Victorian Div 2 students- are you working as PCA's while studying?? / Enrolled Nursing / Nursing General / Forums / NurseCentral -

Just a question for any current or recently qualified Div 2's.

am wondering if any of you are/ or have previously worked as PCA's in aged care while studying for your Div 2 qualification? im starting the Cert IV in health this year and my work is unfortunately being VERY difficult and wont allow me to be part time (am currently full time). they will only put me on a casual contract which really is no good for me bcos it means i wont have any financial stability and that will possibly make my time studying fairly stressful.

theyre a pretty awful company to work for (but im paid really well), so in some ways i feel like i might be better off finding other work now and finally be free from working for such a horrible company. however as i can only work wed, sat, sun or short evening shifts from 5pm.....obviously my choices are limited and aged care is looking like possibly my best option.

i started a bach of nursing many years ago and worked as a PCA back then (with no PCA quals), but i dont know if Div 2 students nowadays are able to get this kind of work as i know that in aged care now it seems to be difficult to get work without actual quals.

so id be keen to hear from anyone who IS working in aged care in Victoria, who is/was a Div 2 student , but who didnt previously have a PCA qualification.

thanks in advance

Author	Victorian Div 2 students- are you working as PCA's while studying??
jules74 (offline) Joined: Jan 2008 Location: Posts: 135	Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:01 pm Just a question for any current or recently qualified Div 2's. am wondering if any of you are/ or have previously worked as PCA's in aged care while studying for your Div 2 qualification? im starting the Cert IV in health this year and my work is unfortunately being VERY difficult and wont allow me to be part time (am currently full time). they will only put me on a casual contract which really is no good for me bcos it means i wont have any financial stability and that will possibly make my time studying fairly stressful. theyre a pretty awful company to work for (but im paid really well), so in some ways i feel like i might be better off finding other work now and finally be free from working for such a horrible company. however as i can only work wed, sat, sun or short evening shifts from 5pm.....obviously my choices are limited and aged care is looking like possibly my best option. i started a bach of nursing many years ago and worked as a PCA back then (with no PCA quals), but i dont know if Div 2 students nowadays are able to get this kind of work as i know that in aged care now it seems to be difficult to get work without actual quals. so id be keen to hear from anyone who IS working in aged care in Victoria, who is/was a Div 2 student , but who didnt previously have a PCA qualification. thanks in advance

kathleen.sauzier@bigpond.com (offline) Joined: Feb 2010 Location: Melbourne Posts: 8	Feb 14, 2010, 12:25 pm Hi I know this is an old post because I have just joined. When I studied my cert 4 div 2. I opted for a traineeship and the pay was lousy and I worked part time and the facility had no choice because the trainee ship company had specific guidelines they had to adhere to. But alternatively if you are an experience pca you can joined an agency. They will give you plenty of work especially if you are studying your cert 4 they will keep you once you finish. Agency is a very good place to judge whether you like the facility you are working at. Cheers Kathee

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Victorian Div 2 students- are you working as PCA's while studying??