches. Goodluck deciding

Hi Barb, Don't know if you've been able to sort anything out or not but my suggestion is that you get onto the community health nurse that is looking after your sister on an outpatient basis and stress the issues that you have. They may be able to intervene and help your parents out a bit. Hope that helps. :o

It's also quite nice over here in WA. We have large hospitals in Perth and smaller ones all the way up the coast. Not to mention great weather and beaches and apparently the cost of living isn't too bad in comparison to the east coast. :p Hope you'll be happy no matter where you settle, Good luck

I'm currently doing the conversion thru CDU. I live in Perth and the only contact I have with uni is over the phone or online. It can be hard at times but if you have a strong will and will commit to doing the required study you'll get thru. Check out the uni website for more details on what the course offers.

Nomi, there is nothing wrong with being an En. You might say that we are the backbone of nursing !!! especially where I used to work :) I am only just doing my conversion to RN after working as an EN for 10 years. I have loved just about every minute of my career so far. Goodluck with your study. And if you do decide to go on and do your RN, look into the Charles Darwin University in Darwin. You can do just about the whole course externally at your own pace.