Recruitment agencies vs finding post after arrival

Lysbeth · Jul 16, 2009

When I came to Australia I rang the local hospitals and applied for their bank(casual)roster. I changed to permanency when I decided where I wanted to work. The private hospitals tend to respond quicker than the public hospitals. I was rung to come for an interview and if they had their way I would have been working that day!!! The agencies pay more but the hospitals prefer to use their own staff and only call an agency when they have nobody of their own. I did get my registration organised before I left UK. I've been here since 1992 and apart from missing my friends & family I have had no regrets. Good luck & I hope this helped.

K+MgSO4, BSN · Aug 14, 2009

i agree get you registration for one state before you leave the UK. Check out if you need to take an English test (believe it or not a friend of mine applied for regestration at the begining of the year and had to take an English test like me she is from Ireland!! ***??) Check all the states out i'm not sure if they al have done this. However there is talk of national registration which means everything is being standerdised.

I joined a nursing agency in sydney and had pretty much full time hours every week - the agency i was with was qiet small but a couple of hospitals started asking for me by name esp Manly district which was lovly, amazing views but very uneven floors lol you had to put your foot or a brake on EVERYTHING drip stand, blood pressure machine, bed table was very funny!!!

However becausr i came out on a WHM visa and on my travels and really liked it. Spoke to international recruitment and had a contract and 4 yr sponsorship in a month from start to finish. Still a shortage i think out here definatly in the countryside if you want to do something different these tiny hospitals with aged care and EDs it is crazy but fun, kept getting set up on dates with shearers!!!

Good luck with you plans remember if you are coming to NSW or VIC take some woolies it does get cold out here!!

travellingsuitcase · Aug 15, 2009

I am British and have nursed in Australia a couple of times. My advice would be to obtain a job once you arrive and not through an agency. Agencies are paid a fee for finding you and they don't always tell you the truth. They tend to place you in a area of nursing that they are paid to recruit for as opposed to what type of nursing speciality you are from. Public hospitals are always recruiting and welcome British trained nurses.

Good luck

RichLovina · Aug 17, 2009

You'll find lots of info at http://www.ramsayhealth.com.au/profile/profile.asp. This is Australia's largest private hospital group, also co-ordinators of the WA shortest most economical bridging course. However, the pathway is via the NMBWA to get to that course.

K+MgSO4, BSN · Aug 18, 2009

you shouldn't need to do any bridging course if you are UK or Irish trained. However check out the requirements for English testing I think (not 100% sure) that all overseas nurses have to take them now!! Good luck!

talaxandra · Aug 18, 2009

Karenmarie, I think you're right about the English testing requirement - in the same way Aussie nurses now have to pass one to work in the UK (unless they have a UK passport, which is weird).

All nurses in the public system are paid at the same rate (depending on experience, shifts etc), so you won't be paid less if you go through an agency to get a permanent position (vs working casually). However, as travellingsuitcase points out, their priority is filling demand rather than necessarily meeting individual needs.

I did a quick search I discovered that the Melbourne Nurisng Agency has some useful information about nursing in Australia, visas, and (naturally) a speil on the wonder that is Melbourne. Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any agency.

K+MgSO4, BSN · Aug 18, 2009

It is nuts about the English test thing esp if your education has been in English!! :confused: yeah if you are looking for something on a fixed term talk to some of the public hospitals international recruitment co ordinators they are well versed at sorting all of that out or to an agency most can offer a fixed term somewhere or PRN shifts. just be aware of your visa limitations though :coollook: good luck and you never know I might bump into you in the hospital I work at one day:D

lovinthesungurl · Aug 20, 2009

With regards to whether to approach a hospital directly or navigate by way of an agency.... I have a little sound advice that could save you a lot of money and grief!

Do lots of research on the particular hospital you want to work for. If you can't find enough information to satisfy you, then you should count that as a RED FLAG!... which should prompt you to dig deeper.

There are significant differences between public and private hospitals in Australia, depending on which state you plan to work in. I can only speak for Queensland. Having made the move to Queensland from Canada 9 months ago, I researched a region and city that I wanted to move to, and after choosing Brisbane, I interviewed with several agencies. My experience with these international recruitment agencies left me feeling less than warm and fuzzy. When questioning them about just exactly what they were willing to do for me, in contrast to my committment, I decided that I would fare better on my own to find my own placement.

I searched for information about the differences between public and private hospitals, but found little. There was really no influencing information to compare the two, so I made the choice to go private (as I heard the pay was higher - and I thought that a private hospital would have a significant level of corporate accountability that would be reflected in it's committment to nursing).

It's a gamble when you roll the dice, and after a handful of shifts, and talking with local nurses about the differences between public and private hospitals, I realized that I chose poorly.

The only saving grace, was the fact that I had NOT SIGNED WITH AN AGENCY, as I discovered when I gave notice that the private hospital was quite prepared to hold me to my contract, or ask me to re-emburse them the $5,000 dollars for agency fees.

Now, luckily, I had not signed with an agency... due to their less than stellar responses to my questions of "Why would I sign with your agency, when I can clearly see that there are hundreds of nursing recruitment agencies out there?"

All I can say is beware of the significance of "signing" with an agency, and ask the tough questions, because they won't be standing buy you after you sign!, they'll be standing behind the company who pays them...

As for public hospitals, where I now am employed, you can absolutely count on a high degree of regulation, and a return committment and support. And you will be able to find adequate information about the hospital prior to making your decision.

Good luck in your journey.

Post any further detailed questions, and I'll do my best to answer them

pink flower · Sep 8, 2009

Hi lovingthesungurl!

I'm from Canada too....and was wandering how would you compare nursing in canada vs australia?

I'm thinking of going to Queensland next year and I have experiences in ER.

Thanks!

Pink Flower

lovinthesungurl · Sep 10, 2009

Hey Pink Flower!

Where to start... Well, basically nursing is the same where ever you go - since patients remain unchanged. But there are several small things that you should expect. Nothing that's a deal breaker though.

If you're coming to Queensland, (the Sunshine state), you'll really want to work in the Public Health System - unless it's a small clinic or other sub specialty you're after. I'm working in a large ICU of the largest tertiary hospital in Qld - and I cannot say enough good things about it. We have Magnet status - something I'd never heard of before. It's like a recognized accreditation for a hospital's committment to nurses. Primarily it's about recruitment, retention, and quality of working life for nurses. When I first heard this, I thought " Oh yeah, I worked for a university hospital in Hamilton, Ont., and have heard this kind of talk before - only to find that it's just lip service. The upside is,. Magnet is real, and you can count on on the kind of support you've probably never had with previous employers. Staffing levels are amazing (dictated by policies - that are adhered to), Orientation, and followup support is ongoing. I'm rambling on now, but you owe it to yourself to look closely at what your prospective employer is willing to offer you - and how they plan to back that promise up!

On a more microscopic level, you'll find that doctors are called Medical Officers, Residents are called Registars, Intensivists or Staff specialists are called Consultants, frequently nurses are called Sisters or Nursing sisters. That freaked me out a little!

Nurses wear issued uniforms that are very old English influenced. I had to convert from slumming around in OR greens (which I loved), to a crisp pressed navy blue/black stockings/polished shoes/printed white blouse appearance. It is lovely looking, but my inner nurse still thinks that wearing white or pastel "looks" more like a nurse. And let me say that when you're travelling to and from work in navy with stockings etc, in near 40C heat and sun you really question the color scheme!

RN's have a particular uniform, and Enrolled Nurses (ENs) - same as RPNs or LPNs wear another. All the hospitals here have "wardies". I think they're like porters, but they're trained to assist with the heavy work so that nurses don't have to put our backs out. They turn patients, and we do the washing or whatever else...

I found here in Aus (ICU) that when turning an intubated pt, a nurse always has a hand on the ETT. Great for saftey, but we didn't do it in Canada, and never lost a tube. I wondered if it was a knee jerk response to an accidental extubation. Speaking of knee-jerk responses, ALL nurses here check EVERY IV medication (including Na or sterile water for reconstitution) with another RN! Including in a code blue! Apparently, it goes back to an error! Where I admit, it probably prevents errors, it's quite an adjustment!

If you do IV insertion/(called cannulation here) venipuncture, you're going to find that the Queenslander's skin for the most part is as tough as leather! You'll need a good run at a poke, else the needle will just bounce back!

I was told "Oh, yeah, that's the Auzzie bloke's skin"! On that same vein, there's so much skin cancer here, that nearly every second street corner has a mole check clinic! If you're fair skinned, you'll quickly learn how penatrating the sun can be.

Back to nursing, I was surprised to find that the transition to all BScN nursing in Aus occurred years before Canada! Here I thought they'd be lagging, but au contraire! Nurse education is far and away ahead of Canada! I've hardly found any nurses who aren't degreed (except myself)... so the push is on!

Will you be coming alone or bringing family/children? Cause there's more to know about schools/housing etc.

Hope I've answered some of your questions. Let me know if you're interested in knowing more detail, and I'll pass along my email so we can chat.

Also do you know where you plan to move to?

PS Don't sign a contract with an agency!!!!!!! You'll regret it... Any hospital worth working for won't require it! Approach the hospital directly!

Lovinthesun!