The Journey to becoming a Nurse ImmuniserWritten on the 25 November 2020 by Caring For You Nursing Agency Have you thought about becoming a Nurse Immuniser? Our member Natalie has shared her first hand experience to answer some questions you may have and provide tips for a smooth experience.Journey to complete the Immunisation Course I had always thought about doing the immunisation course and figured there would be a time in my career I would complete it. I knew it was something that interested me as I enjoyed that part in my normal work. I had continued my education after finishing university so had always kept an eye out for jobs that might require it. As I was returning from maternity leave, COVID hit! I was without a job and my son was in daycare, now was the time to do it! As soon as they have a vaccination, there will be heaps of work available. What's involved? I called the University of Melbourne to ask about the process. My first step was to find a workplace or a local council who would take me on for my placement. If you have access to a GP clinic that does immunisations, it's worth asking. Placement was estimated at around 1-2 days, you have to achieve a certain amount of vaccinations rather than work a specific amount of hours like nursing degree. I was given a list and I started calling and emailing everyone. For me, I was happy to drive to Gisborne, Warrnambool or Traralgon for a one day placement. I expected the more inner city placements would book up faster with the universities, I was right. These three locations were the fastest options, don't be afraid to drive or make a road trip out of it. The people on the list were shires and local councils mainly. Your own local council will have a section that deals with immunisations, it's worth asking. Maternal and child health nurses are also good places to ask. Once you have secured that person you can enrol with University of Melbourne and pay your fees. Getting your own immunisations up to date Next step is making sure your own immunisations are up to date. This was by far the longest part of the process for me. A routine blood test will give you most of your results, although you may have to pay an out of pocket fee for the TB test. They were very specific about time frames etc. I graduated university in 2008 and this was too long for them, they wanted sooner, so more tests were ordered. I would allow up to 6 weeks to get these sorted. I would also explain to your GP what you are doing and ask if they would be happy to help fill out the paperwork over a Telehealth appointment or drop it in. All up I needed to visit my GP around 6-8 times to get this all sorted. Make sure you have all the paperwork, questions etc. before visiting and make sure you know what the university expectations are.
The Course
Placement Time - Natalie RN RM (Caring For You Member) If you're interested in becoming a Nurse Immuniser, Immunisation (Nurse Immuniser) courses are offered at: The University of Melbourne is offering the course:
Please note - These courses are not run by Caring For You, you will need to contact the providers directly if you are interested.
Author: Caring For You Nursing Agency
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