The Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care (General Practice and Community Nursing) is an 18-unit program offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Admission requirements

Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification and must be registered nurses in Australia.

However, the Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.

In addition, must provide a supporting statement from their employer stating their willingness to facilitate the extended clinical practice components of the course within their workplace and/or provide evidence that an affiliated health agency will facilitate the clinical practice in a supernumerary capacity.

Course aims

The Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care (General Practice and Community Nursing) aims to:

  • facilitate development of specialised knowledge, skills attributes for application in a range of general practice and community nursing environments.

Learning outcomes 

On completion of this course students will be able to:

  • critique evidence to provide effective clinical nursing services in general practice and
    community nursing settings within a Primary Health Care framework
  • apply the principles of health promotion and education to care for individuals, their carers and the wider community
  • demonstrate knowledge and skills required to care for individuals and groups in general practice and community settings
  • coordinate general practice and community nursing services; work effectively as a leader and/or as a member of a primary health care team
  • critically analyse socio-political contexts that shape care of individuals and groups in general practice and community nursing environments.

Program of study

To qualify for the Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care (General Practice and Community Nursing) a student must complete 18 units as specified below with a grade of Pass or NGP or better in each topic.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) in the same topic on more than one occasion or in 9 units or more, or failure to complete the course within four consecutive semesters may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University's Policy on Student Progress.

Except with permission of the Faculty Board:

  • no topic may be attempted more than twice
  • a student may not include a topic which repeats work previously undertaken.

Core - Year 1 topics

13.5 units comprising:

NURS8720  Primary Health Care Constructs and Contexts (4.5 units)
NURS8721  Community and Primary Health Care Nursing (4.5 units)
NURS8722  Clinical Care in Community Nursing (PEP) (4.5 units)

Option - Year 1 topics

4.5 units selected from:

MHSC8111  Managing Chronic Conditions – Self-Management Support Approaches (4.5 units)
MHSC8112  Perspectives on Chronic Diseases Management (4.5 units)
MHSC8114  The Persons’ Experiences of Self-Management (4.5 units)

Not all topics will be available in any given year or semester