Recent Graduate of BSN, asking some opinions

talaxandra · May 9, 2011

Option one is the best in terms of having you be best prepared for working here, even though it's the hardest.

I think the second option will be unlikely to get you a position here, because you'll be competing with nurses who have experience.

The third option is almost certainly the most expensive, but has several advantages, including training in the country you hope to work in. I don't know enough about how graduate year programs work to be able to say how your employment chances are after that, but I have worked with overseas grads who trained here, so it's certainly possible :)

Good luck and keep us posted.

Ardz · May 9, 2011

Ahhh......thank you so much for the info....i figured as much....prob with option 3 is, with graduate year program......no sure job is offered after~

Is Australia still understaff on nurses??

talaxandra · May 9, 2011

Although a grad year contract is only for 12 months, all our grads have the option to stay on if they want. Although different area vary, there's turn over everywhere, and that means available positions. Bear in mind, though, that the employment situation now is no guarantee of conditions in four years.

ceridwyn · May 10, 2011

The story so far is Australia has shortfalls of nurses with experience and usually in specialist areas.

There is not a shortage of nurses with no experience. Overseas nurses that are will work anywhere for the sponsorship are often getting work and sponsorship in aged care facilities, though some private hospitals that often our own graduates just do not know they exist, often sponsor nurses from overseas with no experience. I do know of one public hospital in Melbourne that was sponsoring recently, but they wanted nurses with some experience.

My friend did agency in a small private Sydney hospital recently and said she was the only Australian nurse working that shift all the other nurses were from the Phillipines!

The other part of the story is, will you be able to stay after getting registration here, after being sponsored as Talaxandra stated, it is getting difficult to get sponsorship of 4 years now from acute hospitals and you need experience to apply for PR to get points overseas or Australian, after 1 July 2011.. Sponsorship from relatives will be able to be considered from a sponsor in a rural area only.

Link to new points system for PR.

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-fact.pdf

It is the nurses experience and experience in a specialty that is valuable to the Australian community.

Sorry to be so negative but times are changing and these issues need to be thought about, when coming to Australia now....who knows in 1-2 years there may be no jobs for nurses same as everywhere else.

Ardz · May 10, 2011

thanks for the inputs....I was wondering which special area though....

ceridwyn · May 10, 2011

Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol, Renal, Theatre-all types and midwifery.........experience means 3-4 years or more working in that specialty.

Hospitals also like the specialist nurse to have post grad cert or diploma in these specialties, , these are degrees after the undergraduate nursing degree.

Doing some theory and then some skills in that area for 3-4 weeks and getting a certificate to say you are a clinical nurse specialist in that area is not recognised here you need work experience.

Midwifery of course, is either an undergraduate degree by itself or a 1-2 year diploma or Masters degree after being an RN, not just experience and an exam after/while working in a midwifery setting.

Post grad in Australia means doing a post graduate degree after the undergraduate nursing or midwifery degree.