Any child and family health nurses on here?

[feeb]

I am about to apply for a job and if I am the successful applicant it means I have to do the graduate certificate in child and family health which is perfect as I have wanted to head this way for a while. I love the hospital by I am sick of the shift work and trying to fit the family in around my roster.

Anyway If I get the job I can choose which course to do and I know there are several around but the best one is through UTS. My main questions are cost involved with the different courses and length of time away from the family.

Are you working through a community centre that requires you to do the training or are you doing is voluntarily with the plan to work in the area afterwards?

Is the studying difficult time wise with a young family?

In Victoria to be a Maternal and child health nurse you must be a Registered nurse and Midwife first before being able to do the course. So I am doing the course to allow me to have a 9 - 5 mon fri job.

As a full fee paying student it is very $$$$ I think was about 18k for the course. This could be defered onto HECS if you were an Australian Citizen if you were not fees had to paid up front per semester. Commonwealth supported places brought costs down to around 6k for the course. Same as above could be defered to HECS if AU citizen or could be paid per semester.
I received 2 sponsorships 1 via council and 1 from Govt which covers all my costs for the course.

It is full on and crazy with young kids as I have had to put them into CC 1 day a week so I can do placements that are unpaid, i am up very late everynight doing uni work and then off course I am tired and cranky at kids during the day. I have been part time over 2 years. My course is majority online with very little face to face time. It requires lots of sacrifice and sleep deprivation! But doable

If it is a job that wants you to have the qualifiction they may pay for the course for you and help and support you with time for study.

Good luck feel free to ask any more questions.

[Mildez]

Thanks ladies.

Feeb I am both a RN and RM. In NSW which is where I live you don't have to be a RM only RN. A friend who did it recently said she was only 1 of 4 midwives in her group of 40 so I would imagine I'd be at a slight advantage with the newborns and BF anyway although thats obviously only a small portion of what the job would entail.

The course I'm looking at applying for is a Graduate certificate in child and family health nursing (I am going to apply regardless of if I'm the successful applicant) is just over $6000. Its parttime over 12months. There are a few scholarships going but some are only for $1000 so not much and as I am 550kms from the university I'd have 4 trips to Sydney and the accommodation costs/travel plus the time away from the family and my DH is not supportive of me applying. There are 10days face to face lecturing over 12months and then a placement at tresillian which isn't compulsory plus other clinical hours which would be paid work if I got the job, if not and I choice to do it anyway it would be unpaid. Its my ideal job with the family as I could work 9-5 but the problem is we never wanted to put our youngest into childcare which I would have to do something DH is very unhappy about. The problem is there is a very good chance if I don't apply then this opportunity wont come up again. The community centres (which is a smaller rural centre) last CFHN was there almost 20years so if they fill this position with a long termer then I wont have this opportunity again. The manager called me asking for me to apply so although the job isn't a guarantee I am hopefully I would be in with a good chance of gaining employment seeing as she seeked me out and told me how hard it is to get locals. I'd love to wait another year but its going now and I don't want to risk not having the opportunity again.

[feeb]

Isn't it strange its different in every state!!!!!

My DH was not 100% supportive off me doing the course but is looking forward to me getting a job with better hours and out of shift work.

Sounds like a good idea to do course now then why you have the chance of a job close by. Good luck I hope you get your DH to change view and be supportive and know that it is better for you all in the long run. We also were not going to use child care but I was sick of working weekends!

lots of girls in my course are in rural areas and finding it hard when need to go to days at uni but in reality was not to much for us 3 compulsory days for 2 subjects and the 4 voluntary days per semester for 2 subjects. We had to do 76 hrs x4 for the course 1 subject included 3 days at a child care centre, 2 days at a sleep school, 1 day early intervention, 1 day at a community agency such as Anglicare, 16 hrs at places such as neighbourhood houses. This semester have to do 38 hrs at early parenting centre. Volutartry day in family court. Also have some other things to do that must complete before we start work such as family violence training, QUIT training etc.

[Mildez]

Yes it is strange. When I told the manager I was a midwife she said it wont make a difference.

I am currently working weekends and although the money is excellent as I get all the good penalties I wish I could do normal things on weekends and actually have some time with DH. DH works away alot so I really need a job where I can manage on my own instead of not working and going unpaid as I am casual.

I know its going to be difficult especially with the time away from home for the res schools but so worth it after the year is over. I currently drive 50kms to work and the same back home but if I get this job its only 10kms.

[Mildez]

Feeb I hope you dont mind me asking this question. One of the first parts in the selection criteris is asking to Demonstrated knowledge of and training certificate in ‘Working in Partnership with Parents–The Parent Advisor Model’ or the willingness to do the training. Now can I assume the parent advisor model is basically the foundations of how CFHN's work with families? I've been researching it over the last few days but am finding the information very conflicting. I assume that in Australia the above model is a major part of all the courses regardless of where they are studied.

[feeb]

We haven't done any specific training on that BUT everything we do is about working in partnership with the parents and allowing the parents to be the experts on there own child. In Victoria we use the Parents Evaluation of Development status (PEDS) tool and is a series of questions that parents answer about there child at varying ages. Rather than having to assess what children can ad can't do according to what the books say they should at set ages, and understanding that there are variations of normal and that some need to do sooner and some take longer to allow and average to be formed.

[Mildez]

Thanks so much for your advice and answering my questions Feeb. The application is due next week and I guess I can expect another few weeks to hear if I get an interview. I've decided anyway that I am applying for the scholarship and uni course even if I don't get the job. I am looking forward to doing it. It will open so many new doors even if I don't get this particular job. But ofcourse I am hoping I do