Waiting waiting waiting...

I finally have all my documents together...well almost... STILL ONLY WAITING ON SAPD FOR MY POLICE CLEARANCE. This morning I received a mail from the lady at the Australian college of nursing, stating that they have received my Australian police clearance. I must say I am super impressed with Australian police service. The process was so quick and so easy. I had all my immunizations done, except for varicella (But my name is on the list), so now I am just waiting for my SA police clearance then I'm going to submit. Slowly but surely getting there! :)

The Bridging course application.

My sister stays in Sydney, So I decided I'm going to do my course through the Australian college of Nursing, which is in Sydney.

Cost :

AUS $11 000

Need to send in with application:

• A referral letter from AHPRA
• Certified Passport copy
• Proof of Immunization
• Police clearance from SA and Australia
• IELTS academic exam results (Minimum score of 7 in each band)
• Minimum of 12 month post graduation practice
• CPR certification and working with children blue card might be requested in some states.
• $250 Non-refundable application fee, which will be deducted from the $11 000
• Visa that must be presented 3 week prior to the course commencement. NO STUDENT VISAS ACCEPTED

I am in the process of getting all of this together...gonna try and send it to them in about a week or two.

:)

So much that had to be done...

I know its been a long time since my last update, but I've been in India for a month for holiday and I just had to let go of this stress for some time. Then I came back and immediately had a lot to do... So here we go...

In my last post, all my documents were submitter, and they where preparing to present my case to the board on the 16th of July, which they did, and I was patiently waiting here back from them 4 weeks after submission...which I did. I received my feedback on 16 Aug, and this is what it said. 

"Dear Mrs Mendonca

Please find attached a letter of notice to you that, in accordance with section 82 of the National Law, your application for general registration as a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) has been assessed and you were not found to be eligible for registration.

Please read the attached letters for full details.

You will also find attached for your information a copy of the Bridging FAQ published on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s website.

If you have any queries regarding the information in this letter, or your registration in general, please contact your Registration Officer, Mr Himanshu Kalra by email: himanshu.kalra@ahpra.gov.au or telephone on 1300 419 495 outside of Australia +61 3 8708 9001, or visit the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia website for information. Please note that this mailbox is not monitored for incoming emails.

Regards

IQNM National Processing Team

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency"

So yes I was crying and very upset, cause I had to do the bridging course. The reason was because I didn't have a valid external nursing accreditation authority for the BCur degree that I've done. So I thought...but what about SANC. I was given the opportunity to resubmit some documents to prove that SANC is the external nursing accreditation authority, which I did. I arranged for it to be sent Immediately and it was done on 27 Aug. However I still received the same out come on 15 Oct... I had to do the bridging course cause the problem wasn't that there is no external authority, but rather there is no VALID or RESPECTED external authority. At the end, regardless of the fact that I studied at a very good institution (University of Pretoria), I still have to do the course because of the fact that its public knowledge out there that the standards in SA has gone down so much that they don't even see our only nursing authority as valid. This was in the letter That I received.

"Dear Mrs Mendonca

Notice of proposal to refuse registration 

I refer to your application for registration as a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery 

Board of Australia (NMBA). 

The NMBA has delegated this decision about your application for registration to the NSW Board 

of the NMBA.The NSW Board of the NMBA considered your application on 16 July 2015.

Proposal to refuse

After considering your application, and all information and documents you provided to support 

your application, the NMBA is proposing to refuse your application for registration under section 

82(1)(c) of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory 

(the National Law), on the grounds that you have not satisfied the following requirements:

Qualification

You have not satisfied section 53(b) of the National Law, which requires you to hold a 

qualification that the NMBA considers to be substantially equivalent to an approved qualification.

This letter is notice to you, under section 81 of the National Law, of the NMBA’s proposal to 

refuse you registration.

Reasons for decision

Qualification

All internationally qualified nurses are required to satisfy section 53 of the National Law in order 

to be eligible for registration by the NMBA. To satisfy the NMBA that you possess a substantially 

equivalent qualification or qualifications, the NMBA has published eight criteria that your 

qualification(s) must satisfy.

Failure to meet the requirements of one or more of the eight criteria means you are not eligible 

for registration. Failure to provide information for one or more of the criteria amounts to failure to 

meet the requirements of those criteria and means you are therefore not eligible for registration.

You have applied for registration as a registered nurse on the basis of completion of the following 

qualification:

 Bachelor of Nursing Science at the University of Pretoria in South Africa

The Bachelor of Nursing Science undertaken at the University of Pretoria was assessed against 

the Australian Qualifications Framework at the level of an Australian Bachelor Degree, or AQF 

level 7. 

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

G.P.O. Box 9958 | Sydney NSW 2001 | www.ahpra.gov.au | 1300 419 495

The Bachelor of Nursing Science met the following criteria:

Criterion1: Evidence that the qualification makes the applicant eligible to apply for registration 

Criterion 2: Evidence that the institution where the applicant studied was externally accredited

Criterion 4: Evidence that the applicant’s overseas qualification is equivalent to an Australian 

Criterion 5: Evidence that the program of study included a minimum of 800 hours of workplace 

Criterion 6: Evidence that the curriculum of the program of study focused on the various 

Criterion 7: Evidence that the applicant successfully completed all components of the program

Criterion 8: Evidence of institutional certification of successful assessment in medication 

to practise as a registered nurse in the country where they completed the program

of study.

during the period when the applicant undertook their studies.

Bachelor Degree as a minimum.

experience providing exposure to a variety of healthcare settings. 

aspects of nursing practice.

of study and graduated with the relevant qualification.

management, including administration of medicines, pharmacokinetics and 

pharmacodynamics.

The Bachelor of Nursing Science did not meet the following criteria:

Criterion 3: Evidence that the program of was externally accredited and provided successful 

Your qualification fails to meet criterion 3.

For more information on the eight qualification criteria, please see Meeting the requirements on 

the NMBA website.

Referral to bridging program

Enclosed is a letter of referral to a NMBA-approved bridging program of study.

As you meet all registration standards and all criteria other than criterion 3, you have been issued 

with this referral letter to undertake a NMBA-approved bridging program. You may be eligible for 

registration in the future subject to successful completion of the bridging program, provided that 

you still meet all other registration requirements at the time of application.

You must provide your referral letter to the education provider as evidence that you are eligible to 

undertake a NMBA-approved bridging program. You may also need to meet other eligibility 

criteria set by the education provider and will need to directly contact the education provider for 

this information

Once you have evidence that you have successfully completed a NMBA-approved bridging 

program within the timeframe set out in the enclosed referral letter, you are invited to lodge a new 

application for registration with the NMBA. You should lodge your application at the Australian 

Health Practitioner Regulation Agency office in the state or territory in which you plan to live and 

work. Applications can be submitted by post or in person. For more information about applying for 

registration after completing a NMBA-approved bridging program, please see the bridging 

program Fact Sheet on the NMBA website.

Written notice and invitation to make a submission

Under the National Law you must be notified of any proposal to refuse registration and the 

reasons for the proposal, and be given an opportunity to make a written or verbal submission to 

the NMBA about the proposal. You are invited to make a submission to the NMBA about its 

proposal to refuse you registration.

Should you make a submission, the NMBA will undertake a full assessment of any additional 

documentation provided. Please note that the additional information may not change the outcome 

of your application.

graduates with a qualification in nursing.

The submission must be made by 14 September 2015, being a date which is not less than 30 

days after the date of this notice. Please address any written submission to:

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

G.P.O. Box 9958

Sydney NSW 2001

In making a submission, you should include any additional information or evidence that warrants 

a reconsideration of the NMBA’s decision to propose to refuse you registration. 

If you do not make a submission by 14 September 2015, the NMBA may resolve to refuse your

registration as a registered nurse under section 82(1)(c) of the National Law.

If you have questions or require further information regarding your application, please contact

your Registration Officer, Himanshu Kalra:

 email: Himanshu.Kalra@ahpra.gov.au

 telephone: 1300 419 495 or, from outside of Australia, +61 3 8708 9001

Yours sincerely

Director Registration NSW  "

So then I had to  suck it up and start with the next step.