This course will not be available for entry from 2024. Applicants should refer to the Bachelor of Nursing (WNUR01)
Applicants applying who are health care professionals with AHPRA registration (for example Diploma of Nursing qualifications) or who intend to apply for credit must apply for the Bachelor of Nursing via SATAC.
The Diploma of Health Care/Bachelor of Nursing is a combined course that will see you graduate with two qualifications in the same time it takes to complete one.
The Diploma of Health Care is integrated into the Bachelor of Nursing and will be awarded after your first year of study, which means you will hold a qualification and can start working in the health sector while you finish your degree.
The Bachelor of Nursing is a professionally accredited degree and will qualify you to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia as a Registered Nurse (Division 1). This degree is an accredited program of study recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
Practical Training
In order to complete the Bachelor of Nursing and qualify as a Registered Nurse, you are required to undertake two types of practical experience: simulation blocks and professional experience placements. You will complete simulation blocks (in each year of study which can be undertaken as a 4-day intensive or weekly class). These must be completed full-time and on campus at one of CDU's many simulation suites located across Australia. CDU currently has simulation suites in Darwin (NT), Alice Springs (NT), Sydney (NSW), Brisbane (QLD, via external partner provider), Melbourne (VIC, via external partner provider) and Perth (WA, via external partner provider).
You will complete 880 hours of professional experience placements across the three years of the course. There is opportunity for placement in a variety of healthcare settings including regional and remote locations.
Reasonable travel within the nursing course is an expectation. Travel time and distance can include up to 2 hours one-way for metropolitan or rural areas. Where possible, your PEP is sourced within 150 kilometres radius of where you are currently living.
Regardless of your study mode or pattern, you are required to complete professional experience placement on a full-time basis, with rotating shifts across a seven-day week. These may include night, weekend and public holiday shifts. Professional experience placement may occur outside of your semester of enrolment.
As Bachelor of Nursing student, you may broaden your global outlook with additional international study tours and exchanges.
English Language Requirements
In order to register as a nurse or midwife in Australia, you're required to meet the English language requirements laid out by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. This applies to all initial registrations, regardless of whether they qualified in Australia or overseas. Find out more: the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) at www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/.
Safe Practice
In order to study nursing and practice safely, you will need to have an inherent set of qualities. Nursing needs a degree of physical strength and mobility, endurance, communication and cognitive abilities. If you feel you may experience challenges in meeting these requirements, you are encouraged discuss these with the University before enrolling in the course.
Mandatory Preclinical Compliance
You must provide proof that you have met all university and State/Territory preclinical requirements before commencing professional experience placement. Your preclinical compliance documents are a legal requirement to meet contractual, Occupational Health and Safety and Legal agreements with partnering health facilities. Do you have a question regarding preclinical compliance for nursing? Please email: student.central@cdu.edu.au
Reporting Obligations
Under the national Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, CDU is required to register nursing students with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and to notify AHPRA if a student has or develops a health impairment that may place the public at substantial risk of harm. More information from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) at www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/.