Savonian

I've never worked in aged care, so can't say much about that. My first job was at trauma ward and then ortho ward. I worked at the ortho for 11 weeks after graduation and then started to work at ED. So, what I'm trying to say, is that hadling presure and surviving in acute ward is a state of mind. I would recomend for you to try it out, as far as I know, the aced care jobs aren't running out in Australia, so if you don't like it, you can always go back.

If you can't find anyone else I can help you and talk about the topic from Finnish perspective. Although, the timing is little harsh, as the 3.30-5.30 PM Pacific means to me very early morning on 27th.

Dear Ceridwyn, As far as I agree with you many times, this time I have to disagree with your point that foreign nurses would work under lousy conditions aka lower salary, lower grade or nearly illegal shifts and bad management. Maybe some do so, but many European / North American nurses go (come) to Australia to work for few years to gain experience and for the adventure. Maybe the reasons aren't so glorious, but how many times they are, when deserting perfecly fine permanent job, just to find out how the life goes on at the other side of the Globe?

Well, basicly there will be four weeks in between tests, since it takes two weeks for the results to come and then the sing-ups close two weeks before the test date. So, if you don't know right after the test that you didn't make it, you'll have to wait for few weeks. Then again, you might want to consider if it is worth of re-taking the test right after the previous one, since how much English you can learn in four weeks? To my previous post: Got my EOR-results this morning via e-mail, no increase on that one part that I would have needed it... re-taking the test on March 10th (the first free seat in Helsinki) =o(

Not yet. I think I have to call there (or visit) tomorrow.

Just to few things for you to think about: - In Europe in order to get a licence you have to speak the local language, wether you work in English or not. - United Kingdom and Ireland are not hireing new nurses, since the economics sucks. - Living and working in new enviroment may not be easy. I'd recomend you to learn the job before learning it in foreign language, in foreign culture and a way that can be very different that teached in American nursing institute. I don't say, that it isn't realistic, but, I say that nursing is a difficult profesion and it'll be even more difficult when you don't have support net around you to listen about the bad days when you feel that you don't know thing, that you can't do a thing and when you feel that the biggest mistake you've ever done was taking up nursing (and believe me, those days will come).

I'm also waiting the results of the EOR, have been for almost nine weeks now. It says at the Finnish co-operative's web page that the remarking can take up to six weeks after the Head Office receives the EOR-form. Wonder how long it takes to mail the paper to England, as the regular mail takes a letter there in three postal days.

http://www.nmc-uk.org/Registration/Joining-the-register/Trained-outside-the-EU--EEA/International-English-Language-Testing-IELTS/ So, as I thought, they do require the academic-level. The difference is that the general level is, as the name says, general English and the academic is more complexed use of language.

I don't mind that our minority nurses (Russian and Estonian) speak their own language amongst themselves. It bothers me, that they don't speak/understand proper Finnish. Of course I'd expect them to speak Finnish while giving a report, while taking care of the patient, but other than that, it is their own matter. Finland is bilingual country (Finnish/Swedish), so it is also quite common that Swedish speaking nurses talk Swedish to one another, even they know that most Finnish speaking nurses don't understand them, and that is fine. Speaking the original language might just be a way to prevent homesickness, and keep up the proffesional language.