How bad is it?
I have been out of work for over 15 months...
I moved from the US (California) to Australia (Melbourne).
The visa took way longer than I thought, and once I was applying I changed strategies hoping I would get a job, which just increased my time off.
I have 13 years of experience. Most recently 7 years in pre-op and the previous years in med-surg.
I found out Australia doesn't really divide up the surgical area, like pre-op vs theater vs recovery. They have one nurse rotate through all parts. Which is something I'm not really interested in learning, so I'm applying to medical or general surgical jobs.
Ideally I wanted a per-diem or casual job and applied to many before....
I reached out to travel nurse jobs and agencies. They both informed me that because I don't have any nursing work within the last 6 months I would not qualify.
I even applied to a refresher program and was turned away from that. I emailed them and they said because I am not an Australian nurse I would need more orientation than 2 months with a one on one nurse. (Which seems overly generous to me- hence why I applied).
I am at a loss.
Any suggestions?
I am willing to move but I'm not willing to do aged care... Once you go into aged care you can't get out of it.
And at this point it seems like a career change would be better....
Please help