Ok, so….
If you have a burning question you’d like to ask, go ahead and throw it into the comment box below.
Alternatively, if you’re a bit shy or the question is of a personal nature, contact me!
A Nursing Blog about Nursing In Australia
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Thanks to Jeff from TravelNursingBlogs who asks “Is there a nursing shortage in Australia? What is the industry like there? Has the global recession hit it?”
Thanks for the questions, Jeff – you can read my reply titled
Nursing shortages in Australia.
Eunice asks:
“With your nursing career now, do you still have time to pursue your hobbies? (be it in IT/music..) or does this job suppress ur creative side?”
Thanks Eunice, you can read my reply over at starting in nursing.
Hello Ross,
Thank you for the opportunity to ask you a question!
I’m a journalist considering a second career in nursing. I read online that there are accelerated programmes in nursing for people like me. Are there such things in Australia? I was hoping to study in Australia.
Do you know anyone who has made a career shift to nursing?
@Elizabeth, who asks:
“I’m a journalist considering a second career in nursing. I read online that there are accelerated programmes in nursing for people like me. Are there such things in Australia? I was hoping to study in Australia.”
Most Bachelor of Nursing programs in Australia are 3 years long, however some universities like USQ and UQ offer Accelerated Progression (6 Semester Consecutive Progression, so you study over the semester breaks & complete the full course in either 2 or 2 1/2 years).
I’ve heard that the University of Sydney offers a program tailored for graduates of other degrees, but I’m not sure how long the course would take you to become registered.
Regarding undertaking accelerated programs overseas then applying for registration in Australia – at the moment you apply to the state you’re interested in and they assess each application to determine whether or not you’re eligible (eg. QNC info for overseas applicants) I guess you have to be careful to make sure that any course you do overseas will allow you to become Registered in Australia – I would suggest that any one year course for instance would probably not cut it, as no one year Registered Nurse program is offered in Australia.
NB – Australia is moving towards national accreditation, so in the future I guess you will apply for registration through a national body rather than individual states.
“Do you know anyone who has made a career shift to nursing?”
Absolutely, heaps of people make complete career changes. I know of people from many different backgrounds and professions who have switched to nursing – most experiences work out fine because people generally realise whether or not they’re cut out for nursing while they’re studying/training etc. Maybe you should check out my post titled should I be a nurse? for more info.
Good luck!
Thank you Ross, That was so useful
I hope that by the time I am in Australia, studying that degree, there will be national accredition. It’s encouraging to know that many have made the career shift … but it’s so daunting to make that change after 10 years as a journalist!
Hey Elizabeth and Ross
I am currently enrolled in Curtin University in WA and doing a graduate pathway course for nursing. This course takes 2 years and requires a previous degree.
I think this course is available for oversea students if you are not a local.
@Steven – thanks for the info!
Hi I’m a Renal nurse in the Philippines hoping to work overseas specially in Australia. What are the requirements to be a nurse in Australia if you are from the Philippines? Would you consider my experience as a Renal nurse in a Dialysis Center or does Australia strictly require Hospital experience from Filipino Nurses?
@Dyan Salanguit – Hi there. To find out about requirements for overseas nurses in Australia please check out this page, and also shoot an email off to the international immigrants email address at the bottom of this page, they’ll give you heaps of info. Good luck!
hello, im a registered nurse in the philippines. i would like to know if you have any idea of hospitals there that in need of nurses. thank you. and by the way. what did you ate for breakfast? and have you eaten some filipino foods?
@Cleeford – Hi, thanks for visiting. Heaps of hospitals have jobs and need nurses, I suggest you check out the job search page. For breakfast I had bacon & eggs on the bbq at the beach, and pancakes with fresh coffee…. one of the best breakfasts I’ve had! No I don’t think I’ve eaten filipino foods….
Kay has a question in response to my comment yesterday which was: “A full time RN (level 1) in Australia can currently make $80,000+ AUD, so the course is paid off quite quickly.”
Kay Asks:
“I don’t know of any nurses who are earning $80,000+ a year in Melbourne. Most nurses I know are earning about $25 per hour. Where are these jobs that pay you about $40+ an hour?
I found this web page about wages in Australia and they aren’t earning $40+ per hour, that’s for sure.” (wages for registered nurses)
Answer:
Fay raises a good point, I should have clarified my comments a bit better. First of all, the visa-wages page you link to is a little outdated, in fact – visas australia is not a good place to go to get up to date wage info for nurses. See here for more info.
Basically to answer your question, the secret lies in penalty rates. For any nurses working day shifts monday to friday you can expect to get paid exactly what is stated on the wage pages. For most nurses however (shift workers), there are penalty rates for afternoons, nights, saturdays and sundays. This equates to a considerable difference in your pay every fortnight to that which is advertised.
For a full time level 1 nurse (ie, not a nurse practitioner etc) who has worked for 7 yrs or more, this means you can earn $80,000 + quite easily. Queensland also allows you to salary sacrifice a portion of your pay to go towards your mortgage or rent each fortnight, and this is paid without taxes applied.
If you are a new or re-entry nurse, you will not make quite this much. However, if you are a shift worker, you can expect to make significantly more than the advertised fortnightly wage due to penalty rates.
Hope this answers your question, for current wages in Qld see this post.
Hi Ross,
I am a fourth year nursing student from Assumption International University,Thailand.I would like to ask about internship in QLD.I have to take internship course for 275 hours before i graduate on March 2010.I am very interested in taking internship course in QLD. Is there any public hospital which can provide for internship in QLD, around Nundah. If so, is it possible to get any contact person from that hospital?
@Theresa – Hi, thanks for visiting. I believe there has to be agreements in place between the hospital in Queensland where the student will be doing a clinical placement, and the respective University.
Queensland health is no longer accepting student placement deeds with international education providers, however you can apply for clinical placement by applying through a recognised Qld University.
The purpose of the agreements (Student Placement Deeds) is to cover things like indemnity, intellectual property, privacy and consent.
For more info including contact details see the student clinical placements (international) page from Qld Health. Good luck!
Hi Ross,
Thank you so much for your useful information. I still would like to know something. If i take my internship course there, in QLD, will it be advantageous when I apply nursing job there in Australia in future?
Hi,i’m a nursing student in china and now interning in the hospital.Maybe after i get my diploma and certificate nurse,i’l consider to go to study one year course in university,i think the most difficult thing is the english part,are u people in local speak with oz’accent? Thanks in pre for u info
@Theresa – this is a difficult question! My gut instinct is that yes, it will probably work out more favourably for you to secure a job in the short term, simply because you will have working knowledge of the ins & outs of Australian nursing, and can also show a prospective employer that you’ve spent part of your training here. That’s not to say you won’t get a job regardless of where you do your internship….
@Caroline deng – Hi there, thanks for visiting. Look, Australians certainly are a bit slangy with our accents, like anywhere we also have some peculiarities with our culture (we tend to use sarcasm a lot, for instance.) Like anywhere, adapting to a particular culture gets easier with time.
I see you speak english fairly well already, if can do it at a level where you are a safe practitioner then you’ll do fine in Australia.
Hi Ross,
I am an overseas RN and have been living in Australia for almost 2 years now.At the moment I am trying to register with QNC but it looks like its going to be a long way for now.There is this Challenge Test that I will be sitting on Wednesday(09/09/09)and I am wondering if you know of any overseas nurse/s who have taken this test in the past.
Hi Jonetani… heaps of info here about it from people who have done it Competency Assessment QLD
Ross thanks for the info about Qld CAS…just sat for the test today….confident of getting through.
This site is very helpful.
Cheers
Hey, no worries Jonetani – happy to help out! Good luck with your results…
I am an American RN with about 10 years MedSurg experience. I often hear of nurses here that would like to consider long term travel Nursing to Australia. But after reading many of the Blogs heres what it sounds like -
1- “People” say that Australia ‘really needs RN’s badly” however it sure sounds like the Unions and the Govts in each province do EVERTHING possible to keep all overseas Nurses OUT. The Unions want RNs to stay OUT. The Govt (supported in reelections by massive Unions contributions) have so many steps for competent American RNs to travel there it would make most nurses head spin
Ill continue doing research but may just go to Canada instead, at least the Canadians dont have double speak – we want you, now just TRY to get in!
wow
I am a returning resident and am looking to get trainned as a nurse ? What are my chances?
Hi Becky – your chances are excellent!
It will make a difference based on what type of nurse you want to be and whether or not you want to go to Uni vs TAFE etc.
Are you able to elaborate at all?
Universities that offer nursing courses in Australia can be found here, if you want to do enrolled nursing or courses for AIN you can search for your local TAFE online.
Good luck!
Hi Ross,
I’ve just started studying nursing at CQU part time. This is a complete career change for me and at 41 I was wondering if I would be considered to old?Considering I will be about 45 when I finish will Queensland Health laugh me out of the hospital if I came looking for a graduate position?
I would really like to work in oncology somtime down the line. Is there anything I could do in the meantime to help me get into this field down the road (helping etc…)?
Thanks and the site is great.
Dave
Hi David,
Firstly, I don’t think you’re too old. You may come across a few hurdles down the track, however generally speaking this won’t be during your uni course. Most mature age students connect quite well with lecturers / tutors, and generally do very well with their grades because they take the course seriously!
You may find that you come up against some egos when doing student placements, but my advice to you there is to take it all in & decide not to practice in that manner when YOU are registered! Nursing really can be a world of ‘eating our young’, and the only way to change that is to change the way WE treat new grads & students.
With regards to getting a job, you may hit some hurdles. I still believe that there is plenty of work out there for nurses (as I posted in Nursing Shortages), however some of the comments on that post show otherwise.
QLD health won’t laugh you out of the hospital when you apply for a grad position at all. My advice to you is to start building some relationships during your third year of nursing studies. Work out where you want to work (ie, oncology), then try to get some student placements in that field. While you are there, meet the NUM & mention that you’re keen to do a postgrad placement there. Follow up a few weeks later with an email or letter, you can even ring them down the track to let them know you’re keen to work with them. Building relationships is still important in order to land that job you’re really after, despite QLD health’s official take of taking each individual application based on interview only.
Employees are not allowed / supposed to discriminate to new RN’s based on their previous work history (ie, if they have EN / AIN experience or not), however it does look good on your application to have done a year for instance working as an AIN in nursing before you graduate. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you have enough time left in your week to pursue something like this! Plenty of people land jobs without previous experience.
Good luck David!
Hi Ross,
Thanks for the reply it has been very helpful.
I wish I had looked into this career years ago!
Thanks,
Daid
hi . i m a RN in my homecountry india. i have done a diploma in nursing of 3 years in india. living here in australia from 2 years. no one has guided me so far how can i go back in my career , how can i be a rn in australia or can i work here as a nurse based on my preevious qualifications. if i have to study what it would be. please reply.thanking you, mandeep.
hai ross,mandeep,
i am also an indian registered nurse,i am having two years clinical experience in operation theatre.now i am living in queensland,i am searching for a job,what are all the requierements ,could you please guide me ross,and mandeep ,did you got your job,best luck