Nursing and Midwifery Office

Nursing Re-Connect / Mental Health Connect / Midwifery Connect (Rural/Regional NSW)

Nursing Re-Connect

If you are a registered nurse, registered midwife or enrolled nurse currently not working in any nursing position and you are interested in re-entering the workforce in the NSW public health system, Nursing Re-Connect may be for you.

Nursing Re-Connect is funded by the NSW Department of Health. It is not a course, but a clinically focused, supported employment re-entry plan tailored to individual needs. It is available on a full time or part time basis, in general or specialty areas.

The Re-Connect program places you in contact with an Area Health Service so that they may consider you for employment in a NSW public hospital. Employment is subject to a suitable vacancy being available and applicants meeting employment criteria.

If you are eligible for this program and choose to Re-Connect with the public health workforce, you will be employed and paid while you 'refresh' your skills.

Salary information as of July 2007.

Depending on the availability of positions, you may be able to re-enter the workforce at the hospital of your choice (you will need to comply with all standard recruitment processes).

Note 1: nurses/midwives who are currently in the nursing workforce and wish to move from one area of practice to another (e.g. from nursing into midwifery, from one nursing specialty to another, from aged care to acute care, from the private sector to the public sector, etc.) are ineligible for the Re-Connect program, however may be accommodated through other recruitment processes.

Note 2: registered midwives wishing to Re-Connect into rural or regional NSW, please see 'Midwifery Connect'.

Re-Connect Requirements

A requirement of Re-Connect is that you are currently a registered or enrolled nurse or a registered midwife in NSW. If not currently registered or enrolled contact the Nurses and Midwives Board NSW at www.nmb.nsw.gov.au or telephone (02) 9219 0222 or 1800 241 220 if calling from a rural area.

Your level of experience does not affect your participation in Re-Connect as the process is tailored to suit your individual needs.

Key features of Re-Connect include:-

• tailored, individualised and supported re-entry to the workforce;
• paid re-entry into an existing vacancy;
• full-time and part-time positions;
• general and specialty areas.

If you are interested, please telephone the toll-free number listed below. Your details will be recorded and forwarded to your nominated Area Health Service for follow-up. You will then be contacted by a representative of the Area Health Service. This may take up to four weeks.

Call Re-Connect toll-free on 1800 330 933.

Refresher courses for registered and enrolled nurses are available from educational providers, including:-

The College of Nursing - www.nursing.edu.au
The Sydney Adventist Hospital - www.sah.org.au

Scholarships - National Nurse Re-Entry Scheme

The Royal College of Nursing, Australia offers scholarships for registered and enrolled nurses to re-enter the workforce. For further information contact The Royal College of Nursing, Australia on freecall 1800 11 22 40, via email at scholarships@rcna.org.au or visit their website at www.rcna.org.au.

Mental Health Connect

Mental Health Connect aims to bring nurses into mental health. Launched in April 2005 it complements the general Nursing Re-connect program.

To register for Mental Health Connect telephone toll free on 1800 330 933. For further information, including eligibility, click 'HERE'.

Midwifery Connect (Rural/Regional NSW)

Launched in November 2007, Midwifery Connect compliments the general nursing Re-Connect initiative. Midwifery Connect aims to attract registered midwives back into the profession within rural and regional health services in NSW.

Funded by the NSW Department of Health, Midwifery Connect provides four weeks of full time equivalent, intensive orientation and one on one preceptor support.

Midwifery Connect is not a refresher course, it is a means of employing registered midwives who have not been working in midwifery for more than six months into vacant, permanent full time or part time positions within rural or regional health services in NSW.

To be eligible for Midwifery Connect you need to be:-

• a registered midwife in NSW currently out of the workforce; or
• a registered midwife in NSW currently working as a nurse and wishing to return to midwifery.

To register or enquire about Midwifery Connect telephone toll free on 1800 330 933.

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