newbie nurse

blue · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 8:48 am Post subject: newbie nurse

Hi all I have just joined the community. I am a registered nurse mental health and am hoping to come to NZ this year. My qualifications have been ok'd by the NZ nursing council and my house is on the market although not much sucess its been on since may. I will be coming to NZ with my two dogs, a retired lakeland trailhound and my small black terrier x. I am a single parent and my two kids will not be coming with me. My daughter has decided to stay here with her boyfriend and continue with her studies and my son is a lifeguard in the household cavalry. He is only 17yrs old and has taken part in the bastille day parade in paris recently the opening of parliment, Bush's visit, and the queens birthday parade. He was on tv on that one they did a close up of him! I am also awaiting a telephone interview for a position in Napier. There appears to be so many great places in NZ to live I feel spoilt for choice and have not chosen a specific area. Dunedin, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Invercargill also sound great. I have never been to NZ and am sure it will be difficult for me as I am on my own but am determined to make it work. Am looking forward to the scenery and great places to walk the dogs. I am going to apply for PR once I have a job offer.

Graham Barnes · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 11:07 am Post subject:

Hi Blue,

Good luck with your job hunt; with accepted nursing qualifications you should be able to land yourself a job in NZ without too much hassle. fingers crossed

Get your children out for a visit at some point in the future, and they may well wish to stay with you!! This might make it worth your while going for PR as soon as possible.
I know Stafford fairly well...I lived in Uttoxeter until 18, and have played many a game of rugby against your local side over the last 14 years (lost more than won unfortunately!). Win or lose, you know you've been in a game aginst your local lads...
Your list of possible destinations is quite varied...they are all quite different and have their own plus points. Make sure you do plenty of research on each of them, and I'm sure there are plenty of forumers (?) who will know about each area if you want any advice.

Good Luck.

Graham

wilson182 · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 7:26 pm Post subject:

Hi Blue

When we went on our visit in May we went to Dunedin and Taranaki. Dunedin was lovely, but very hilly. A must is a trip up the worlds steepest street (you get a certificate). I think it is a couple of degrees cooler than Christchurch. The city centre is an octagon, and I quite liked the feel of it on a sunny Saturday afternoon. They have a couple of bars and cafes with tables on the street and it was nice.
When it came to choosing where we would like to live, the choice was between Christchurch and Taranaki. Taranaki is lovely, the weather in May was incredibly hot, and the beach was beautifull. The people were the friendliest we came across. Even walking down the street people will say hello to you. The main area is New Plymouth, and it really is quite a small comunity. The house prices were the cheapest we had seen, but we were not sure if this was reflected in the wages for the area.

I would recommend a visit to both areas.

Hope this helps

Good Luck

blue · Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 6:38 am Post subject:

thanks graham and wilson. good advice. I have also researched Taranaki and it does appeal to me. Also from what I can see the health board appears pretty good. My daughters boyfriend comes from shrewsbury. I also went there a couple of years ago to a fun dog show at the park. I think it was part of a summer carnival. Unfortunetly we saw the show as fun and a way of socialising our dogs but everyone else seemed to be taking it way to seriously and seemed to be pretty unfriendly. graham are you still playing rugby and are you going to take it up in NZ?

Graham Barnes · Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 10:42 pm Post subject:

Hi Blue,

We liked the look of Taranaki too...a fairly quiet part of NZ in which to live. New Plymouth is the local "city", but more of a large regional town really. Had a nice community feel about it.
Still playing rugby for Shrewsbury, although gradually working my way down the sides...I qualify for 'Veterans' soon...

Most people in Shrewsbury are quite friendly; it's quite a genteel little town, but becoming increasingly yobbish as the town centre fills up with fun-pubs and nightclubs.
We live opposite the river overlooking the main park so we get to see (and hear, unfortunately) all the fairs and carnivals. Can't remember any with dogs though.
Good luck with your interviews...keep us posted how you get on.

jam · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 8:03 am Post subject: Telephone Interview

Hi Blue,

Just thought I's share my telephone interview experience with you. Of course I was prepared and suitably stressed as the significance of the interview was pretty high in relation to our future plans!!

No need - the interviewer was a British Nurse who had left Mabchester 8 years ago and the content of the interview mainly delt with info about life in NZ.

Thankfully, I was told I had been successful and the paperwork arrived to confirm the permanent job offer, open ended depending on our arrival and the efficiency of the NZIS, and will be employed as a Staff Nurse within Auckalnd District Health Board.

Never before have I had an interview at 8.00 pm UK time in my dressing gown - very laid back.

Good Luck on your interview fingers crossed

Jam

karltsmith · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 2:42 pm Post subject:

Hi jam,

My wife had a similar experience with her telephone interview but she didn't do it in her dressing gown........I don't mean she was naked either! She was phoned 24 hours early because her employers forgaot about the date line!!!!! Caught her completely unawares and was on the phone for 2 hours!!!! It's a strange feeling when someone you've never met before offers you a job in a new country at a place you've not even visited isn't it?

Congratulations and I hope it all works out for you!!!

Nice One

blue · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:29 am Post subject:

Hi Jam thanks for that I feel a little less nervous about it all now. I had a couple view the house as well at the weekend its been on since may just hoping that everything falls into place! All the best with Auckland Health Board.

lisa a · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 8:42 am Post subject: nursing qualifications

Hi Blue

I am a second year student nurse (adult branch) due to qualify in Sept.05.
can you tell me how easy it was to get your qualifications okayed in NZ and how much experience you have. Also what sort of salary do you think you will be able to earn.
My hubby and I are keen to apply to emigrate but I think I need 12mths experience first. We will be bringing with us 3 kids (11, 9 and 7) and as the eldest starts senior school here in September we would rather do things sooner than later.
Any help or tips that you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Lisa a

michelle · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 9:09 am Post subject:

and will be employed as a Staff Nurse within Auckalnd District Health Board.
[quote

Hi Jam

When and where will you be working? I have been offered a job with ADHB, hoping to go out mid sept, initially working at the main site in Grafton but think I will be moving to Greenlane in Nov. I have worked for them before but going to a different area this time, the familiarity will help with the move, this time we hope to make it a permanent move. What are your plans?

Michelle

jam · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 11:07 am Post subject: Nursing at ADHB

Hi Michelle and Lisa a

My job is at the new hospital in Auckland City - in acute medical elderly care, I am currently employed as a Rheumatology Specialist Nurse, but I believe you should get to know the medical system in a new country before trying to take on a specialist role.

I qualified as an adult branch nurse five years ago, with a diploma in nursing studies. I'm not sure what the minimum experience they expect?
I have just completed my Bsc (Hons) in nursing sciences and have recently finished my city and guilds 7407 in higher education teaching - a better qualification than the 998 I think.

The salary scale starts at NZ$ 33000 plus shift allowances and up to NZ$45000 depending upon experience. As a mid grade G, the NZ salary does not look attractive, but you need to weigh quality of life etc, especially for the kids.

Look forward to hearing of your progress.

Jam

michelle · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 7:20 pm Post subject:

Hi Jam

The person who interviewed you wasn't called Jo Partlin by any chance???

She started the same time as me when we were last out there and I know she has a charge nuse level job within the elderly unit. I worked on what I think is now ward 65 which was medical / rheumatology but this time I am working in the opthalmology clinic. I qualified years ago, well 19 to be precise but for the last 17 except for a couple of years in NZ I have worked as airline cabin crew and a part time nurse working in out patients and day care.

Most wards have a Clinical Nurse Specialist attached to them, like you said its probably best to get to know the system first however it was noticeable last time that quite a few of the people who I started with moved into other roles fairly quickly.

I have also just done the 7407 as I teach on the airline courses at a college in Leeds.

You might guess that I dont have kids juggling 3 jobs, just a husband who occasionally feels neglected. Will be so nice to be working 8 till 4 monday to friday for the first time in my life.

One tip if you do get offered 12 hour shifts take them as the shift pattern is not great lates didn't finish until 11 and earlies start at 7 so you cannot go from a late to an early so end up with weeks of each shift. It may well be different where you are going but checak it out.

The salary is all based on how many years experience you have and yes it does seem poor however I am only on the equivalent of an E grade in England so it doesn't seem like such a big drop. The big drop will be from my cabin crew wage which is considerably better paid than nursing, ridiculous I know.

Has anybody mentioned anything to you about accomodation being provided for when you first arrive? last time we were given a one bed unit for a month which was ideal however it hasn't been mentioned this time. I notice that both Waitemata and South Auckland are offering "relocation assistance" whatever that might be.

When are you planning to go ? our visas came through last week so as soon as we can sort the house out we are heading off hopefully mid september.

Lisa, I think you need at least a years experience to apply for registration but I would contact them and find out what the exact position is. I ahve found them to be very helpful Good luck

Michelle

blue · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 7:34 am Post subject:

Hi Lisa. It did not take me long to get my qualifications verified by the NZ nursing Council. Just 2 months. I started my enrolled nurse training back in 1982 then in 1990 converted to RMN so I have a few years behind me! I will be looking at the top end of the scale paywise. Currently i work on community with the over 65yr age group. I have been in my current post for the last 6yrs. I also have group work experience and acute inpatient and elderly care inpatient experience. Have also worked on acute community. I think you will find that you will need at least one year post registration experience prior to applying to NZ. What does your husband do? as you may need to be both working to be able to support yourself and family so he will need to also look at his options. all the best

lisa a · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 8:23 am Post subject:

Hi Blue

Thanks for your reply, you are certainly a lot more experienced in the nursing field than me!!! My hubby currently works for BT so we are unsure whether it is best for him to look into getting a job first while I finish my training other wise we are looking at at least another 2 years before we can start the ball rolling. Has anyone ever been offered a job with NZ Telecom or know anything about them?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the whole process seems so daunting especially with children to consider.

Look forward to hearing from anybody.

Lisa a

jam · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 2:41 am Post subject:

Hi Michelle

My interview was with Jane Lees and I will be working on Ward 63.

Thanks for the advice re shift patterns, though I did ask and they said they didn't do 12 hour shift rotas.

My pay is step 5 of level 1, which isn't too far off the formula of if you can double your UK salary, you should maintain the same standard of living. Hubby hasn't got a job yet, as he needs to "in" NZ to apply for Government type jobs (currently a Police Officer in the UK).

I am still waiting for my nursing registration to come through, though as we only applied on 15.7.04 with our EOI, and were pulled out on 21.7.04, and we don't intend to arrive in Auckland till Jan 05, we have a bit of time on that, got the Police checks done, just need the medicals and hopelfully sell the house, on the market this week.

So there's not much happening at all!!!

Can you tell me if the names of medicines are so radically different in NZ?

Any other info will be received gratefully

Cheers, Jam