Are you a registered nurse looking for more casual work? Or are you looking to get out of the hospital to work casual days through flu season?

The flu vaccination season is bonkers! With an increase in the incidence and severity of the flu, more people are realising the importance of getting vaccinated and more workplaces are making this a standard offering to their staff.

At such a busy time, agencies are often short of nurse immunisers and staff often have multiple shifts to choose from each day. Conditions are fantastic with a 4-hour minimum pay per shift and driving time between sites is counted as time worked. 

So what do you do if you want to take advantage of this busy time and make hay whilst the sun shines?

Nurse immunisers

Nurse immunisers are qualified and approved to administer a range of vaccines to patients. They are able to competently manage any adverse reactions and side effects, which is imperative if there is no other medical practitioner present. 

Nurse immunisers work in a range of settings such as:

• Community health
• General practice
• Hospitals
• Local councils
• Occupational health services
   

Working in these particular settings often means that you will be working mostly day time hours. This is a great benefit to any nurses requiring a career change to escape the shift work nature of many nursing jobs. Working as a nurse immuniser often allows much more flexibility.

Click here to see the average Immunisation Nurse Salaries in Australia

Get Qualified 

Firstly you need to be qualified. All states have different laws and legislation when it comes to immunisations. For nurses in SA, WA & NT you do not need to have an Independent Nurse Immuniser qualification, however, this is usually preferred by many employers.

In all other states, you are required to have completed an Independent Nurse Immuniser course. There are quite a number of different training providers you can study through and most can be studied externally as an online student. You must ensure that the course you decide to undertake meets the requirements of the National Immunisation Education Framework for Health Professionals (2017).

The link below has a list of the major/preferred course providers in Victoria.

https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/immunisation/immunisers-in-victoria/nurse-immunisers/nurse-immuniser-study-programs

Sign up with an agency 

Agencies play an active role in seeking work for you and negotiating your working terms, conditions & pay.

If you are already connected to an agency or two, remember to let them know that you have updated your qualifications - this will mean they can start offering you more work in these areas! 

Get immunising

Becoming a qualified Independent Nurse Immuniser could give you the change of scenery you are looking for!

Nurses love this kind of work & being a part of the community. Here is some feedback from a recent survey of nurse immunisers!

• “LOVE the work”
• “Loved it. Pleasant clients. Grateful for what you were doing”
• “I enjoyed the work and meeting the clients”
• “Work was enjoyable and satisfying… got me out of the office”.

For more information on becomming a nurse immuniser, contact an agency in your area today.