My experience on How to become registered nurse in Australia

(All information are still under construction)


ATTN: Based on my own experience. Ang mga hakbanging ito ang ginawa ko para makapunta ng Australia at maging rehistradong nurse. Gamitin nyo lang ito as GUIDE. Salamat.

Remember: All choice are expensive and would require a lot of time and effort. Walang madaling paraan sa kahit na anong bansa. Best thing to do is sit down and mag muni-muni (ponder) on which path your willing to take the risk. Please consider the "Pros" & Cons" of all your options.

Do heaps of reading on all online website that will help, email and phone all regulating bodies, university, or any person that will help with your decision.I'm telling you most of them are very accommodation and best of all they reply very promptly and I have done that for years and still doing this until now to achieve my goal  :)

THINK, RESEARCH and CONSULT

First (2011), Isang malalim na pag iisip ang ginawa ko para malaman kung ano ba talaga ang gusto ko.

4 Option:

1. Bridging Course w/ 2-5 yrs Nursing Experience - Business Visa
2. AURN License and Hospital Sponsorship - Working Visa.
3. Masteral of Nursing - Student Visa + Working Visa w/o condition. 
4. Pre-registration Nursing Degrees -  Student Visa + Working Visa w/ Condition.

•  4.1. Student Visa Solo - Bachelor, Vocational or Technical course.
•  4.2. Student Visa with family - Bachelor degree or Master Degree.
•  4.3. Student Visa - Master Course 

Answer: 4A

Bridging Course (3-6 months program):

PROS:

- less expensive (tuition ranges from 18-23k AUD for the whole year)
- shorter length of study (1 year)
- don't need to study the basic core subjects again
-50% probability of success in landing a nursing job.

CONS:
-take you a while to be in Australia for a short stay for your Bridging course, then after a while back to Philippines again in search for some company to sponsor you for work (if your lucky).
-You have to passed and meet all assessment criteria (you can only take the exam once). Though there are still some option to be registered like taking the education module.
- Entry requirements varies but usually require a license, related working experience and at least 3 year post secondary studies related to nursing.
- highly competitive with limited assurance landing to nursing job
- will take a while to qualify for either Skilled - Graduate Temporary Visa (subclass 485) or Skilled Independent Residence Visa (subclass 885)

Masteral Degree in Nursing (1 yr program)

PROS:

- less expensive than pre-registration (tuition ranges from 30-40k AUD for the whole year)
- shorter length of study (1-1.5 year)
- don't need to study the basic core subjects again.
-50% probability of success in landing a nursing job.

CONS:
-you be in Australia in less than 2 months.
-Entry requirements varies and do not require related working experience or license. A previous bachelor degree in Nursing is required (apart from English requirements).
- Automatically granted a Working visa with condition to work as AIN, Disability Support and etc while studying.
- you have to passed all subjects and meet all assessment criteria.
-would qualify for either Skilled - Graduate Temporary Visa (subclass 485) or Skilled Independent Residence Visa (subclass 885) once you finish your masteral degree.
-You have to process your registration and make sure to find an agency or someone to sponsor you to stay.

Pre-registered course (2-3 years program):

PROS:
- You be in Australia in less than 2 months.
- Entry requirements varies and do not require related working experience or license. A previous bachelor degree in Nursing can be applied but not required (apart from English requirements).
- Automatically granted a Working visa with condition to work as AIN, Disability Support and etc.
- would qualify for either Skilled - Graduate Temporary Visa (subclass 485) or Skilled Independent Residence Visa (subclass 885) once you finish your degree.
- Qualify to apply for the graduate programs in Australia. (Level 1 RN)
- Some Universities offer a pre-registration course at a Master's degree level.
- stay in Australia for more than 4 yrs multi-entry without worrying about another visa entry.
-75% probability of success in landing a nursing job.

CONS:
ALERT: EXPENSIVE, EXHAUSTIVE, AND UNCERTAIN.

- more expensive (tuition ranges from 18-23k AUD per year averaging 50-60k AUD for the whole degree)
- longer length of study (2 - 3 years) and longer length of stay.
- have to study some of the basic core subjects again.
- you have to passed all subjects and meet all assessment criteria.
- edge in other overseas nurse and can compete with local nurses.

Basically, it all depends on whether you want to stay in Australia after you graduate or not. And if you can shell out more cash for the additional year or not.

I would recommend the 1-year program if you can apply for another visa (e.g. family sponsored or partner visa). Also, you can still choose the 1-year program if you are willing to wait for another 8-12 months for your sponsorship visa (business visa types or skilled sponsored visa) to finish. I am not sure though, if you can lodge for the latter visa types while you are in Australia. Either way, you will still not be able to work during the waiting period.

Regarding tuition fee payments, it varies and would depend on the University's policy. Some require full payment while others would accept bi-semestral or semestral payments. To confirm this, you may want to contact the University you are planning to go to. I've contacted 3 Universities in Sydney, 3 Universities in Queensland, 1 University in Melbourne and 1 National University with campuses both in Sydney and Brisbane. All of the Universities I've contacted are in the metro area as I'm not planning to live in the rural areas.

Enrolled Nursing course is different. It is comparable to LPN or LVN. You can be eligible for enrollment in the Nursing Council or Board if you finish an Enrolled Nursing Diploma (it's never a degree). TAFE offers this course as well as Certificate III (Aged care). The Enrolled Nurse course will take 18 months to finish or 1 1/2 years.

^ http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener...ons-inside.htm

If you don't have much money to pay for tuition fee and wanted to get out of the country as soon as possible with minimal risk then go for a Masteral Degree. I suggest get more idea on that, coz I don't have. Then let me know.

Answer: Pre-registration Nursing Degree.

University

 Second, Which state in Australia and Which school kaya ang maganda.

State: APHRA

• Queensland - Brisbane
• Victoria - Melbourne
• New South Wales - Sydney
• Western Australia - Perth
• South Australia - Adelaide
• Northern Territory - Darwin
• ACT
• Tasmania

University:

• University of Sydney
• ACU University
• University of Newcastle
• CQ University

Answer: University of Newcastle - Calm, Serene and Peaceful.  

COURSE: BSN

School Administration:
a. Low Upfront Tuition Fee Requirement. - Pre-registration Nursing degree costs varies from one state to another. Yearly tuition ranges from 10-18-23K AUD. That is tuition alone - books and all other materials and uniforms are not yet included.
b. Pre-registered BSN course.
c. Credit Application.
d. Few Document Requirement.
e. Prompt in answering question.
f. Not congested.
g. Application is free of charge.
h. International Student friendly campus

Location - And then you need approximately 15k AUD per year for your accommodation, food, transpo, school materials (including photocopies, books, uniform, etc.), and other miscellaneous things.

a. Friends available
b. Near the beach, mountains and away from flood.
c. Accommodation and food are cheap - A lot of the Universities have accommodation for students. You can choose to stay in their accommodation or you can live out with others. If someone else you know is going to study in the same uni, I suggest you just rent outside. Some accommodation of Unis are catered (meaning you don't have to worry about food, they'll provide it). Sydney accos are pretty much on the high end, Brisbane though is way more cheaper. I'm pretty much familiar with the unis and accommodation prices and stuff in both Sydney and Brisbane as those are my target. I'm not so familiar with Melbourne though.
d. Low cost of daily living.
e. Many walk-ways.

So i started to contact my chosen University and search their website. I spend whole days and weeks reading their website. Course, tuition fees, services and others na makakatulong sakin. Just follow my links to find out how it all started.

1. Email the University about your intention to study with them.
2. They will reply to you with this information

• First name (as it appears on your passport or identity card)

• Last name (as it appears on your passport or identity card)

• Date of birth (date/month/year)

• Postal address

• Country of current residence

• Country of citizenship (please state if you are a permanent resident of Australia)

• Home telephone number

• Mobile / Handphone / Cellphone number

• Alternative email addresses

All you need to do is to reply with details of the above question and wait till they get back to you.
If you are planning to go to Australia as soon as possible, you can try applying for the Universities now, and if you're lucky, you can get the Offer within 2-3 weeks from the University. As soon as you get that, apply for the student's visa with the help of IDP with branches in Makati. The student's visa processing will take about 2-3 months. You might still make it for the February entry. If not, the next entry will be July, however, this will still depend if the University has a July entry for that specific course. Usually, there is only one entry per year and that is either January, February or March.

IETLS

Third, IETLS Total score of 7.0 (overall band of 6.5 - 7.0 with no bands less than 6.0 - 7.0 depending on the University policy)

My English examination took me months since I've been juggling as a call center agent, a volunteer at PGH and reviewing at Niners 9.0. It's do or die. Click the link at 7.0 to find out my experience when i took my examination.

N.B IELTS result can be followed up after you submit your application. Some Universities do not require you to have an IELTS exam when you apply. They will advise you later on after assessment of your application if you still need to provide the said exam or not.

The documents you need for the application includes the following:

School Documents

 Fourth, School Documents
 1. Application Form
 2. Transcript of Record (certified true copy)
 3. Diploma. (certified true copy)
 4. Certificates.
 5. English Language Proficiency.
 6. High school Certificates.

 * All original or certified documents. Ipapa-certify mo ang document mo sa Notary public sa Australia or Justice of Peace or Authorized officer sa Pilipinas (IDP).

 *First semester (February) intake each year.

TIP: Application in Australia can be accomplish on your own. Agent or agency is not really necessary.  However, if you have cash to burn and feel the need help from a professional then you might asked for consult migration officer regarding your case. There are paid and free assessment. Choose wisely as there are bunch of bogus people who makes a living in taking advantage on people.

Confirmation of Enrollment

Fifth, COE - Confirmation of Enrollment.

Fees varies from state to state and from University to University. But you can expect to pay from 16500 AUD up to 24000 AUD per year. That is tuition alone. To enroll in the course, you would only need to pay for 1 semester's fee. The rest you can pay per sem or bi-sem or annually - it would really depend on the University you are going to enroll at.

Visa Requirements

Sixth, VISA Requirements

1. Medical Test - health check-ups (both chest x-ray and medical)
2. Character Clearance NBI clearance & police clearance for each country you've stayed at for more than 12 months in the past 10 years)
3. IELTS result
4. CoE
5. Health insurance: OSHC (The fee will depend on how long you want the OSHC to be. Can be a few months up to 6 years. It will take approximately 700+ AUD for the whole 2 years.)
6. Proof that you can meet the financial requirements (Air fare, tuition fees, and living expenses) or Family from Australia, Relatives from other country or Yourself - Support


         a. Affidavit of Support of Family (if any)
            b. Passport
            c. Bank Certification
            d. Updated Passbook
            e. Bank Statement
            f. 2 Months Payslip
            g. Australian Federal Police Clearance
            h. Evidence of Relationship
            f. Copy of Passport
            h. Evidence of Visa Status

You wouldn't need to present any financial evidence to the University. However, that will be needed in the application for a students visa. You actually need to provide evidence that have enough money to cover the expenses [Tuition fees (for the whole course), Living expenses (12k AUD) & airfare ticket (roundtrip)]. That is if you are only going on your own; meaning without a spouse or child coming with you. If your family are coming along then you would need to provide more. The financial evidence can come from anyone who will be supporting you or a bank loan or scholarship.

Work

Seventh, ARRIVED IN AUSTRALIA: 2012

AUGUST: Mag apply online ng work: AIN - Assistant Nursing at Mental Aid Care.

The student visa already has a permission to work status. You can only work upon commencement of your course. You are allowed to work for up to 20 hours a week when you have classes. However, on holidays or semestral breaks, you are allowed to work for unlimited hours per week.

The salary would depend on the job that you will get.

 

UNIVERSITY LIFE: 

University workload: My workload is much lighter compared to that in the Philippines. I based this on my workload in my previous Alma mater (OLFU). I have 3 subjects per sem, OLFU have 6-7 per sem.
I'm are only required to go to classes 120-140 hours per semester at UoN, but in OLFU we were required at least 30++ hours per week worth of lectures plus duty of almost 45 hours per week. My clinical placements are really full on and hands on. You will really learn heaps as if your a nursing intern. We do have case study that we need to write which is done by interviewing patients with their consent. The assignments are mostly paperwork like essays and reports. I really think Filipinos will be okay as long as you study how to make case study, grammars and writing portfolio. There is no such thing as severe memorization era, just learn the basic and focus more on your written case study and you will finish with flying colors. No quota in grades all you have to do is to PASSED and that's all. 

FIRST YEAR:
- Easiest and adjustment period
SECOND YEAR:
- hardest year

THIRD YEAR:
- getting used with the flow, enjoyed clinical placement.

NEW GRADUATE PROGRAM 2014:
The new graduate program is an opportunity given to each nursing student to hire newly graduate nurse prior to their graduation and registration.

Requirements:

Interview:

Circumstances:
- Level 3 priority


RN REGISTRATION 2014:

1. IELTS/OET - In order to get registered, one of the requirements is to take your IELTS again after your first IELTS examination prior to your admission at Uni.

2. Australia doesn't have any licensure exam so don't worry about it. That is why their Nursing degrees are called pre-registration degrees - specifically those recognized courses by the State Regulating Authorities. If you finish any recognized courses of the relevant State regulating Authority, your registration process will be expedited.

There are two types of pre-registration courses: a 1 year and 3 years program. If you take the 3 years course, sponsorship is not really necessary and you might be eligible to apply for a skilled independent visa (resident) after you graduate and receive your registration from the nurses board. You need to have your credential assessed by ANMC as soon as you receive your registration from the State regulating authority. After which, you will need to lodge your application for Skilled Independent (resident) visa whilst in Australia. You will then be given a bridging visa while your application is being processed. The bridging visa has full work rights. Depending on the bridging visa, you may or may not be able to go in and out of Australia.

If however, you don't meet the other criteria in the visa (e.g. the 1 year related experience while you were in Australia), you can apply for the post-graduate visa which will allow you to stay for another 18 months to 2 years to comply with the requirements for the Skilled Independent Visa.

The Independent visa doesn't need an agency to sponsor you, you apply for it yourself. This is also a resident visa not a business type visa. Resident visas are good for 5 years. You can apply for citizenship after 3-4 years. This however, doesn't apply to the 1 year program as the minimum requirement for both visas is finishing a course for 2 years.


FIRST YEAR RN DIVISION 1: 2015

GOAL: Registered Australian Nurse with Permanent Residence plus skilled qualification - 65 points
Mission accomplished!!!