purple rain

can anyone tell me what icu is like in Oz. I am currently working on a general icu and have been qualified for 16 months, by the time we get to brisbane i will have 2yrs experience. how different is it from the uk and are the drugs they use different?

lesley street

Hi

Have you done the ITU course, not 100% sure, but i think I read a post somewhere that said you have to have it to be able to work on one in Aus. I was looking at all options, as I worked on ITU/HDU/CCU for 14 months a while back. (Not sure if you meant you'd been generally qualified or ITU qualified - sorry if I misunderstood)

Best of luck

Lesley.

purple rain

i havent done the itu course however have done competencies and a-line iv drugs courses and have certificates

rob&lucy

Just be careful as not all the courses you do in the UK are recognised in OZ. The ICU course is a classic example. Because we do a hell of a lot more theory and practice than oZ we shouldn't have a problem but they take the components of the course and compare it with an Australian university doing an ICU course to see how you 'match up'. Madness i know. I had a problem with this in NSW, NT and QLD. However i got it put down as a post-grad cert in ICU etc and that went well. Any course you do get a transcript as this helps heaps. Depending on whre you work the ICU can be VERY different. I mean there are things going on here that we experienced in the UK 5 years ago eg use of BIPAP, Haemodynamic monitoring, PICCO etc. It will make you want to scream at times as all the laws of chemistry/physics/human physiology go out the window and you feel like you are working in the black hole where no information (that the rest of the world can access) can get through. However saying this you can adapt well without compromising the patient and your documentation skills improve heaps!! You will have no problems in OZ in ICU so don't worry. Just bring all of your documentation re courses etc as this is of huge benefit.
Lucy (i'm an ICU nurse, Anaesthetics/PACU and a Midwife who specialises in high risk obstetrics!!)

purple rain

thanks for that, we hope to be in oz sept 05, i will keep you posted

amansingh

My has been qualified as a nurse for 3 years. However she has just transferred to ICU and is doing modules (IV, Cardiac and I think 'respiratory' module). She says that after this she needs to do an ICU course.

Anyways...my question is "does not having these done these ICU courses affect immigration itself or just finding a job in ICU in Australia?"

Is it worth checking out what is required to work in ICU in Australia?

My wife wishes to apply for a job first and then apply for immigration. This seems like a logistical nightmare..i.e distance/interviews etc. I'm suggesting to emmigrate first and then apply. We will be okay for money.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks in advance

rob&lucy

These courses are a bonus when it comes to finding a job in Australia. All she has to do is let the Nursing Unit Manager (NUM) know what she has got re experience etc and go from there. If you can get a job on the proviso that you get the visa then great it can help. However you don't have to have one before you go for the visa as she will have no problems getting a job. All i had were telephone interviews which had scenarios etc and that was fine.
Lucy

amansingh

Thanks Rob & Lucy,

I will pass on the info to my wife. Don't you think though that applying from here limits your choice of job?

We've been looking at agencies and jobs to get an idea of pay and to be honest we don't know what to believe. I've read on her $40+ per hour yet on
agency websites I've seen only $20-$28 per hour.

May I enquire as to your opinion on what a general ICU nurse with 3 years ICU experience should be looking to earn in Sydney? (With 6 years general nursing experience), both through agencies and also permanent

Thanks in advance

jodesmc

Hi Guys,
ICU nurses seem to be in short supply the world over, and having now worked in ICU in 3 countries, I have found it very easy to transfer my skills across all 3. I trained in Aus, and worked in a couple of hospitals in Ireland, and also in Scarborough in UK, I have worked in about three different units in Oz. I find that any unit has its own idiosyncrasies, and each unit does it;s own thing(swans in Eire, PICCO's in Oz and Doppler in UK) for eg, but at the end of the day, you can apply all your knowledge to all situations and adapt it. Here in Vic you can virtually walk into any job, and you don't need formal qualifications(although they help) and experience is highly recognised.. I actually feel that orientation in the UK and Ireland is much better, in my current workplace you get 3 X 8 hour shifts and then out on your own, which is quite poor, although you will get a preceptor. I also work at the Alfred, and they seem to give a lot more input to orientation...the differences seem to be unique to each unit you work on, and not necessarily unique to a country,and at the end of the day, the work is very similar, I do hope this helps..