Nurse Becky

Hi I'm coming over to Perth in November on a working holiday visa and I was hoping to work as a nurse while I am out there. I have a bachelors degree (Hons) and two years post grad experience. I am struggling at the
Moment though with conflicting information and I was wondering if any one else has done this or could shed any light for me?.

I was under the impression I could work as a nurse as long as I applied for the Nursing and midwifery board. However on other threads I'm now told it's not possible to nurse on the WHV or that I will have to carry out 6months supervision before being able to work?.
Also I have found different information on whether or not I should be getting a medical and Chester X-ray before I come over or whilst I am there?.

Any information regarding this process would be greatly appreciated as November is coming around quickly, thank you in advance,
Becky

mgreaves

Hi, I've not researched the WHV so can't help you with those questions but I do know it has restrictions on length of time you can work for a single employer.

As far as I am aware like the NMC over here you need to be registered with AHPRA over in Australia to be able to work as a registered nurse.

Getting on their register is a time consuming process and costs money, so I would weigh up how much work you think you will do before starting it.

I have just sent the application off to register and it has taken a good few months to gather all the documents required (University, NMC, all old jobs), you need to pay for these documents and also pay to get them notarised, and pay to register with the AHPRA.

Nurse Becky

Hi thank you for your reply.
What do you mean have them notarised?.
Would my certificates not suffice? I have my degree cert and my NMC registration as evidence?. I've only been qualified for two years so I've only had one work place during that time.
I would like to work as I would normally over here as we will be renting a house etc and it possibly if it was available look at being sponsored while I am there.
I've just completed the application and just gathering evidence now so your help is most welcome thank you.

mgreaves

Yes you have to send basics such as proof of who you are and copies of your degree and transcript.

However they are very strict on syllabus, so you need to send full syllabus details ensuring it highlights specific pharmacology topics, as well as this you need to show how many placement hours you did as part of your degree. Your university will charge a fee for all of this (£30ish), the university themselves also have to send evidence to AHPRA to say you completed this., you can not send this yourself

Then the NMC have to directly send documents to AHPRA, they charge £35 for this.

Everything you send to AHPRA (all of the above) needs to be a true and certified copy, this is done by a notary. The cost of this will vary depending on where you are in the country and you can find people getting it for as little as £20, but around here (Surrey/Sussex) the cheapest was £165!

Also you need to prove that you have been taught in English, this cost £30ish as well. Being born in the UK with a UK passport is not enough!

You'll also need their approved criminal record check which again costs!

Here is a list of what I sent (from the 2nd post in this forum):

Degree certificate + transcript
Degree course outline (90 pages)
Letter from Uni explaining pharmacology etc.
Letter from Uni stating hours on placement
Letter from AQA stating GCSE's were taught and assessed in English with a transcript of results (School has closed down so had to go to the examining board!)
Work reference/testimonials each with a job description for each of the 3 jobs held since graduation
Passport
Driving License
Bank Statement + Credit Card

Along with this was a copy of the Fit2Work cover page and a signed CV.

mgreaves

Sorry for the above long post, hopefully it does not put you off but as I said, it is a timely and costly process!

All of that cost me just over £600 and took several months to gather, it is currently in the post to Australia so hopefully I have done everything correctly!

Nurse Becky

Wow! Maybe I will go and work in a hotel or something instead haha

Thank you for that I had no idea of all that was required!. Its not put me off but I don't know how on earth I could get it all in time. So its an eye opener!. How many months has it taken?
sorry I have a few more questions if thats oK?

Is the syllabus, Hours, english etc from the Uni something that they were previously aware of or did they create this information for you? And have they sent it over before your application?

How do I prove I was taught in English? Is that from AQA?
Also I have put on my application my three years at Uni, One year at College and High school down as my English taught years, will I need to get anything from the college or will my certificate be enough?

Sorry I wasn't aware there was other threads with Information I haven't used a forum before.
In panic Mode now, Its a good job ive asked I was previously told it was all straight forward two applications and I would be sorted :/

mgreaves

I sent a basic email to university saying about working abroad and they asked to fill a firm in and pay a fee, after that they said they'd done it all before and knew what to send. They did this before the application, so I'm assuming all is OK but won't find out until Ahpra get my application!

I used AQA as the actual school had closed down, they gave a basic letter stating the English gcse is taught and assessed in English and typically takes 2 year's out of 5 years in secondary school.

I sent the first emails about 2 months ago, but if I'd been in more of a rush it would not have taken as long, I left it a couple of weeks between chasing things up rather than days. I've read that it can take Ahpra a while to process it all but don't have any first hand experience here yet, there is another thread a couple of us have posted in recently with timings.

I'm actually an accountant and have done all this for my partner, I've just had her sign a few pieces of paper and she thinks it's all straight forward! We have a friend over there who was similarly not aware of what was needed and wanted to do it over there!

Nurse Becky

Thank you so much for all the information. I will be approaching my high school and University today and applying for my Fit2Work.
Im just wondering if they will ask me where to send it etc? as obviously my application isnt sent yet?

mgreaves

The high school bit I sent myself, however the wording on the new applciation form leans towards them sending it.

Fit2Work you just print out and send that, they access it directly using the reference code on this.

There is a template on the AHPRA website you can give to university and the NMC to send with the address, however Sheff Hallam did not ask for this. For us this bit was done first (a month ago) and the application is not there yet...so I am hoping they kept it and I don't have to request it again!

Nurse Becky

Ive got the letter for the university however it does not mention that it was taught in English? Im hoping to make it as pain free for them as possible as I know when I attended UoC they were not known for their speed in the admin department :/

How long has your partner had to wait for her medical and chest x-ray appointment?

mgreaves

The degree part does not say this was taught in English as I found nothing online saying you had to state this, it was jsut your secondary education that needed this proof...I am hoping they have not changed this when they annoucned the new language rules on 1st July!

The medical and chest x-ray are part of the visa process and not AHPRA, we are applying for a PR visa on my skills/experience and have not yet lodged the expression of interest yet, I have read that the medical is not done until we are asked to do it as part of the visa as they give you a reference number.

i am not sure if this is needed for a WHV?

Nurse Becky

I have spoken with my university and they have said that they confirm it is all in English anyway so I am safe with that.
Anyone who intends to work in healthcare has to have a medical and Chest X-ray so as my visa only takes a couple of days I imagine that will have to be soon.

Just filling out my Fit2Work application and under license and passport there is an attach here button, I am presuming that this is for scanned copies of these documents?

mgreaves

I can't remember what exactly I attached but I just scanned the documents and added them without anyone else needing to check them.

Nurse Becky

I've just spotted the other forum that you have posted on now sorry. I noticed that there are different offices to send to? Is it just wherever you are moving too?.
Also how do I certify the university documents if the university are sending them
Over?.

mgreaves

I jsut sent to the Sydney office, I think that is where all international applications get forwarded to anyway.

The university needs to provide you with some documents, and AHPRA with some documents.

Course outline, hours on placement and pharmocology details the university provided to us, we then had this certified and included in our application.

The university also needs to send some details directly to AHPRA. Not sure if you can just get the university to send it all directly, but they had a list (it has since been removed) on AHPRA saying what you provdied and what the instituion provided, so I jsut followed this.