Requirements for Bridging Course for Nurses in Australia

“I am Stephanie and I am wondering about this bridging course I need to take in Australia. Is my Philippine license as a nurse not sufficient enough to work in Australia as a nurse?”

Nurses are in high demand in Australia. According to a news report, Australia will be experiencing shortage of nursing professionals by ten to fifteen years; hence, they need more applicants to fill these job vacancies.

The need for a bridging program for Philippine nurses in Australia is a way of making them certified that their skills in their field is at par with the skills of nurses who studied in Australia. Bridging programs will help Filipino nurses undergo first-hand experience on how to practice their profession in Australian standards resulting in gaining more knowledge about their chosen field of expertise.  ETEA or Education, Training and Employment Australia is a registered training organisation approved by the National Board to deliver the Initial Registration for Overseas Nurses program for Registered Nurses (IRON-RN).

a. Documents from the Philippine Regulatory Commission to be sent from AHPRA which includes (1) board certificate and (2) certificate of good standing

b. Documents from your college of nursing to AHPRA including (1) transcript of records (2) summary of Related Learning Experience (3) number of hours in nursing theory and (4) certificate of English as Medium of Instruction or an IELTS score of 7.0.

c. Other documents like passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, NBI clearance, seminars and trainings attended, employment certificate, updated resume and recommendation letters from two Registered Nurse staff

Once the letter is given, the enrolment to a particular school can be processed. Candidates should be able to present a certificate of employment of at least a year from their work experience, a valid Australian visa, and immunisation requirements for health workers. It is said that an IELTS score or the International English Language Testing System examination certification needs to be presented. Candidates need to get a score of 7.0 in the Academic module to be eligible for the program. Since getting a 7.0 can be a little challenging, enrolling in IELTS training programs is highly recommended.

There are a lot of Filipino nurses nowadays who are registered in IELTS review programs in the country. They are doing this for both the APHRA’s requirement and the requirement of the bridging school they are applying for. Filipino nurses should work harder in honing their English skills as they need this score badly to lodge their applications.