Nursing in Australia: A Guide to Working and Living as a Nurse Down Under.
I recently had the opportunity to review this brand new e-book written by Emma Bates from Nursing In Australia.
Here’s a little background on the Author Emma Bates:
“I am a nurse (originally from the UK), who came to Australia to work 6 years ago. Previously, there had been nothing in the way of a practical handbook to guide overseas qualified nurses trying to make the transition into Australia.
This eBook aims to assist nurses in their travels from all countries around the globe into Australia, ensuring they nurse effectively and settle into the Australian Health Service, as well as reducing the chances of them leaving as a result of not settling.”
First Glance
Having read numerous e-books online before, I have to say that the first thing I noticed about Nursing In Australia was the sheer volume of information it contains. A fairly detailed and descriptive 6 pages of introduction and background leads us to the contents page, where we find out that there are around 360 pages in total in this book – a massive amount of information compared with many other e-books. Expect to discover a really, really comprehensive guide to nursing in Australia.
I should note also that the information is well laid out and follows a continuous, logical sequence which is split into three main categories. This allows for the reader to read the book from start to finish, or flip to the area they are most interested in. Let’s have a look.
Planning Your Trip
The first section of this e-book is all about the planning and processes involved with living and working in Australia. It covers topics such as types of work available, background info on Australia, where to live, recommended planning processes and checklists, and a huge amount of information on types of visa’s and recommendations specific to Australia.
One thing I noticed throughout reading this section is just how important it is to be aware of this information, and how overlooking something small could potentially affect your overall travel experience. Proper planning, preparation and knowing about time requirements/deadlines specific to Australia can really make the difference between a good travel experience or an extremely under-prepared one.
This section also explores requirements for entry and registration as a nurse in Australia, tips on how to interview and find the right job for you, use of health recruitment services or agencies, and occupation screening.
What To Expect
Just like any foreign country, Australia has customs, laws and cultural trends that differ from the rest of the world. Part two of this e-book informs you on a whole range of these issues, with practical examples of what you can expect and how the systems work in the Australian Health Service.
“As a newcomer to the Australian health service you are going to come across a number of challenges as you learn about new practices and frameworks, and behaviours that differ from the health care background you are from.
Don’t let that put you off, as once you get started you will overcome these challenges in no time at all.”
Just to give you an indication of how comprehensive this section is, just a handful of the topics include:
- Familiarising yourself with the Australian Health Service
- Nursing Clinical Specialties
- Australian Nursing Qualifications
- Nursing Orientation and Mandatory Skills
- Administering Medication in Australia
- Grading Systems, Nursing Salaries and Salary Packaging
Living In Australia
Part three of this e-book is all about living in Australia. This section is really about making your transition to Australian culture as seamless as possible.
Some of the topics here include specific information on travel, managing bank accounts, currency information, climate, tax issues, social culture, government and voting and much more.
Who is this book for?
Nursing In Australia introduces itself as “A step-by-step guide for overseas nurses, midwives and international nursing students wanting to understand the process of how to work and study in Australia as a nurse.”
Let me just say that this e-book manages to meet this claim and a whole lot more. For any new or seasoned nurses intending to travel or work in Australia, this e-book is a very valuable resource. I would even go so far to suggest that this book would even be great for nurses who are training in Australia. In particular, the section on the Australian Health System contains ‘insider information’ on structure and hierarchy that is just not taught to new nurses.
“The eBook aims to equip internationally qualified nurses with information prior to arriving in Australia and starting work in the health service.
It includes what preparation nurses need to undertake (and what they need to know up front), how much it will cost, where to live and how to obtain the right visa, as well as lots of technical information from hospitals and jobs to drug calculation checklists and National Inpatient Medication Charts.”
Bonuses
Some of the interesting bonuses found in the e-book include a section on Drug Calculations, Australian Life Support, CPR Guidelines for Adults and Paediatrics, Medical/Nursing Acronyms and Abbreviations, and lists of Public & Private hospitals.
I was also surprised to find that this e-book has a huge amount of outgoing links to relevant businesses, web sites and research material pointing to exactly where you need to go for further information on a topic or subject.
Final Thoughts
The research that has gone into putting this e-book together is very impressive – it really is a comprehensive resource. From a pure layout perspective my only critique is that I personally prefer left-justified text to fully-justified for reading on screen text, however it looks and reads really well printed out.
In short, I highly recommend that you download a copy for yourself. It really is the only book that you need to have if you are considering travelling or working as a Nurse In Australia.
-> Click Here to immediately download your own copy of Nursing In Australia.
Update: If you’d love some info on nursing in Australia but don’t need all the travel / visa information, consider checking out the cheaper companion product: Nursing in the Australian Health Service.
Feedback from Nurses on this E-book:
- “Your book looks great”
- “This is fantastic and much needed”
- “I would like to congratulate you on such a fantastic publication. Every single
question I have ever been asked. The information is accurate and set out in a
format that is easy to read”- “Over 200 pages of essential information for nurses and midwives wishing to
migrate and work!!!”- “This is fantastic and much needed. I’ll let our nursing candidates know about
your site and ebook.”
*A number of universities and nursing colleges have bought the ebooks and are using it as part of their currculim.
I just came across your site, thanks for this review. It made me wonder, is there a nursing shortage in Australia too? What is the industry like there? Has the global recession hit it?
@Jeff – Hi, thanks for visiting… Yes there’s definitely a nursing shortage in Australia at the moment, I’ve written a post in reply to your questions, it’s titled Nursing shortages in Australia.
They just don’t want you to know that they charge Australian nurses between $5500 and $9000 to do a Re-entry course plus the nurse has to work for 3 months and earns nothing. I posted this info yesterday and the people who run this web took it down.
Hi RN shortage joke – your comment from yesterday was on another post, you can find it here – it has definitely not been taken down!
Regarding re-entry – you are talking about a situation where nurses have not been working for 5 years or more.. Personally if I had been out of hospitals for more than 5 years and my registration was not current, I’d also want to do a refresher course to get back in. I believe these courses are covered by HECS, so you pay them back after you’re earning money.
Government Incentive Programs also give re-entry nurses cash bonuses of up to $6,000 so I guess it’s a case of how much you want to go back.
You’re right in saying that part of the re-entry program is clinical placement, and part is study – like Uni trained nurses, the clinical is not a paid position, it’s part of your study. So again, it’s how badly you want to get back in. A full time RN (level 1) in Australia can currently make $80,000+ AUD, so the course is paid off quite quickly.
I might add that many courses require a portion of the time spent in unpaid clinical / on-job training, eg teachers, nurses, radiographers etc.
Hopefully you can work something out for your personal situation… Good luck!
Very nice of you to get personal. The reality is I made a lot of enquiries about the course before I applied for it and was informed that I would get the scholarship if my course started in August, but not if it started earlier than August. So I applied for and got into a course that starts at the end of August. Then when I contacted the RNC about the scholarship they informed me that I may or may not get it and they won’t be available till November. I also made inquiries into getting HECS and was told I can’t get it. As far as the $6000 re-entry nurses cash bonuses; they are paid to nurses after they start work. The nurse gets $3000 after 6 months work and the othe $3000 after 18 months work. None of this helps me pay for the course in August. So I guess it depends on how desperate they are for nurses.
I don’t now 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. http://www.visas-australia.com/visas/wages-for-registered-nurses-in-australia.asp
Hi Kay, thanks for visiting. I’ve tried to answer your question over on the question page, so check that out. Also, I’ve posted a more up to date agreement on nurses wages in Queensland, you can read about it here. Hope that helps!
Hi Kay.
I am a clinical nurse specialist in Melbourne. I work predominantly nights + weekends, and also get a qualification allowance for a Masters. I work full time (including 8 hours study leave/fortnight – no penalty rates) and earned $89k ($42/hour) pre-tax last year. I salary package rent, meals + super, reducing my taxable income enough that I take home around $2,500 a fortnight, including meal and rent reimbursements.
My pay is certainly higher than average, but if I worked in ICU or casually, or worked on my study days, it would be higher still.
Hi i d like to know what is the monthly salary after taxes-so how much i will take home- in Brisbane for a 2 year experienced RN. I work in an oncology unit in UK.
@Danny – see current QLD wages for pre-tax amounts, tax rates can be found on this tax page. I suggest you post your question on allnurses.com in the Australian forum for a more exact answer.
[...] A little while back I had the opportunity to review an e-book by Emma Bates of NursingAustralia.info titled Nursing in Australia: A Guide to Working and Living as a Nurse Down Under. [...]
I don’t care how much you promote nursing in Australia, the truth is the health system is in a mess and nursing agents treat you like a puppet and expect you to jump to their command. They all lie and claim they care about you, but they don’t; all they care about is money and nurses in Australia are nothing but cash cows. The nurse gets abused at every angle because the health system is full of bullies.
@Ray – Woah, you’ve come on rather strong there! I work in emergency so I agree with your comment that the health system needs to be reworked. Regarding nursing agencies, I suspect that there are some that are quite good to deal with & agreeable to your particular terms and circumstance, and others who lack credibility and reputation.
I’m not so sure that “nurses are nothing but cash cows” is accurate in the broader sense – maybe you’ve had a particularly bad experience with an agency. I would recommend you find permanent work in either the public or private sector – if you don’t like a particular area, move to another. Come on, you can work in so many different areas in a hospital – ask to go somewhere you might be interested in. And don’t forget if hospitals and shift work is too difficult, there’s always community work, GP stuff, day surgeries etc etc.
Regarding “the nurse gets abused at every angle” well I agree that some places do push their staff around, but this is not the case everywhere. In fact, a lot of places are fairly desperate for staff, and are quite reasonable and flexible with rostering etc.
In short, it sounds like you have been burned, but be aware that not every nursing job in Australia will treat you this way. Try a few different places out and you will see what I mean.
Hi Ross,
I am also from the Philippines and is considering of studying nursing and working at the same time in Australia? Do you think that would be feasible or possible?
DO you have any idea how much is the average anual tuition fees nowadays? Would you recommend me to study there or just here in the Philippines?
Thanks
Hello Ronald. International students would required by universities to pay their tuition upfront, which is ranging from $15,000 – $30,000 per year. That is what I’ve read, I am still doing some research as well…
Hi Ronald… It’s certainly possible, though full a full time nursing degree takes up a fair amount of time in your week, you’d probably be limited to part time evening/night and weekend work.
As iTropics suggests it’s also quite expensive for international students. The latest USQ international fees suggest $2270 as an estimated cost per unit, full time study is 8 units per year (around $18160 per year), and it’s a three year course.
I’m not sure what the nursing course is like in the philippines so it’s difficult for me to say which is the best option for you! Good luck….
Feedback from nurses/readers regarding the above ebook, ‘Nursing in Australia – A Guide to Working and Living as a Nurse Dowun Under’. Here are the
comments that I have recieved.
‘Your book looks great’ ‘This is fantastic and much needed’.
‘I would like to congratulate you on such a fantastic publication. Every single
question I have ever been asked. The information is accurate and set out in a
format that is easy to read’.
‘Over 200 pages of essential information for nurses and midwives wishing to
migrate and work!!!’
This is fantastic and much needed. I’ll let our nursing candidates know about
your site and ebook.
A number of universities and nursing colleges have bought the ebooks and are using it as part of their currculim.
Hi all I have been made to fund my own RTP course and have now decided that I will take my skills to the UK as the wages in Aus are not great, the working conditions are shocking and they don’t treat nurses very well at all. I may have stayed in Australia if there had been some effort made to attract me back, but there hasn’t been any effort and I don’t think I should have to pay to nurse people especially when the system does’t repay you in any way.
To all those who want to nurse in Australis, all I can say is good luck slaves.
@Sharon – Hi there, thanks for visiting… Shame your experience has not been a great one, I’d love to hear more of the specifics about it.. All the best.
Hi Ross!
I would love to talk to someone in the know about some of the issues I am encountering in nursing, as I can’t seem to get a job and wonder if you can help. I don’t want to post these problems over the net and hope that you get the email address that doesn’t show up on the screen, the one you key in to post your comment.
If you email me I will write to you and perhaps you can help me.
@Brook – Hi, thanks for taking the time to comment. I’ve replied to you via email. For anyone else who would like to contact me directly for info or anything else at all, you can use the Contact Page.
slaves or not but i am thinking to go in Australia,i am nurse in Croatia and i just do not see stable future,is there any nurse from Croatia who went to work in Aus ?
Hi Cro Nurse – for overseas nurses, first you have to find out if you can become registered in Australia, or what your current qualifications will allow you to do. I suggest you contact the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and let them know about your current situation & they should advise.
Links are as follows:
NMBA Online contact form
NMBA Overseas Application Forms
Nursing & Midwifery Home Page
You can also contact the board responsible for Registration in Australia on 1300 419 495. Callers from overseas should ring +61 7 3310 1981.
Good luck!
thank you
I’ve just read about the new-released e-book written by Emma Bates. I found out that this tool will be helpful for the overseas nurses who want to work in australia. The contents of this book are comprehensive and reliable. Is this already distributed here in the Phillipines? Hoping for your response. Thank you so much.
Hi there, You’ve done an incredible job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.
Im a ENROLLED NURSE ASSIST IN SOUTH AFRICA. DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT MY QUALIF IS IN AUS? ALSO MUST I REGISTER WITH APHRA AND WHERE IS THE BEST TO LOOK FOR JOBS