I'm in the proccess of making a career change to nursing and have to put in my application to TAFE/Uni in the next few weeks, however I have no idea what uni to apply for - or if I would be better doing the Diploma of Nursing at TAFE before going to uni.

At 27, it's been a few years since I've done any studying and I want to do as well as I possibly can... And to be honest I am a little worried about going back to TAFE/Uni.

And living in Brisbane, I have a reasonably large number of universities (UQ, QUT, Griffith, ACU, USC) and TAFEs to choose from. And at this points, the only thing I do know is that I want to do nursing, just not where!

It's also likely that I will need to work while I study, depending on any Austudy/Centrelink benefits. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

OK, have you considered how you want to study? For example via external or internal means? I did external; it gives you flexibility while you work. But OMG, the reading! I do think that I probably gained as much as if I had attended lectures because each week I had to reach basic objectives. Now with the advent of internet / virtual classrooms where you can communicate with your lecturer and other students, and do assessments on line, it is even better. You may also want to consider whether you wish to be full time, or a part time student.

I don't have personal experiences of the unis you mention, but perhaps it might help to find out which hospitals/health facilities they use for their practicuums. You may want to consider closeness to where you live, level of experience you may gain from working at a particular facility as a student etc etc. Also. look on line for the units each uni runs for their course, and see what skills they offer, and how practical they are. For example, my course included a research component OK it tied my mind in knots, but I have not used it since - God knows why!

Thanks! That's given me a few questions to send off in my never ending stream of emails to the various unis.

At this point I'd like to try and study full time, so that I'm finished in 3/4 years and can just go out and start working, but will also look more into the part-time options that the unis have. It doesn't look like any of the ones I'm looking at have external, but tend to fund internal study a bit better for me (I have done both internal and external in the past).

Doing a diploma at TAFE might be a good idea, if you then discover that nursing is not what you thought it would be you haven't invested too much time and money into gaining qualifications. If you decide to complete your degree then the diploma will be credited to you.

I am looking forward to going back to studying and becoming a nurse (I know, crazy... ) and have some really supportive people around me that think it will be a good career change for me. I do like the idea of going to TAFE and getting more of a feel for what it's like in the real world before going on to uni, although there is one uni in particular that I'm looking at (Sunshine Coast) who have been really helpfull in answering every question I've thrown at them.

I think the biggest thing is going back to being a student, after having been working full time for a number of years. However I do know it's really time for a big change. And as silly as it might sound, I've never really cared too much about what pay I get (as long as I can survive on it - and I've manage to survive on very little), but I do want to help people and for me, nursing seems like the best way to do it.

It is really great that you are so motivated.

Would you consider applying for both the Diploma course at TAFE and the degree at Uni? There is no guarantee that you would get accepted at both, for example in Victoria only 1/3rd of nursing degree applicants get offered a place at Uni and I know of one TAFE where they had 700 applicants for 40 places! I don't know what the situation is in QLD, but perhaps it would be wise to put in lots of applications and then make a decision when you get offers.

Good luck

I think that's what I am going to do - when applying, I can put in upto 6 choices and I've also made a note of the couple of courses that offer mid year entry, in case I don't get in this time around.

From what I have been able to work out after talking to a number of the different universities, I shouldn't have a problem getting in, but I'm not sure what I should do if I don't.

Any suggestions for job/courses I should look at that would be a good back-up plan, with the eventual goal of becoming a nurse?

You are on the right track by thinking of alternate courses and pathways.

I am not familiar with all the courses that you can do at TAFE, but I would suggest anything that involves contact with patients eg, Certificate III in Pathology Collection. This would be a good one as it involves learning how to take blood, ECG's, spirometry etc, these are all skills that you require as a nurse and you can work in this area while training.

hello bassandtea ! I finished about 4 years ago EEN by open learning at TAFE South Australia and I live in Brisbane and I was able to work full time as a PCA and I am glad I am a EEN now. If you work as a PCA that will help alot with your back up plan that will help you get a taste of nursing field as well that will help you with your studies. Hope this will help you.

hello bassandtea ! I just find out you could do EEN course and all they have lots of other courses at Australian Institue for Care Development in Jindalee, you could check out the website they have. Best Wishes

Ohhh if you can... try and get into UQ!! They have the best reputation for quality nurses...they do a heap of prac which is probably the reason why.

I go to QUT and am finding it only average, because of the lack of prac. We only do two weeks in semester 2 actually with real patients.

To get in, if you haven't studied for a while, you can do the STAT test to get into Uni..if you don't want that or want to start as an EN/EEN you can do TAFE, but it will take you longer to become an RN if that is what you want.

For Uni prefs I would go 1.UQ 2.QUT 3.ACU 4.Griffith

Depends on where you live too... if you want to travel etc!

Good luck with your application!! THis is my first year and I love it!!

My main problem with UQ is that the classes are heald at Ipswich - which is a long drive for me (live on the northside - closer to caboolture/sunshine coast), however I was really impressed with UQ when I spoke to them.

I also spoke with QUT at Caboolture today and they seem to believe I shouldn't have a problem getting into any of the courses based on my past studies (in unrealted areas), so that felt like a relief... It really looks like it could all work out (but will still looking into some back-up options just in case)

Does anybody know anything about the course at University of the Sunshine Coast?

So far what I've been able to find out in relation to pracs is:

QUT - 16? Weeks (Starting Semester 2, 1st year)

Griffith - 19 Weeks (Guessing Semester 2, 1st year - 1 Week)

Sunshine Coast - 928 Hours (Not too sure how that would be calculated into weeks - Starting Semester 2, 1st year)

Hiya!

I don't know much about USC.. they call it something else hey?

I can give you all the info you need for QUT...I am also closer to Caboolture, but travel to Kelvin Grove. I know my prac starts semester 2 and we do a 2 week block in November..then I think the pracs keep getting longer, can check it out for you if you want.

If you were to catch the train down to Ippy, you can utilise the time on there for study, and it is for one day only - with UQ they do one day at Ipswich and three days at the hospital, so you could check if they go to other hospys nearby.

ohhh decisions, that is the worst part!