nursekelly

Hi there

I'll apologise in advance for what I think might be a long post ..........

I've been doing some research into the process of trying to get to Australia for a while (initially in 2009 before qualifying) and think its time to stop the lurking around forums and ask for some advice and guidance!

I'm a child branch nurse with a first class BSc (Hons) and have worked in neonates since qualifying over 5 years ago. I've attained my neonatal qualification in speciality for special care, high dependency and intensive care and after my initial location research in 2009, I'm keen to try and get to Brisbane or the surrounding area with my husband and nearly-4-year-old son.

But, after trying to contact various organisations (including Queensland Health, Immigration, ANMAC etc) and recently reading some negative experiences about the opportunities in Oz (together with the costs of migration reaching £30,000), I'm feeling really disheartened and wondering if I should give up on my Australian dream .........

 Does anyone know if there are any realistic opportunities for UK-qualified NICU nurses in Queensland or is the demand for skills being met internally? Obviously, before I take any steps in the migration process (and part with any cash) I need to know whether there's likely to be a job at the end of it. I'd love to hear from anyone who's made the move and can comment about whether there's any real chances for nurses with my skills and experiences.

 According to the QLD Health website, they prefer to employ migrants on a 457 visa, which I was initially quite happy to do, but after reading around and contacting a friend-of-a-friend who migrated 6 years ago, I know that these visas come with risks. So, I've been reading about the 189 for PR but wondered if QLDH would not offer employment if it wasn't with a 457?

 Will my husband need to apply for a 189 visa in his own name or do spouses and dependants go on my application? He's not on the SOL and works (currently on a self-employed basis) as a Materials Handling (ie forklift truck etc) Instructor and Examiner.

 "Registered Nurse (Paediatric)" (ANZSCO 254425) is on the SOL but NOT on a list of nurses that can migrate according to a page on the Go Matilda website. Is this correct??? If so, and with my neonatal intensive care experience, could I apply under ANZSCO code 254415 which covers "critical care and emergency" nursing?

 On the NBMA website it states that sole-qualified nurses (which I'm guessing also means child-branch nurses) must have "supervised practice". Does anyone know much about what this means and if it impacts on how employable you are?

 I'm aware that if applying for 189 PR I will need to do an English assessment and that there is the IELT or OET. Is IELT the preferred type by ANMAC? If so, does it need to be the "Academic" version? Can anyone advise how long they took to prepare for the exams so that I can get a date booked?

 Does it really cost £30,000 to get out to Oz? I doubt I'd use an MA as I've been offered help by someone who is out there so that would save some money. I've no pets to ship out which I also believe bumps up the costs.

I think that's it for now but hope you don't mind me posting again if I need more expertise help!

I really appreciate you reading my post and look forward to you sharing your experiences and sharing your knowledge.

Thanks, Kelly x

Pollyana

Hi, and welcome to BE

There are a few opportunities in Queensland still for neonatal nurses, most would be in the Brisbane and southeast area; the snag is that there are a lot of unemployed nurses in Queensland due to recent cuts and you would be competing with them. S the jobs are here, but you have to seek them out and fight for them!
Secondly, the biggest hassle you will have is going to be registering with AHPRA. You say you have a degree, which is a good start, but they have now introdiced a ludicrous system of criminal history checks and that is going to slow the process down and complicate it.

As for the type of visa. 457s are not as common, even for nurses, as they used to be. I know a lot who headed for Qld on 457s then got PR later but that was a few years back. You can approach Queensland Health by all means butthey may be unwilling to sponsor at present. If you go for Permanent Residency straight off then you can work wherever you like, no risk of having to leave if you lose your job.

Your husband would come with you as a dependent on your visa - if you get PR then he and your child are also Permanent Residents straight off.

Visa fees are here - Fees and charges for visas then you would all need medicals, and you and your husband will need police checks. Shipping isn't cheap - in fact nothing here is cheap now - and I'm sure there are people who have had issues that have bumped the costs up one way or another, but £30k does sound a lot.......

Have a read of our Nursing forum here too - Nurses, Doctors, and other Medical/Healthcare occupations - British Expats

nursekelly

Thanks very much Pollyanna and this I a great help. Can you shed any light on my language competency questions? Thanks again and I really appreciate your reply. Kelly x

Alfresco

Hi Kelly,

I have moved this to the immi forum for you. Hopefully you will receive an answer to your IELTS question soon.

Pollyana

I've not had enough to do with the ANMAC side of it to say for sure, though I think its IELTS that they like. I would suggest apost in the Nursing forum with that, and the two points above it - more likely to get picked up by fellow nurses in there as they are nursing not visas, if you see what I mean!!

jimbo14

IELTS is easy if you're a native English speaker. I wouldn't worry too much about passing it.

Rhubarb65

Hi Kelly,

this is from the ANMAC site:

quote
Do I need to do an English language test as part of my migration skills assessment?

Australia is an English speaking country and it is important that healthcare professionals working here are proficient in English (reading, speaking, writing and listening). This enables nurses and midwives to communicate competently and safely with patients and their families, colleagues and other health professionals.

Full assessment applications

All internationally-qualified nurses and midwives without Australian or New Zealand registration (regardless of country of birth) have to provide English language test results.

Modified assessment applicants

If you are applying for a modified assessment you do not need to provide English language test results. This means you are registered with:

AHPRA/NMBA
Nursing Council of New Zealand
Midwifery Council of New Zealand.


What English language test does ANMAC accept?

We accept successful completion of either:

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Test.
Nurses and midwives must achieve a score of 7 or more in reading, listening, writing and speaking with an overall band score of 7 or more.

Occupational English Test (OET) For Nurses. Nurses and midwives must achieve a B pass or higher in reading, writing, listening and speaking.


Please note, you must get the minimum score in one sitting. ANMAC accepts test results that are up to 2 years old. You only have to pass one of these tests, not both. Test results must be posted directly to ANMAC from the test centre.
unquote

The above information provided at this link:

FAQs | ANMAC | Australian Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation Council

I agree with jimbo14 that as a native English speaker, you should not have too many issues with getting an overall score of 7.

The figure of £30,000 as an overall migration cost does sound high, but there are so many variables e.g. if you went for a permanent visa and were successful, but decided to come over on a visa validation trip before migrating permanently, you could easily spend £2 - 3,000 on return airfares before any accommodation...that could be considered discretionary if you were ready to migrate before the 'must arrive by' date on the visa, but perhaps the £30,000 figure includes such costs.

Good luck

verystormy

I am a member of some other forums. We have nurses currently in their 5th attempt at ILETS and one on their 13.

jimbo14

That surprises me if they are native English speakers. Is that the case?

Pollyana

There are many reasons - which have been discucssed in previous threads - as to why native English speakers don't excel at IELTS or similar exams.
Basic ones like dyslexia, then more complex ones like exam nerves, the pressure of knowing if you fail you blow the family chance to emigrate. The fact that unlike many countries where people are taught pure English with a view to passing exams, in England you just absorb it as you grow up - along with accents, dialects, slang, local words and phrases - none of those are 'correct' exam English. Many tradies (and others!) never passed or even sat an English exam in their lives, then suddenly find they have to sit IELTS, it can be a daunting prospect and I can quite understand their failure to achieve top marks. And even complacency has been seen in some cases - posters assuming they are English and will sail through..........then they don't....

Many people sail through, but many have come back to the forum and said it shouldn't be attempted without a LOT of practice.

jimbo14

I can see now nerves could blow it for some people, but beyond investigating what the exam would consist of and just going through the basic practice questions for around 30 minutes, I didn't do any practice. I just turned up and went for it.

The one thing that could trip up native speakers is the written part of the test, because from memory, that requires you to write a couple of short essays. If essay writing is not your forte, then I could understand people struggling.I wouldn't say it's mine, but I'm degree-level educated so it's not like I haven't had to write essays before. Regarding dyslexia, I could see how the reading and writing parts could be a problem, but it seems if you give your test centre notice, IELTs allow for this:

http://www.ielts.org/test_takers_inf...ial_needs.aspx

I honestly never got the impression they were actively testing perfect spelling and grammar though - more the level of your ability to communicate in and comprehend English. This is why it's surprised me to learn that native speakers do have problems.

Pollyana

Spot the key words - I'm degree-level educated.
Put yourself into the shoes of someone who left school at 15 or 16 to work as a brickie or a carpenter, never took an exam in their life before, speak English as they learnt it from their parents who also left at 15 and have never been formally taught the language to exam level, haven't been in a classroom or learning environment since they were at school, and on top of all that they know if the get a bad mark, its bye bye to the wife's dream of a house near the beach!

Scary position to be in - I've not had to sit it, but I've talked to a couple of people who outlined some of their issues and really opened my eyes to it.
I even know nurses who are fantastic at their job, communicate well in medical language I could never hope to understand, but who freak out at the thought of having to write an essay.

old.sparkles

There aren't many though who would not have had a decent enough education and still be young enough to migrate. Tradies are not all thickies and you do not need to be degree educated to get all 9's on IELTS. (Expelled at 16 just at start of 5th form, no degree and did get all 9's on second attempt at academic test - 1st was straight after a night shift and I got 7.5 on listening)

Pollyana

I'm not calling anyone a 'thickie;', far from it. Most migrants, tradies or otherwise are far more intelligent than I am, and have far more common sense. But I did go to school with, and was friends with, a lot of people who left to take up trades like carpenters, brickies, labourers etc and I know very well that some of them struggled with CSE English - I know, I used to do some of their homework! And I've met a lot of migrants over the years on both sides of the world who have come over as tradies with no formal qualifications, and certainly nothing like essay writing. And they've sturggled with IELTS. We've had people posting on here in the past who have said they have never been taught proper English and the mere thought of an English exam freaks them out.
I went to university, but I would struggle with IELTS. My gramar is lousy, my spelling dubious (even with a keyboard that doesn't stick) and to have to talk about a randomly chosen subject for a set length of time is my idea of purgatory. If I'd had to take it I probably would have dropped the idea of migrating on the spot. I might hve scraped 5s but thats all.
Equally there are people who breeze through it first time and come out with all 9s.

All I am saying is that its not right to assume that just because someone is a native English speaker they will pass first time with all 9s. They might. They might not. One size doesn't fit all.

louie

Have to say I wouldn't want to be looked after by a nurse who had failed IELTS 4 times, never mind 12 times. I can live with the idea of tradesmen failing, but nurses? Nurses who have to be able to communicate with their patients and doctors, administer drugs, read and write patient records etc. Nurses who must have studied and passed exams at the beginning of their careers and who presumably have to keep their technical knowledge up to date. I find that very worrying.