Undergraduate entry into Nursing

For entry into a university nursing course commencing in 2022, the ATAR ranged from the 60s to the low-90s. When combined with another Bachelor’s degree such as midwifery or psychology, the ATAR was often in the 80s, and up to the high 90s for the double degrees. It is important to note that many universities require pre-requisite subjects to be completed before you can gain entry into a nursing degree.

The following tables show the ATAR scores that were required to enter each undergraduate course at the beginning of 2022 in the various states throughout Australia. Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives.

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Postgraduate entry into Nursing

There is a postgraduate pathway that is available at more than 10 universities around Australia. You will require an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) for entry into these courses. You may also need to have completed certain pre-requisite subjects in your undergraduate degree, submit your curriculum vitae (CV), academic transcript and supplementary information for entry into postgraduate nursing courses.

A list of postgraduate courses to become a Registered Nurse in Australia in 2022 is in the table below. It is also worth noting that some of the courses shown in the table are pathways for Enrolled Nurses to become Registered Nurses:

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Current list of approved programs of study to become a nurse

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a nurse in Australia.

If you would like to find courses to become a registered nurse:
1. Go to https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Accreditation/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx
2. In Profession select Nurse
3. In Country make the appropriate selection – for example, Australia
4. In Qualification Type select General
5. In Division select Registered Nurse (Division 1)
6. Click Search

More resources on My Health Career

• The best and worst parts about being a nurse
• Videos about a career in nursing
• Being a nurse – and loving it. By Jennifer Smith

Disclaimer

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate biomedicine, health science or biomedical science degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Nursing and Midwifery Federation of Australia and other industry organisations, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.

The post ATAR for nursing – Your guide to the ATAR for every nursing course in Australia in 2022 appeared first on My Health Career.

As well as the academic criteria for course entry, undertaking clinical placements may have requirements such as:

• Providing your immunisation history
• A federal police check
• A working with vulnerable people registration
• A tuberculosis (TB) screening test
• Immunisations including Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Senior First Aid and CPR training
• A working with children check
• Signing a student declaration form for clinical placements in state government health facilities

Undergraduate entry into midwifery

For entry into an undergraduate midwifery course commencing in 2022, the ATARs and Selection Ranks ranged from 75 to the high 90s. Following is a guide for the ATARs and/or Selection Ranks for every midwifery course in Australia in 2022:

Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives, and that some universities will also have additional selection criteria to gain entry.

If you don’t gain entry directly following high school, some universities will allow you to transfer into their undergraduate midwifery degree following a year in one of their other undergraduate degrees – for example a science degree. This will be dependent on your Grade Point Average in your first year subjects and could also involve other admission requirements. You ATAR may also be considered.

There may also be pathways available for diploma of nursing students and qualified enrolled nurses too. Please speak with an admissions officer at the universities you are considering applying for to see if this pathway may be available to you.

Postgraduate entry into midwifery

There are postgraduate midwifery courses in most states and territories in Australia. Entry into these courses generally requires current registration as a Registered Nurse in Australia, a previous Bachelor degree or equivalent in nursing, and concurrent employment on a part time basis as a student midwife in a hospital midwifery unit.

Following is a list of postgraduate midwifery courses in Australia in 2022:

Be sure to check the entry requirements with each university you are considering applying for.

Pathways to become a midwife

Following is an infographic which provides an overview of the pathways to becoming qualified as a midwife in Australia. For simplicity, it does not include the possibility of transferring into midwifery from another course, and pathways for enrolled nurses. For more detailed pathways information, go to our “become a midwife page“.

Current list of approved programs of study to become a midwife

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a midwife in Australia.

If you would like to find courses to become a midwife:
1. Go to https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Accreditation/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx
2. In Profession select Midwife
3. In Country make the appropriate selection – for example, Australia
4. In Qualification Type select General
5. Click Search

More resources on My Health Career

• Become a midwife
• A midwife’s round-about pathway into a career in health

Disclaimer

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.

The post ATAR for midwifery – Your guide to the ATAR for every midwifery course in Australia in 2022 appeared first on My Health Career.

Pre-budget submission

The Australian College of Nursing’s (ACN) 2022-2023 Pre-Budget submission was focused on education and develop opportunities for nurses. It featured in 3 recommendations around workforce planning, the disability sector and aged care.
“There are over 400,000 nurses, making us the largest health workforce nationally and we deliver care across all health sectors, in primary care, mental health, aged care, community care and in hospitals,” ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN said.

“Despite being leaders in providing expert care to our most vulnerable, I constantly hear stories from my nursing colleagues across Australia sharing the limited access they have to education and development after graduation. Continued long-term investment supporting more members of our profession reach advanced levels of practice will ensure we can effectively address the complex and evolving needs of health consumers both now and into the future.

“In our pre-budget submission, ACN is seeking funding to create 150 scholarship places for nurses aged under 35 to participate in the Leading Excellence Through Advanced Practice Scholarship Program. Participants will explore innovative and transformative leadership concepts based on our White Paper: ‘A New Horizon for Health Service: Optimising Advanced Practice Nursing’ which was launched with bipartisan political support in the halls of Federal Parliament in 2019.

“ACN is also asking for the investment in providing 5,000 scholarship places for nurses in aged care to obtain a graduate certificate as well as establishing two units of study for nurses who want to work in the disability sector. These three initiatives will result in Australia’s most vulnerable and underserviced populations receiving the benefits of expert care from a highly qualified nurse.

“We have put the people we care for above our own professional and personal needs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowing the community deserves the highest levels of care and emotional support. It is time all politicians and political parties recognise the vital need to continue to invest in nurses, because when we invest in nurses, we invest in healthy communities and healthy citizens.

Post-budget opinion

The Australian College of Nursing welcomed funding for developing and enhancing nurse leadership skills in the federal budget.

The budget contained a $1 million matching co-contribution to ACN for the establishment of 21 scholarships focusing on supporting nurses seeking to further their professional development in leadership.

“I welcome the Government’s recognition that an investment in nurse leadership is an investment in shaping the health of all Australians,” ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN said.

“Recipients will be known as the Bullwinkel Scholars in honour of the bravery and courage shown by the 21 Australian nurses who lost their lives in the Bangka Island Massacre 80 years ago. The funding will ensure their legacy lives on not only in the next generation of nurse leaders, but also in the collective memory of our nation.

“As a nurse myself, I understand the challenges my colleagues face when it comes to finding the time and money to invest in education. These scholarships will be pivotal in providing nurses with the financial support and time to upskill their leadership capabilities to ensure our profession continues to lead the way in providing expert care to those who need it most.”

Adjunct Professor Ward also outlined ACN’s support for a number of other measures in the budget including those targeted at education and women.

“I acknowledge the Government’s recognition of the success of the Aged Care Transition to Practice program, of which ACN is one of the main providers, in the Budget,” she said.

We are also looking forward to seeing the rollout of the proposed investment into the training of Registered Nurses in residential aged care facilities to become Authorised Nurse Immunisers and welcome the additional funding for the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme which ACN has proudly administered for the last 20 years.”

“As a predominately female profession, we support the strong focus on eliminating gender-based violence and funding of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. ACN and I will continue to strongly advocate to eradicate all forms of violence through the work of our Nurses and Violence Taskforce.”

However, Adjunct Professor Ward pointed toward the failure of the Government to invest in advanced practice nurses as a key failing of the Budget.

“I am disappointed to once again see advanced practice nurses neglected from the decision-making table,” she said.

“As ACN outlined in our pre-budget submission, this group of highly educated professionals are crucial to addressing the complex health needs of our most underserviced populations, including those living in rural and remote areas. However, the refusal of Governments to increase their numbers and scope of practice sadly means many barriers to equitable health care remain in place.”
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) expressed disappointment following the federal budget, stating that “despite modest funding for some preventative health initiatives and increased paid parental leave (PPL) provisions, the Budget has failed to deliver much-needed and genuine long-term reforms in health and private aged care.”

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said “the Government cannot ignore the plight of nursing home residents, nurses and care workers, by failing to implement the Royal Commission’s key recommendations – safe minimum staffing levels, increased wages for aged care workers and genuine accountability for taxpayers’ money.

“We ask Mr Morrison, how many preventable deaths do there need to be and how many dedicated nurses or aged care workers need to be driven from their jobs before he finally fixes chronic staffing shortages, causing so much pain and suffering in the country’s nursing homes?”

Pre-federal election

In the lead up to the May 2022 federal election, The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) said that Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s pledge to mandate staffing ratios by introducing, in law, minimum care hours requirements for nursing homes and to fund real wage increases for all aged care workers, could finally bring hope to exhausted nurses and care workers in the troubled aged care sector.

In March 2022. A delegation of 10 ANMF aged care members watching-on in Federal Parliament as Mr Albanese announced that, if elected, the ALP would implement the critical recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, including mandated standards for nutrition in nursing homes.

According to the ANMF, measures the Opposition said it would implement if elected included:

• 24 hour registered nurse care in every nursing home
• A mandated minimum 215 minutes of care per resident per day
• Funding real wage increases for aged care workers
• Ensuring accountability across the sector

“After years of inaction, we may finally have a plan to fix the core problems underlining the crisis in aged care,” ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, said.
“We have known what the real problems in aged care are for years, but despite dozens of reports, inquiries, investigations and even a Royal Commission all saying the same thing, no one as been prepared to address these core problems. Tonight, we have just heard promise of a Government that, if elected, might actually take the genuine action needed.

“The Morrison Government was given a road map for reform more than a year ago by its own Royal Commission but failed to act on the Commission’s critical recommendations. Instead of overseeing desperately needed improvements, in the year that has elapsed, the Government has overseen a deepening crisis across the sector.

The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) also urged politicians to prioritize the issues impacting the nursing profession in the lead up to the federal election.
“For the last two years, nurses have led Australians through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN said.

“I constantly hear stories from my colleagues sharing the exhausting toll of COVID-19 on their physical and mental health as they care for the sick and vulnerable as well as the need to better invest the health care dollar to optimise Australia’s largest and most geographically accessible workforce. This Federal Election, all political parties must place long term and tangible solutions to address the crisis facing the nursing workforce.

“Registered nurses are central to leading reform in our health and aged care systems and improving the health of all Australians, particularly our most vulnerable. However, there needs to be investments on multiple fronts to ensure our workforce is sustainable and optimally utilised for generations to come.”

Adjunct Professor Ward pointed to the need for election commitments to focus on ensuring registered nurses with specific training in aged care are available on-site 24/7 in aged care facilities, addressing the unacceptable levels of occupational violence the profession experiences and allowing advanced practice nurses to work to their full scope.

“ACN is a bi-partisan and for-purpose organisation that exists to support the views and expertise of the more than 400,000 nurses we represent nationally,” she said.

“The solutions we have consistently advocated for to address the workforce crisis are directly informed by the lived experiences of nurses on all frontline settings of care delivery including aged care, mental health, primary care, hospitals and emergency departments. During the campaign, I urge political leaders to listen to the concerns of Australia’s largest health profession, as the health of our nation will suffer without nurses.”

Post-federal election

Both the ANMF and ACN congratulated Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor party on the federal election victory.

“We are delighted that we finally have a Federal Government that has a real plan to fix the systemic issues in health and aged care,” ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, said today.

“Mr Albanese and his team, including Mark Butler and Clare O’Neil, have already listened to the ANMF and have committed to working with us to develop a health workforce which is ready and able to respond to Australia’s health needs.

“In aged care, the ALP has committed to funding legislating mandated staffing ratios in private aged care facilities, improving wages for the depleted workforce and making sure taxpayer-funds for providers are tied to direct care for residents.

“On behalf of our members across the country, the ANMF congratulates Mr Albanese and his team on winning government and we look forward to working with them in developing and delivering real solutions which can ensure fair and equitable outcomes in health and aged care for all Australians.”

ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN said “I congratulate the ALP on their election victory and look forward to working with new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Health Minister Mark Butler.

“Throughout the election campaign, all sides of politics acknowledged the importance of investing in a sustainable nursing workforce to ensure all Australians receive expert nursing care for generations to come. The next few months provide a unique opportunity for those promises to be backed up with tangible action.”

Adjunct Professor Ward highlighted a multi-pronged approach is required to address workforce shortages and ensuring the new Government’s pledge to have Registered Nurses 24/7 in residential aged care facilities is met.

“As I said at the time, I welcome the ALP’s positive intent to support the health of our vulnerable elderly population by ensuring they have access to highly-trained nurses,” she said.

“However, action is required on multiple fronts to ensure Australia’s largest health profession continues to shape the health of all Australians for generations to come. The solutions ACN advocates for are based on the experience and expertise of our Members and nurses we represent nationally.”

“They include improving access to transition pathways after graduation, visas for internationally trained nurses, greater health and wellbeing support, refresher courses for enrolled and registered nurses and ensuring nurses can access MBS item numbers. I re-iterate my calls for the incoming government to hold a national summit to develop an action plan to ensure these solutions are implemented.”
“I would also like to thank outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison and retiring Health Minister Greg Hunt for all they have done to support the nursing profession during their time in office.”

The ACN also welcomed strong results for the Australian Greens and independent candidates following the federal election.

“I congratulate the Australian Greens and independents on substantially increasing their representation in Parliament. ACN is a non-partisan membership-based peak body and we stand willing to work with politicians from across the political divide to ensure the issues impacting the nursing profession are urgently addressed,” ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN said.

“During my time as CEO, we have had a strong relationship with the Greens under the leadership of Adam Bandt and his predecessor Richard Di Natale. This has also extended to a state level where we are grateful for The NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann’s support for tax-free COVID-19 payments for nurses.”

“We have also worked very productively with the independents, including former nurse Dr Helen Haines who is a member of our Parliamentary Friends of Nursing group. We look forward to expanding this to include those newly elected to Parliament.”

“I urge both the Greens and independents to use their increased powers to ensure the Government take tangible action to address the nursing workforce crisis. Investments are required on multiple fronts to ensure the issues impacting Australia’s largest health profession are addressed, allowing us to continue shaping the health of all Australians for generations to come.”

“The solutions ACN advocates for are based directly off the experience and expertise of our Members and nurses we represent nationally. They include improving access to transition pathways after graduation, visas for internationally trained nurses, greater health and wellbeing support, refresher courses for enrolled and registered nurses and ensuring access to MBS item numbers.”

“Nursing must be at the top of the Green’s and independent’s priorities as we know that when we invest in nursing, we invest in healthy communities.”

The ACN also welcomed the Ministers in the Federal Government following the appointment of the Hon Mark Butler MP as the Minister for Health and Aged Care, and the Hon Ged Kearney MP as the new Assistant Minister.

The ACN also extended best wishes to the Hon Anika Wells MP, as the Minister for Aged Care; the Hon Emma McBride MP, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Rural and Regional Health; and Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health.

“I am very pleased to congratulate Mark Butler, and likewise Ged Kearney – who as a former nurse and co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Nursing will bring a unique and exciting perspective to her portfolio,” ACN acting CEO Yvonne McKinlay FACN, said.

“Mr Butler and Ms Kearney are long-standing friends of ACN, and we have deeply valued their ongoing support for Australia’s nurses.

“Both took time to speak at the ACN Policy Summit held in March and shared with our membership their commitment to working with us in the event of a Labor victory.”

“I look forward to working with Mr Butler and his team to progress these much-needed initiatives over the next three years. Now is the time to champion bold reform, and ACN and our membership are ready to play our part.

“I would also like to take a final opportunity to acknowledge the willingness of the previous government to engage with ACN. I remain grateful that our organisation continues to enjoy such bipartisan support for its work,” Ms McKinlay concluded.

The post Nursing 2022: The Profession’s Priorities in an Election Year appeared first on My Health Career.

As well as the academic criteria for course entry, undertaking clinical placements may have requirements such as:

• Providing your immunisation history
• A federal police check
• A working with vulnerable people registration
• A tuberculosis (TB) screening test
• Immunisations including Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Senior First Aid and CPR training
• A working with children check
• Signing a student declaration form for clinical placements in state government health facilities

Undergraduate entry into midwifery

For entry into an undergraduate midwifery course commencing in 2021, the ATARs and Selection Ranks ranged from the 75 to the high 90s. Following is a guide for the ATARs and/or Selection Ranks for every midwifery course in Australia in 2021:

Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives, and that some universities will also have additional selection criteria to gain entry.

If you don’t gain entry directly following high school, some universities will allow you to transfer into their undergraduate midwifery degree following a year in one of their other undergraduate degrees – for example a science degree. This will be dependent on your Grade Point Average in your first year subjects and could also involve other admission requirements. You ATAR may also be considered.

There may also be pathways available for diploma of nursing students and qualified enrolled nurses too. Please speak with an admissions officer at the universities you are considering applying for to see if this pathway may be available to you.

Postgraduate entry into midwifery

There are postgraduate midwifery courses in most states and territories in Australia. Entry into these courses generally requires current registration as a Registered Nurse in Australia, a previous Bachelor degree or equivalent in nursing, and concurrent employment on a part time basis as a student midwife in a hospital midwifery unit.

Following is a list of postgraduate midwifery courses in Australia in 2021:

Be sure to check the entry requirements with each university you are considering applying for.

Pathways to become a midwife

Following is an infographic which provides an overview of the pathways to becoming qualified as a midwife in Australia. For simplicity, it does not include the possibility of transferring into midwifery from another course, and pathways for enrolled nurses.  For more detailed pathways information, go to our “become a midwife page“.

Current list of approved programs of study to become a midwife

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a midwife in Australia.

If you would like to find courses to become a midwife:

1. Go to https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Accreditation/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx
2. In Profession select Midwife
3. In Country make the appropriate selection – for example, Australia
4. In Qualification Type select General
5. Click Search

More resources on My Health Career

• Become a midwife
• ANMF national graduate nurse & midwife roundtable looking to secure jobs for graduates
• A midwife’s round-about pathway into a career in health

Disclaimer

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate biomedicine, health science or biomedical science degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.

The post ATAR for midwifery – your guide to the ATAR for every midwifery course in Australia in 2021 appeared first on My Health Career.

Now that you have fulfilled the requirements to become a registered nurse, part of your duties will be caring for patients and making the world a better place. The beauty of nursing is that it offers a wide range of career descriptions. You do not have to be a resident-based nurse after your studies. You can still explore other nursing-related career options, such as tutoring or consultancy. Whether you are a budding nurse looking to become recognized for diligent service or are a nursing veteran ready to tackle new changes, there is still a chance to progress in your career. Here are a few tips to help you do that.

1. Get a nursing life coach

Your career as a nurse will be challenging, from handling critical care patients to dealing with harsh colleagues. Each day you spend at work comes with different challenges that could affect your mental health. To ensure you do not lose your mind or bear the consequences of nursing-related challenges, get a nursing life coach to hold your hand every step of the way.

2. Join a professional nursing support group

One of the main advantages of joining a professional nursing support group is increased networking abilities. As a friend of progress, you will want to be part of a team whose primary goals are to help you access a realm of opportunities. You also want to be with people who will connect you with nursing veterans for guidance. Being a member of such support groups ensures you get invites to continuing education courses and discounts.

3. Participate in multiple units

Nursing is a career that opens you up to different tasks. It could be child delivery, administering medications, diagnosing illnesses, and offering consultancy services. During your service, be open to performing tasks in multiple units. That not only makes you a better candidate if a job offer comes up, but it also makes you valuable to hospitals.

4. Further your studies

The nursing industry is gradually evolving, and the sooner you adapt to the changes, the better your chances at surviving new challenges. For example, diagnosing equipment used almost 20 years ago has probably become irrelevant in detecting new cases. Remember, budding nurses are learning how to operate this equipment to solve new cases. When looking to go back to school, consider merging your nursing course with non-clinical courses such as monitoring and evaluation, education skills, or conflict management.

5. Engage in voluntary community work

While nursing is a rewarding career in median earnings, money should not be your top priority. Think of the pressure the healthcare sector is facing due to the increase in demand for services. Now is the right time to think beyond how much money you should be making each time you save a life. For once in your lifetime, volunteer your time. A small act of kindness without expecting money in return can widen your scope of how the system works, preparing you for the future.

6. Read widely

From blogs, articles to write-ups, the internet is one place where you can find information about anything. You might not realize the importance of checking materials online frequently, but it helps demonstrate your knowledge of current trends required for registered nurses. Sometimes, proving that you are a competent nurse begins by sharing the latest information you have just gathered. If you are looking to advance your career but have not started following nursing blogs to understand how the healthcare system works, think again.

7. Share your achievements and ambitions with your seniors

Telling your supervisor about your achievements and goals might sound like you are bragging. But how will they know if you are interested in career advancement unless you talk about it? Your seniors are also interested in knowing they work with ambitious people. They might even place you on a committee to widen your networking skills. Doing so helps you get prepared if you land a promotion.

Whether you are one of the most recognized registered nurses in your hospital or joined it for the first time, preparing for career advancement is necessary if you want to follow your passion. You still have enough time to identify which tip inspires you to be a better nurse.

The post 7 Tips to Take You a Step Higher in Your Nursing Career appeared first on My Health Career.

Undergraduate entry into Nursing

For entry into a university nursing course commencing in 2020, the ATAR ranged from 60s to the mid-90s. When combined with another Bachelor’s degree such as midwifery or arts, the ATAR was often in the 80s or 90s for the double degree.

The following tables show the ATAR scores that were required to enter each undergraduate course at the beginning of 2020 in the various states throughout Australia. Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives.

It is also worth noting that some universities offer an Enrolled to Registered Nursing pathway as well as other pathways to become a registered nurse. Please check with the universities or institutions you are looking at applying to in order to see if this pathway might be an option for you.

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Postgraduate entry into nursing

There is a postgraduate pathway that is available at more than 10 universities around Australia. You will require an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) for entry into these courses. You may also need to have completed certain pre-requisite subjects in your undergraduate degree, submit your curriculum vitae (CV), academic transcript and supplementary information for entry into postgraduate nursing courses.

A list of postgraduate courses to become a Registered Nurse in Australia in 2020 is in the table below:

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Current list of approved programs of study to become a nurse

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a nurse in Australia.

If you would like to find courses to become a registered nurse:

1. Go to https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Accreditation/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx
2. In Profession select Nurse
3. In Country make the appropriate selection – for example, Australia
4. In Qualification Type select General
5. In Division select Registered Nurse (Division 1)
6. Click Search

More resources on My Health Career

• The best and worst parts about being a nurse
• Videos about a career in nursing
• Q&A with Cheryl Prescott – Nurse Educator – about the role of…. you guessed it….. nurse educators!!
• Being a nurse – and loving it. By Jennifer Smith
• Staffing levels – the answer for the aged care crisis?

Disclaimer

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate biomedicine, health science or biomedical science degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Nursing and Midwifery Federation of Australia and other industry organisations, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.

The post ATAR for nursing – your guide to the ATAR for every nursing course in Australia in 2020 appeared first on My Health Career.

As well as the academic criteria for course entry, undertaking clinical placements may have requirements such as:

• Providing your immunisation history
• A federal police check
• A working with vulnerable people registration
• A tuberculosis (TB) screening test
• Immunisations including Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Senior First Aid and CPR training
• A working with children check
• Signing a student declaration form for clinical placements in state government health facilities

Undergraduate entry into midwifery

For entry into an undergraduate midwifery course commencing in 2020, the ATARs and Selection Ranks ranged from the 70 to high 90s. Following is a guide for the ATARs and/or Selection Ranks for every midwifery course in Australia in 2020:

Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives, and that some universities will also have additional selection criteria to gain entry.

If you don’t gain entry directly following high school, some universities will allow you to transfer into their undergraduate midwifery degree following a year in one of their other undergraduate degrees – for example a science degree. This will be dependent on your Grade Point Average in your first year subjects and could also involve other admission requirements. You ATAR may also be considered.

There may also be pathways available for diploma of nursing students and qualified enrolled nurses too. Please speak with an admissions officer at the universities you are considering applying for to see if this pathway may be available to you.

Postgraduate entry into midwifery

There are postgraduate midwifery courses in most states and territories in Australia. Entry into these courses generally requires current registration as a Registered Nurse in Australia, a previous Bachelor degree or equivalent in nursing, and concurrent employment on a part time basis as a student midwife in a hospital midwifery unit.

Following is a list of postgraduate midwifery courses in Australia in 2020:

Be sure to check the entry requirements with each university you are considering applying for.

Pathways to become a midwife

Following is an infographic which provides an overview of the pathways to becoming qualified as a midwife in Australia. For simplicity, it does not include the possibility of transferring into midwifery from another course, and pathways for enrolled nurses. For more detailed pathways information, go to our “become a midwife page“.

Current list of approved programs of study to become a midwife

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a midwife in Australia.

If you would like to find courses to become a midwife:

1. Go to https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Accreditation/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx

2. In Profession select Midwife

3. In Country make the appropriate selection – for example, Australia

4. In Qualification Type select General

5. Click Search

More resources on My Health Career

• Become a midwife
• ANMF national graduate nurse & midwife roundtable looking to secure jobs for graduates
• A midwife’s round-about pathway into a career in health

Disclaimer

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate biomedicine, health science or biomedical science degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.

The post ATAR for midwifery – your guide to the ATAR for every midwifery course in Australia in 2020 appeared first on My Health Career.

I love being both a midwife and maternal & child health nurse, these roles have allowed me to support new families and mothers in such an important and close way. It is truly a privilege to work in an area I am so passionate about. I love seeing new families develop their skills and enjoy their babies.

What’s the best part about working with patients?

Teaching childbirth education classes to couples and then caring for them in labour, being with them for the birth. It’s amazing to watch a couple become a mother, father and a family.

My role as a maternal and child health nurse is about empowering new mothers in their own new role and I love seeing mums who start out being nervous even handling their baby to becoming confident and making choices about how they want to parent their baby. My role is to give them safe choices and options and let them decide what is right for their own family.

Supporting mothers to successfully breastfeed is always very satisfying, especially if they have had some significant challenges and the baby hasn’t been gaining adequate weight, this is very stressful and upsetting for most mothers. Then with referral to a lactation consultant, a breastfeeding plan and some more frequent consultations with me, their baby begins to gain more weight and they succeed in exclusively breastfeeding their baby.

How do you motivate yourself to move forward and keep the passion burning for your chosen career if you experience burnout?

I remember being a new mother myself and how supportive my own maternal and child health nurse was, she gave me very helpful advice that I could trust because she was qualified in this area. I remind myself that I am that same MCH nurse for other mothers and parents.

What is something that can be improved that would make you love being midwife even more?

If all maternal and child health nurses could directly refer to paediatricians and refer for hip ultrasounds and x-rays this would make our work so much easier as well as one less step for parents having to see the GP just to get the referral we know is indicated. This would reduce the barrier and mean more baby’s getting the care required in a timely manner. All maternal and child health nurses are registered nurses and midwives before doing further postgraduate study, usually a master’s degree. We should therefore be acknowledged as specialists in our field by other health professionals.

Belinda Joyce is a midwife, maternal & child health nurse, mother of four and author of ‘Survive and Enjoy Your Baby’. Belinda’s passion is in providing safe, evidence-based advice & options to parents so they can find their own path to parenthood. Visit Belinda’s website: belindajoyce.com

More articles in My Health Career:

• Three psychologists on their love for work and love for life
• Measuring love for work – By Anna Roberts and Jennifer Smallridge
• On love for fusing artificial intelligence and physiotherapy – A Q&A with Phebe Liston

The post Belinda Joyce, midwife and maternal child health nurse strives to give families safe choices and options for raising a baby appeared first on My Health Career.

For people who want to help, without having one of these roles, there is the option of becoming an assistant. For instance, there are Allied Health Courses which people can take in order to qualify for a role in assistance. Allied health assistants provide assistance to health practitioners including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists and dietitians. Another assistance option in health is to become an assistant in nursing.

What is an Assistant in Nursing?

The role of an assistant in nursing (AIN) is one that is becoming ever more important, given the need to have enough medical and nursing staff to deal with the care of patients across Australia.

The responsibilities of a nursing assistant

The responsibilities of a nursing assistant, or an Assistant in Nursing (AIN), continue to expand as nurses require more support to cope with the growing demand for their services. In simple terms, an AIN provides support to registered nurses (RN) and enrolled nurses (EN). This support can include reporting on the condition of patients and making sure their details are fully recorded.

There are many responsibilities which fall within the scope of practice of an AIN. These responsibilities include ensuring that basic hygiene procedures are adhered to, including the hygiene of patients. AINs are also responsible for tasks such as advising the nurses they support about changes to a patient’s condition and feeding patients who are unable to do this for themselves.

Skills and traits needed to work as a nursing assistant

There are several abilities and traits that are required in order for a person to succeed as an AIN. These skills and attributes include:

• Good communication skills in order to be able to interact with nurses, doctors, patients, and patient’s relatives on a regular basis.
• The ability to be discreet in what can be a sensitive environment.
• A high level of compassion which is required in order to give patients the dedicated care that they need.
• The ability to deal with situations where many people might be squeamish, such as when there is a lot of blood around.
• Physical perseverance as the role can be a demanding one.
• Tolerance of shift patterns which can have an effect on sleep patterns.

It’s clear to see that nursing assistants have a very important role to play. Anyone who is good at the role can attempt to progress in their career by becoming a qualified nurse. Additional training is required (An 18 month to 2-year nursing diploma for an EN and a 3-year nursing degree for an RN). Having a background as an AIN is advantageous when completing the qualifications to become an EN or RN as you will have a solid grounding in the practical skills to be a nurse. Of course, there is no requirement for an AIN to go on to become a nurse. They perform a valuable service in the assistant role and may be quite happy to carry on that way.

The post The Important and Growing Role of Assistants in Nursing appeared first on My Health Career.

To become a Registered Nurse in Australia generally requires the completion of a Bachelor of Nursing or equivalent. There are undergraduate and postgraduate courses that you can complete to become a Registered Nurse.

All courses will include clinical placements. There are a range of requirements before starting a clinical placement. This could include:

• A working with children check (Blue Card)
• A national criminal history check
• Compliance with the vaccination requirements of the health facility you will be visiting
• A current Senior First Aid certificate
• A current CPR certificate
• Completion of a cultural training sensitivity module to be able to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
• Student orientation requirements of the health facility you will be visiting

Undergraduate entry into Nursing

For entry into a university nursing course commencing in 2019, the ATAR ranged from 60s to the mid-90s. When combined with another Bachelor’s degree such as midwifery or arts, the ATAR was often in the 80s or 90s for the double degree.

The following tables show the ATAR / OP scores that were required to enter each undergraduate course at the beginning of 2019 in the various states throughout Australia. Please note that this is a rough guide only for future years as it changes from year to year depending on the applications each university receives, and that some universities will also have additional selection criteria or alternative pathways to gain entry.

It is also worth noting that some universities offer an Enrolled to Registered Nursing pathway as well. Please check with the universities or institutions you are looking at applying to in order to see if this pathway might be an option for you.

Postgraduate entry into nursing

There is a postgraduate pathway that is available at more than 10 universities around Australia. You will require an undergraduate degree (or equivalent) for entry into these courses. You may also need to have completed certain pre-requisite subjects in your undergraduate degree, submit your curriculum vitae (CV), academic transcript and supplementary information for entry into postgraduate nursing courses.

A list of postgraduate courses to become a Registered Nurse in Australia in 2019 is in the table below:

The information presented in this article was correct at the time of publishing. Please check with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia for an up to date list of approved programs of study to become a registered nurse in Australia: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/education/approved-programs-of-study.aspx?ref=nurse&type=general&div=registered%20nurse%20%28division%201%29

More resources on My Health Career:

• The best and worst parts about being a nurse
• Videos about a career in nursing
• Q&A with Cheryl Prescott – Nurse Educator – about the role of…. you guessed it….. nurse educators!!
• Being a nurse – and loving it. By Jennifer Smith
• Staffing levels – the answer for the aged care crisis?

Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. My Health Career accepts no responsibility for ensuring that you enrol in a course that is right for you. Please do your own research to ensure that you enrol in the correct course, especially if you are considering an undergraduate biomedicine, health science or biomedical science degree as a pathway to a postgraduate course. This may include speaking with a careers advisor, guidance officer, career development practitioner, representatives of the Nursing and Midwifery Federation of Australia and other industry organisations, and admissions officers from the university or universities you are looking at applying to.

The post ATAR for nursing – your guide to the ATAR for every nursing course in Australia in 2019 appeared first on My Health Career.