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.
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.
I live on the sunshine coast and am a science student at USC and the staff are wonderful. Although the nursing degree is relatively new, it was designed by staff from several different unis, so they have used positive qualities from their past experiences in designing this program. The student population is small and as a consequence the class numbers are small. This is great, as it is more personable. All of the practicum rotations are in hospitals , nursing homes and community placements on the sunshine coast, so you do not need to leave town like with some other unis. Additionally, the staff understand that some students have responsibilities outside of studying so if you have special needs (such as needing start your clinical later because of child care) they understand and allow you to start later. The uni also runs free transition programs to help people transition smoothly into study mode. Such programs include science and academic writing.
I am a student rep for one of the University nursing schools in Brisbane. In my experience, I would definitely recommend going for the Bachelor of Nursing degree, if you are CERTAIN it is what you want to do. Don't waste time on EEN or Tafe courses (this is if you are SURE you want to be a nurse). It's really fun, if nursing is your thing. But it is painful if nursing is NOT your thing. So if you're positive you want to be a nurse, go for the RN degree at one of the universities. PM me for more info :)
I would not rank nursing school as such. The courses and standards of the nursing schools are set by the nursing council. They are basically the same standard all over QLD. I have been on the academic board as well, and know the process of nursing schools very well.
I would definitely hesitate to say UQ has a good reputation. UQ's reputation, if it's "good", has nothing to do with their nursing school. In fact, I have met the UQ nursing students, and I would definitely not say they are better than other nursing school students at all.
Each school has its pros and cons. If you would like more info, please PM me. I do not want to offend any one with my opinions or facts.
I'm doing Medication Endorsed EN at TAFE at the moment, currently it's under Cert III level, {but lecturers reckon they're teaching at diploma level}
It's TOUGH. {I heard today that the entire class failed first module of Medication Management Package and we have to resubmit}
If you wanted Nursing, and that was it, as in RN... I'd be inclined to suggest Uni... I'm only here using EN Certificate to shortcut my way into UTas for my Bachelors of Health Sciences.. as I figure my A&P units will assist me there.
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AusNurse2B
67 Posts
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!