The Graduate Diploma in Nursing is a 36-unit course offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
The course articulates with the Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing (specialisations) , the Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care (specialisations) , the Graduate Certificate in Global Health Care and the Master of Nursing. The sequentially developed topics allow progression through the three awards.
Students who have completed a graduate certificate are normally awarded up to 18 units of credit towards the graduate diploma.
The specialisation chosen will be identified on the student's transcript of academic record and on the parchment presented to the student on completion of the course.
Admission requirements
Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification and must be registered nurses in Australia.
Applicants who are registered as nurses in a country other than Australia must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification and may be admitted to certain specialisations as indicated.
However, the Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.
The course will not lead to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
Additional information about admission requirements for each specialisation can be found by clicking on the links provided below.
Course aims
This course aims to prepare students for practice in one of a range of specialist nursing areas. Students will have the opportunity to gain enhanced, specialised knowledge, skills and experience in a range of health care environments, as well as extending their knowledge in research for practice improvement.
Learning outcomes
Graduates of this course are expected to be able to:
- Critically apply evidence based nursing practice in their specialty area of nursing
- demonstrate the application of theory to nursing practice
- evaluate nursing care using reflexive and critical thinking processes
- articulate the place of primary health care and population health in their specialty area
- demonstrate leadership skills in the area of nursing practice, education and research
- demonstrate specialised skills and knowledge in the relevant area of nursing practice.
Additional learning outcomes will be specific to each area of specialisation. Please see specialisations listed below.
Specialisations
The course requires students to complete 18 units of core topics and 18 units of topics from one of the specialisations listed below:
You are required to submit additional documentation regarding your Professional Experience Placement (PEP) as specified in the specialisations below.
Acute Care Nursing specialisations:
- Cardiac
- Critical Care
- Emergency
- High Dependency
- Mental Health
- Paediatrics
- Acute Care (for international students only)
Primary Health Care specialisations:
- Aged Care
- Child and Family Health
- Diabetes Management and Education
- General Practice and Community
- Primary Health Care * (for international students only)
Global Health Care specialisation:
with the following pathways:
- Leading Quality and Safety
- International Health Care
- Learning and Teaching
Not all specialisations will be available in any given year or semester.