US v's Aussie nursing school - SO different

Published

WOW,

I've been stuck on AN most of the weekend I'm ment to be studying for anatomy exam in a few weeks, but love reading all the stories, questions and advise on here.

I'm so amazed at how different it sounds to be a nursing student here (in Australia) to what you are all doing. Pre req's - anatomy and physiology - here they are in our first year of the bachelor of nursing.

Also with the marks. We have it way to easy - hmm maybe they sould change that - might get rid of those not interested. Here as long as we pass the subject overall, we pass. 50% and above is good.

Thanks so much for sharing your stories, .......................... must get and do some study.

Zoe :-)

p.s could someone tell me what a lnp lvn ect would be here in australia???

Up Vote Up Vote ×

LPNs etc are the equivalent of EN.

Remember that a decent chunk of our marks come from assignments which are slightly subjective as far as marking goes, making it harder to get full marks. Our grading systems are different not only in terms of what a passable mark is, but what kinds of assessments make up that grade.

We also don't have an exit exam and our schools are government funded so it's not quite so cut throat to pass or get kicked out.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
LPNs etc are the equivalent of EN.

Remember that a decent chunk of our marks come from assignments which are slightly subjective as far as marking goes, making it harder to get full marks. Our grading systems are different not only in terms of what a passable mark is, but what kinds of assessments make up that grade.

We also don't have an exit exam and our schools are government funded so it's not quite so cut throat to pass or get kicked out.

The other thing to consider though is that there's a large variety in how grading works from school to school here in states. For instance, a decent chunk of my grades come from assignments (research projects, papers, etc) as well. My grades also come from clinicals and exams.

Peace,

CuriousMe

Up Vote Up Vote ×

wow! This makes me want to go here for N.S.!

No impaction, no wait lists, take prereq's while in N.S., guaranteed admission, 50% to pass, no exit exam, sounds good to me!

Amazing how different it is . . .I really am considering checking this out! lol :)

Can you explain your grading system further? I am really curious. . .

What happens when you get above 50%?

Are there different levels of "marks" or only full mark and fail mark?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Curiosme, i was making a generalisation based on posts I've read here. I haven't seen much talk of assignments, mostly tests and exams.

maggie, it depends on the university involved. Our skills and prac units are pass fail but everything else is a graded pass with 50% being the minimum to pass. Each university grades their pracs differently but the basic thing is that you are performing satisfactorily for the level at which you are at in your education. Also the exams seem to be really heavily weighted, 2 of my 3 exams this week are worth 70% of the mark for the unit. So you have a lot less assessment pieces to make up your final grade so if you mess up one thing you don't sit in a very good position.

I have met one American nurse who came over here to study and she said her cost of living and the cost of being an international student was cheaper than just college fees alone in the US. Even if you did come here, if you wanted to practice at home you would still have to pass the exit exam anyway, and the scope is different.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Oh yeah, of course I would have to take an exit exam, my mind went blank for a second :)

What is different in the scope of practice?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Each country will have their own scope on how nurses will work. This will give you an idea on what is required in the UK http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1658

Training in Australia may also not meet US requirements when registering with the BON. We have a few Australian nurses in the International forum that have found they are short in one or two areas in clinical and theory and need to make the hours up before they can sit NCLEX.

I would suggest that anyone who is considering going to another country for nurse training ensures that their training meets registration requirement if the plan is to return home to work. I would say make sure that the course covers Mental health, Maternity, Paediatrics and general adult both theory and clinical

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OR.

hell, i would just love to go over there for the fun of it! lol.

get away from this american society for a little bit :p

how is the scope of practice different from AUS nurses compared to ours?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion