leweli

Hi

I'm a newbie to this site and would appreciate a bit of help. Me and my other half (plus 2 kids) are just in the planning stages of emigrating. At present, I work as a COPD Nurse Specialist and would love to stay within this field (if possible). Does anyone know if there is a call for COPD Nurses in Oz (am particularly interested in moving to the Perth area)?

Also, am soooooooo confused re: visa's. My head's really in a spin from all the info out there. Agent or not??? Sponsored or not???

Many thanks x.

asher

Sorry I don't know about the Perth area but in Sydney definitely I had plenty of job offers by sending my CV to the hospitals near where we had decided we wanted to live.

Good luck

leweli

Thanks for the help. Appreciate it x.

asher

you are welcome re visas a sponsored visa is quicker but has a lot of conditions attached to it it is usually better to go for PR unless you want to do a trial run in Oz and see if you like it.

you will find yourself in demand for jobs I think

leweli

Hope so .

Are you actually working as a COPD Nurse at the moment?

asher

long story but no!

I am a respiratory specialist but had an accident before I left work in the UK that has complicated things a lot!!

rmac

Hi,
I live in QLD and was a Practice Nurse in the UK doing all the respiratory clinics. Managed to get a job with QLD health as a respiratory clinical nurse but there is hardly any of them.Its only paid as a NO2 which is really bad considering what the job is....basically seeing COPD patients and getting them assessed etc. We also do Asthma pts and pts with bronchiectasis. There are Consultant nurses in the hospital ...respiratory but only really 1 in each area. Contact the health board and see what they have on offer but it seems to be dead mens shoes. I have only go this job temp for 8 months but keeping my fingers crossed

leweli

Thanks for that - will try the health board as suggested .

Do you know if there is as big a problem with COPD in Oz as the UK?

rmac

Yup huge....more empysema than chron brons and loads on O2. You would want to aim for a clinical nurse consultant post but as I said they are few and far between. Do you have diplomas or degrees in respiratory health cos that really helps as there is no courses like that over here!!
The other option is if the hospital does a 'hospital in the home' programme for COPD patients...that might be a way in!
Hope this helps
Rhona

leweli

Thanks for the info. It all helps. Really want to stay in the field of COPD if I can as have a real passion for it. Wouldn't mind being either community or hospital based (or mixture of both).

Have got a respiratory disease management diploma and am also currently doing the non medical prescribing programme........ have no idea whether this will be of any value in Oz though - do you?

rmac

Hi,
Thats good that you have that diploma. I am an independant nurse prescriber but that means nowt over here! You will find it very restricting. Drs wont let you do much. Its very behind in that sence. You can do a nurse practioners course but dont know how much that will give you autonomy. Over here, nurses cant even do a dressing without the Drs watching over them!
Rhona

leweli

Oh dear - that could prove to be a bit frustrating!!! Not sure I'm ready to go back to being a doctors hand maiden lol x.

augigi

Dunno where you work, but I've *never* in 12 years' practise had a doctor watch me do a dressing!