*Available to International students only
The Acute Care specialisation is offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and is completed as part of the Master of Nursing (Coursework and Specialisation).
This is to be read in conjunction with the course rule for the Master of Nursing (Coursework and Specialisation).
Admission requirements
Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification and must be registered nurses in their country of residence.
However, the Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.
In addition applicants must provide a supporting statement nominating their area of clinical preference in acute care nursing for university sourced observational professional experience placement.
Areas of clinical preference include:
- Cardiac
- Critical Care
- Emergency
- High Dependency
- Mental Health
- Paediatrics
This specialisation involves a Professional Experience Placement (PEP). Please check additional requirements on the School of Nursing & Midwifery PEP web pages.
Specialisation aims
The specialisation aims to
- facilitate development of specialised knowledge, skills and attributes for application in a range of acute care nursing environments
- extend student knowledge in research for practice development
Learning outcomes
In addition to the Learning Outcomes of the Master of Nursing (Coursework and Specialisation), on completion of this course, students in the Acute Care specialisation will be able to:
- critically analyse the concepts and theory around recognition, response and management of the acute, complex and/or critically-ill deteriorating patient in a range of acute care settings
- identify and enact relevant international, national, state and territory strategic health care goals in acute care nursing environments
- apply concepts and theories around recognition, response and management of the acute, complex and/or critically-ill deteriorating patient in a simulated acute care setting
Program of study
Students choosing this specialisation undertake 4.5 units of core specialisation topics, 27 units of coursework and 22.5 units of option topics.
To qualify for the Master of Nursing (Coursework and Specialisation) with an Acute Care specialisation, a student must complete 54 units with a grade of Pass or NGP or better in each topic, according to the program of study set out below.
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;
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 eight consecutive semesters may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purpose of the University''s Policy on Student Progress.
Not all elective topics will be available in any given year or semester.
Specialisation - Acute Care - Core topics
4.5 units comprising:
NURS8740 Foundations for Responding to Clinical Deterioration Across the Lifespan (4.5 units)
Core - Coursework topics
plus 27 units comprising:
NURS9123 Epidemiology and Population Studies for Health Care Practice (4.5 units)
NURS9124 Advanced Thinking, Communicating and Problem Solving for Health Professionals (4.5 units)
NURS9126 Leadership in Health Studies (4.5 units)
NURS9219 Introduction to Research (4.5 units)
NURS9222 Capstone: Advancing Research Knowledge to Inform Healthcare Practice (9 unit)
Option - Year 1 & 2 topics
plus 22.5 units selected from non-PEP acute care nursing topics:
NURS8742 Critical Care Nursing Theory (4.5 units)
NURS8744 Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (4.5 units)
NURS8746 Managing High Acuity Surgical Care (4.5 units)
NURS8747 Managing High Acuity Medical Care (4.5 units)
NURS8748 Acute Care Observational PEP (4.5 units)
NURS8751 Principles of Emergency Nursing (4.5 units)
NURS8760 Acute Mental Health Nursing Theory (4.5 units)
NURS8828 Contemporary Issues in Paediatric Nursing (4.5 units)
In consultation with the Course Coordinator, students may select as their option topic(s) other postgraduate topics offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, excluding Professional Experience Placement (PEP) topics.