NURSES - Moving to Australia

[jac2011]

Sorry to say Ceridwyn as usual, I read this in a positive light for all those stuck in transition with AHPRA and ANMAC:

 

http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/News/2014-08-15-media-release.aspx

 

I think this shows they recognise that this is potentially unlawful and looking into those who applied to AHPRA before the changes were announced and have been granted a visa. Forgive me if I am wrong.

[ceridwyn]

Not sure about what law was broken, but it is great that this group given pos. Pr assessments before Feb are now recognised as moraly unfair not tobe given registration as caught in the middle of the changes.

Edited August 15, 2014 by ceridwyn

[2adults2cheekykids]

Thanks Matthewroberts and congrats on the LOD of Anmac. AHPRA had requested me to provide evidence of Criterion 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 on 18/06/14 and gave me up to 18/07/14. I provided the evidence and kept contacting my case worker who never replied to me till I received my registration. Hopefully it won't be long for your wife. Good luck. x

 

Hi, I have been waiting since Oct 2013 for registration, I'm having a nightmare with AHPRA! The uni keep providing the wrong information for criteria 6 and 8. Do you know what was exactly sent for these criteria as the uni can't believe that it hasn't been sufficient evidence, I honestly believe they want blood!! They have all my transcripts (I was diploma trained 2000-2003) and all additional info and they sent information on pharmacology.

 

Also for anyone else in the same predicament as me, today on the AHPRA website on the news release is an email address for anyone having trouble with registration who applied before the new changes in Feb 2104 to contact them, I have tried but with time difference and the weekend hopefully I will hear next week.

 

On the 1st Aug I have been served a final notice date of the 30th Aug and say will withdraw my application if the appropriate information is not sent! 11 months in and still no registration, 12 years qualified and feel like I'm just starting out! Our house just sold and hubbie already give his job up, we should have moved in March then postponed to Sep due to this, now looks like we could never go! Had permanent residency for 2 years now! I just feel like I am living a nightmare not the dream we should be having.

[geordiegirl68]

Hi, I have been waiting since Oct 2013 for registration, I'm having a nightmare with AHPRA! The uni keep providing the wrong information for criteria 6 and 8. Do you know what was exactly sent for these criteria as the uni can't believe that it hasn't been sufficient evidence, I honestly believe they want blood!! They have all my transcripts (I was diploma trained 2000-2003) and all additional info and they sent information on pharmacology.

 

Also for anyone else in the same predicament as me, today on the AHPRA website on the news release is an email address for anyone having trouble with registration who applied before the new changes in Feb 2104 to contact them, I have tried but with time difference and the weekend hopefully I will hear next week.

 

On the 1st Aug I have been served a final notice date of the 30th Aug and say will withdraw my application if the appropriate information is not sent! 11 months in and still no registration, 12 years qualified and feel like I'm just starting out! Our house just sold and hubbie already give his job up, we should have moved in March then postponed to Sep due to this, now looks like we could never go! Had permanent residency for 2 years now! I just feel like I am living a nightmare not the dream we should be having.

 

Hi, the notice on AHPRA, is for those who have had a positive ANMAC assessment for Skilled visa, prior to the February changes, just thought that should be clarified. So I think you should be fine Hayley, just send your details via the link on the website, we're not there yet, but it's a step in the right direction!

Edited August 15, 2014 by geordiegirl68
eeror

[tracyscotland]

[TABLE=class: AHPRA_Table, width: 701]

[TR]

[TD]6 [/TD]

[TD]The curriculum of your program of study focused on the various aspects of nursing practice. [/TD]

[TD]A translated copy of the course or unit outlines certified by your education provider/institution. [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

I Just sent my course transcript which contained all theory topics/hours studied and clinical placements/hours plus exam results etc. I can't think of anything else you could add to be honest. Maybe try to phone them (laughing hysterically as I type) and ask to clarify...also for an extension if needed.

 

[TABLE=class: AHPRA_Table, width: 701]

[TR]

[TD]8 [/TD]

[TD]The education institution that provided the program of study, and confirmed your qualification, has certified that you have successfully completed an assessment in medication management including drug calculation, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (if this information is not included in the academic transcript).

See Fact sheet - IQNM criterion 8: registered nurse and midwife.[/TD]

[TD]Make sure your education institution provides AHPRA with the necessary information. [/TD]

[TD]Certification from your education institution, provided directly to AHPRA, that you successfully completed your course of study which covered medication management including drug calculation, pharmacokinetics(the study of the bodily absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs and pharmacodynamics (the study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and the mechanisms of their action in the body). [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

everything it says on the tin! you might need to give blood...or organs! I asked a uni tutor for a letter stating all relevant information re cr8 as AHPRA weren't happy with just my transcript for this criterion. I also asked NMC to forward all nursing records they had.

 

The AHPRA email should cover you as I am Oct 13 applicant too. I got an automated reply.

[2adults2cheekykids]

Thanks, the uni have all the above info and I asked them yesterday to do a letter as well stating all the requirements, but admin said they have to permission from the director of nursing who is on annual leave!!!!!!! I also requested all info from NMC yesterday and sent a cover email pleading with them to do this before the 30 days of what their timescale is to provide these documents. I have just spoken with my friend in perth she's a nurse manager and said its as bad over there, she doesn't know what's happening at AHPRA either. She's going to ring them Monday. We can see what another week brings! X

[kellyv]

Check ur PMs

[jac2011]

Can anyone please offer some advice re what ID they used for each section of the ID requirements A, B and C?

 

I don't drive so only really have a passport and even that doesn't appear to be valid without a visa?

[kellyv]

Passport fine u just have to write a cover letter saying you have applied for visa. (assuming u have). Unsure re rest as I used driving license.

[kellyv]

Think NMC pin was one also but it was that long ago I can't remember!

[jac2011]

I haven't yet applied for a visa :-(

 

I wont have my pin till the end of Sept. AHPRA said I could send my form off earlier and forward on the pin details once I have it. Cant believe I am falling at the first hurdle!

[kellyv]

You are probably better waiting Jac! Its not too long till Sept and Ahpra are so behind processing all other IQNMs it probably won't make much difference! Some nurses have been waiting over 8mnths....one nurse over a year!! :eek:

[jac2011]

Yep Iv been watching Kelly, though a few new applicants have been getting there AHPRA within 10 weeks, I think if your case is simple and you are degree registered it is flying through to avoid a further backlog. It appears the older applicants are the ones stuck in the funnel neck. AHPRA advised my friend that there 12 weeks processing timescale is back in place for new applicants with a degree.

 

I may wait till September, I would have just liked to have started the process as I have lots on in September with IELTS and starting a new job. I'll email AHPRA as surely it cant be that difficult to provide ID.

[Adebec]

I don't have any idea how I can hit criteria 8 now I have looked into it closely. I am 9 years trained and work in a cath lab. I am about to complete my dissertation for my top up degree but am at a loss as to how show or gather evidence for this criteria. Do they offer 3 month unit bridging courses to meet this? Please help as this is my dream and have already begun the process but now worry I will get a visa but not be able to nurse.

[kellyv]

Criteria 8 relates to your training and must cover all the areas pharmacology, pharmakokinetics, drug admin etc. You would have done it all. Ask your university to write up a document which covers this. Mine did and it was accepted.

[kyliedonut]

[h=1]Australian red tape leaves UK nurses unable to work[/h] 19 August, 2014 | By Jo Stephenson

Highly experienced UK nurses who moved to Australia to make a new life have been left in limbo and unable to work by a recent change in registration rules.

 

Many have spent thousands of pounds re-locating only to find their qualifications are no longer recognised, with some reduced to working as waitresses or claiming benefits.

Others have been forced to abandon their dream altogether and return home, Nursing Times has been told.

 

“I ran an acute medical admissions ward on nights, and I’ve been told that I am not of the standard to work in Australia”

Margaret Walker

Their plight stems from recent changes to the way the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia recognises qualifications.

The changes, which came into force in February, require overseas nurses to hold qualifications deemed “substantially equivalent” to Australian nurse training. However, a three-year UK nursing diploma is no longer considered to pass that test.

Nurses granted “skilled migrant” visas before the change and who moved to Australia assured their skills were in demand are now seeing their registration applications turned down by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Some have been told their only option is to do a “bridging course” costing A$10-15,000 or are attempting to top up their diplomas to degree level.

Meanwhile, scores of others are still waiting to hear their fate, with many left in limbo for more than six months and some up to a year.

More than 150 of them have joined a Facebook group highlighting the problems faced by UK nurses struggling to register.

 

They include Margaret Walker who moved to Queensland in 2012 hoping to finish her nursing career there “on a high”.

“I have got 40 years’ experience in nursing,” said Ms Walker, who has a diploma level qualification. “I ran an acute medical admissions ward on nights, and I’ve been told that I am not of the standard to work in Australia.”

She said there were hundreds of others in a similar situation, including some who had been actively recruited by Australian agencies and arrived “not knowing AHPRA has moved the goalposts”.

Community nurse specialist Tracey Barry attended a recruitment event where she was told her skills would be very much in demand and subsequently obtained a visa. But she has been waiting for more than six months to hear about her registration application, causing “huge stress” on her family.

“We have now spent in excess of £20,000, including flights and shipment, and sold our lovely home of 16 years,” she said.

Maria Louise Davies, a specialist practitioner in district nursing, said it cost her more than £33,000 to move her home and family to Australia.

“I have not been able to work as I haven’t been registered by AHPRA,” she said. “I have no savings left and will soon need to claim social benefits to survive.”

AHPRA chief executive Martin Fletcher, former chief executive of the UK’s National Patient Safety Agency, acknowledged the rule change had caused problems for some nurses and that he was “focused on making sure we address those as quickly as possible”.

Martin Fletcher

 

He said he was working with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to look at possible solutions and hoped to say more in early September.

The AHPRA had a duty to ensure overseas trained nurses met the same standards expected of Australian nurses and midwives, he said last week on Perth’s ABC radio station.

The UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council said it was “within the gift of regulators in different countries to set the required standards for their country”.

“We continue to work with AHPRA to ensure that they are basing their decisions about UK programmes on accurate information,” said a statement.

 

[h=2]What nurses have told Nursing Times[/h]

“I cannot explain how devastated I feel at the implication I am sub-standard after more than 40 years in the profession”

Margaret Walker, band 5 registered nurse

 

“I have been living in Melbourne since March with my husband and two young children. I applied for registration with AHPRA in October but am still waiting so am thus claiming benefits and not fulfilling the requirements of my visa”

Kim Irvine, registered mental health nurse

 

“I have been assessed as suitable for permanent residency for Australia and have spent £10,000 so far on the process. AHPRA have had my application for almost five months now and won’t give me a decision at this time as my original qualification is a diploma”

Kelly Vernon, nurse with 15 years’ experience who topped diploma up to a degree

 

“It is very frustrating. You are committed to fulfilling your dream only for it to be ripped from you - as well as a large sum of money”

Tracey Lamont, registered nurse with 20 years’ experience in theatre/anaesthetics

 

“My husband and I are currently unemployed, we are surviving on our savings, which are diminishing rapidly. My mental health has suffered due to this predicament”

Gaynor Harrington, mental health nurse specialist with 16 years’ experience now living in Perth

[lisag89]

Hi everyone,

 

Reading through the terrible problems uk diploma nurses are having and I wondered if anyone has any experience of post graduate diploma nursing qualifications being accepted by ahpra? I have a Bsc Hons in physiology and was therefore eligible to undertake a 2 year, full time post grad diploma in adult nursing (pre registration) which lead to NMC registration. This is studied at level 7. There aren't a great deal of us qualified in this way compared to 3 year BSc and 3 year diploma nurses so I'm finding it hard to find out the correct information.

If anyone knows of any success stories with this qualification please let me know before I start spending $$$!

Thanks

[tweeniegirl]

I am in a very difficult situation. Been trying to register with AHPRA since December 2013. Reading this thread as a DipHE nurse i am now wondering if I will get registered. We have flights booked to Perth WA, accommodation, dog booked in quarantine, Ive left work and all set to go. never thought would have this problem registering. can anyone tell me if there is healthcare assistant work available near Rockingham or Perth as this looks like it is going to be my only option for now. I now have to decide if it is feasible for me to emigrate after everything we have done to get this far as its not just me its hubby and 2 kids too

[gaia]

I have also been trying to register since December last year without success although I'm already out here sadly. Did you get a positive skills assessment from Anmac? If so there is a press release on the nursing midwifery board website, they are apparently going to have transitional arrangements for these nurses although no indication of just what yet.

[gaia]

Page 91 on this thread Jac2011 very helpfully posted a link

[Guest JayZ]

We're currently at the stage of starting out (no, we're not using a MARA agent)

 

Wife is the primary applicant as she's an A&E Nurse with 14 years under her belt (minus mat leave for our 4 kids.. so at least the 10 years goes in our favour)

 

I'm confused regarding the whole Degree / Diploma situation though, so hopefully one of you fine folks could help out here.

 

OH qualified with an Advanced Diploma in Nursing, 3 year course (I bummed out after 2 years, lol.... decided it wasn't for me - LD Nursing basically meant working with Social Workers all the time back then and the ones in my Local Authority area needed humane treatment at the time )

 

So would the Advanced Diploma be classified as Bachelors Degree level or not?

[geordiegirl68]

We're currently at the stage of starting out (no, we're not using a MARA agent)

 

Wife is the primary applicant as she's an A&E Nurse with 14 years under her belt (minus mat leave for our 4 kids.. so at least the 10 years goes in our favour)

 

I'm confused regarding the whole Degree / Diploma situation though, so hopefully one of you fine folks could help out here.

 

OH qualified with an Advanced Diploma in Nursing, 3 year course (I bummed out after 2 years, lol.... decided it wasn't for me - LD Nursing basically meant working with Social Workers all the time back then and the ones in my Local Authority area needed humane treatment at the time )

 

So would the Advanced Diploma be classified as Bachelors Degree level or not?

 

Yes by ANMAC at the moment, but sadly no by AHPRA, my advice with whole AHPRA mess, would be to try to get registered with AHPRA first, then look to go for visa after that. Although at the moment there is little chance your OH will get registered, she may be better getting her quals topped up to degree, before starting anything.

Good luck.

Edited August 23, 2014 by geordiegirl68
mistske

[Guest JayZ]

Hmmm... that puts a mockers on it a bit... but thank you.

 

The bit that made me think it would be fine was "Your qualification makes you eligible to apply for registration to practise as a registered nurse in the country where you completed the program of study. ", which clearly her Diploma does as she's obviously registered with the NMC.

 

Back to the drawing board, although her topping up to degree is not a practical option at present.

Edited August 23, 2014 by JayZ
typo

[geordiegirl68]

Sadly there are a few hundred of us UK diploma nurses now, falling foul of AHPRA's recent changes! [emoji20]

[Guest JayZ]

It is all a bit bizarre. It's almost as if the new standards are so wholly inappropriate that only newly Qualified Nurses will be accepted onto the register, at the behest of the most valuable learning available... Life!

 

If memory serves Project 2000 suffered a very similar fate and attrition rate due to the Educational emphasis over real practice. Australia has a nursing shortage now? Let's see how it fares in 2 years!!