Are you an Enrolled Nurse ready to take the next step to become a Registered Nurse ?
The Southern Cross University Bachelor of Nursing Enrolled Nurse Pathway degree recognizes your knowledge and skills as an Enrolled Nurse and enables you to become a Registered Nurse in just two years.
In this degree, you will undertake specialized conversion subjects to help you transition fully into a suite of subjects designed to prepare you with skills in the biological and social sciences and enable you to undertake clinical placements across a range of healthcare settings.
This is a great opportunity to build on your previous study and experience, to develop that career in nursing and health you have been working towards.
Career Opportunities
This pathway program enables an enrolled nurse to become a registered nurse.
Graduate opportunities include: registered nurse in a range of public and private health sectors; delivering acute and chronic disease care and management in clinical settings such as paediatrics, community health, primary health care and education; as a practice nurse in GP clinics, mental health, child care, aged care, perioperative care, Indigenous health, rural and remote area health, emergency departments and critical care.
Professional Recognition
The degree is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and provides the necessary qualification for graduates to be eligible to become a Registered Nurse in Australia.
Professional Placement
Supervised clinical placements (totaling 640 hours) provide students with experiences of nursing in settings relevant to their areas of study in public and private hospitals and health agencies. This may include acute and low care health facilities; community settings; mental health facilities; extended residential aged care; GP practices; health promotion and education; intensive care; health clinics; accident and emergency; palliative care; primary health care settings and related nursing and health services within metropolitan, regional and rural areas throughout NSW and QLD. Students may be able to undertake national and international clinical placements.
The 640 hours of professional placement is spread across several units within the course. Included in these units is a specifically designed professional experience placement for the Enrolled Nurse Pathway students to facilitate progression towards thinking and practice in the role of an RN.
The course provides for the opportunity to specialize in specific clinical areas of interest based on availability and supervisory facilities.
Professional experience placements require students to fulfill certain pre-requisites prior to attending any placements. Before applying for this course, it is important that you understand what these requirements are. The course provides for the opportunity to specialize in specific clinical areas of interest based on availability and supervisory facilities.
Major Areas of Study
The course is responsive to contemporary nursing practices and provides content and clinical experiences as follows:
Professional areas: critical thinking and analysis, provision and coordination of person-centered care, independent and collaborative care, primary health care, mental health, acute and complex care, chronic disease management, palliative care, leadership and care management, aged care.
Biological sciences: anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology.
Social sciences: Australian health care system, Indigenous studies, philosophy, psychology and sociology for health sciences, legal and ethical studies and research methods.
All students are required to attend an intensive block at the Gold Coast campus and possibly at Coffs Harbour.
Assessment methods
A variety of assessment methods is used in this course including multiple choice examinations, short answer examinations, essay examinations, case studies, tutorial and workshop presentations, debates, written assignments and clinical skills testing. For each unit, there are usually two to three assessment items.
Students are required to demonstrate an ability to develop and meet the Nurses and Midwives Board of Australia Registered Nurse Standards of Practice, maintain a clinical e-portfolio and reflective exercises.
Teaching methods
On-campus students experience a variety of teaching approaches including lectures, tutorials, online activities and video-linked or podcast virtual classes. The method of teaching may vary from unit to unit. Online lectures support face to face tutorials, workshops, and laboratory sessions.
Some units in this course are also available online. Our online study option is highly interactive and strives to promote collaboration and a sense of community. Students may receive a combination of the podcast or video-linked lectures, electronic study materials, workshops, online discussion forums and virtual classes. The method of teaching may vary from unit to unit.
Please note: All students will be required to attend intensive workshops at the Gold Coast campus . Attendance is mandatory. The benefit of intensive delivery is that students attend classes for a few days in a Teaching Session.
The intensive tutorials enable students to gain the benefits of meeting academic staff, having discussions and networking, while also having exposure to resources available for students. Teaching is supplemented by online material and support via 'MySCU'.