What post-graduate options do they have for nurses?

[zakuro]

Hi everyone, i heard that Aussie doesn't have CRNA, and NP is not yet a widely accepted career there. Just wondered what else can a nurse do in Aussie if they would like to pursue a higher education? Thanks!

[talaxandra]

I work in acute care - in addition to nurses who work on the floor we have a CLinical Support and Development nurse, whose job is to sort out clinical issues, promote education opportunities to clinicians, cover areas to facilitate learning, and coordinate the grads with their preceptors; a dialysis nurse educator, who teaches new patients and staff, and follows up on site and at satellite hospitals; transplant and haemodialysis coordinators; and a renal anemia nurse.

Graduates are also supported by a graduate coordinator (one per two-ward floor), and the division two nurses also have a coordinator.

Off the top of my head, nurses who've worked on my ward have gone on to work in hospital in the home programs, as clinical educators for diabetes, hyberbaric and wound care, health prevention, Nurse Practitioner roles, and one has created a position with a homeless service provider.

I think the idea of educated nurses staying on the floor should be promoted. At any time betweena fifth and a quarter of the nurses I work with have a post-grad qualification or are studying either a nursing or related subject.

BTW - things and people can be "Aussie;" the country is "Australia"

[ceridwyn]

Thank heaven someone who thinks like me....I really get annoyed the way people constantly refer to my country Australia as oz this and oz that and aussie always in this forum. Feel like we have wicked witches of the east and west. well must go, off to see the wizard...signed Dorothy. sorry for rant...

[ceridwyn]

As for post graduate options, what are available in you country? because I bet Australia can rival any countries in specialties and post graduate education.

We also can add in some remote and rural nursing and "Nurse Practitioners" are well and truly ensconced into our profession, many specialising in emergency and also palliative care, remote and rural, but many other nursing areas are accepted if you have the experience and qualifications,....which in now a masters with Nurse Practitioner specialised subjects.....

Most areas have a Clinical Nurse Specialist, don't now what a CRNA is without the words belonging to the letters..

If it is a nurse that gives anaesthetic no, we do not have them, anaesthetists or doctors that have done post grad in that area do that, I do not know of many nurses that would want that much responsiblity without getting the pay packet of an anaesthetist.

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

There are NPs, the profession is in its infancy but growing. Most Masters programs now have an NP option. It's nothing like the situation in the US though.

In Australia, most people wanting to specialize complete a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma. They are completed at tertiary level, usually in combination with clinical time, and contain masters level coursework (matriculate to masters degree if you want to continue). Specialties are things like: NICU, pediatrics, OR, PACU, critical care, oncology, geriatrics etc. Some things here: http://www.deakin.edu.au/future-students/brochures/postgrad/2009/24-nursing.pdf

You can also do a PhD, there are not DNP programs yet.

Just google "Postgraduate nursing course australia"

[Ozrob]

Hi

New here. The highlight of my career was working as an isolated practice RN in an indigenous community. The skills I learnt and used here made it very hard to return to an ordinary hospital. This involved post - grad study.

Talking to friends from the US and UK the post grad courses seem similar but their names and subsequent job titles change.

Rob

[Scrubby]

I've almost completed my graduate diploma in perioperative nursing but this is only a piece of paper with a few extra letters on it. I'm only doing it because I get a pay rise, and it may help me later on in getting a higher position. The graduate diploma gives me no opportunities at all to expand my practice. To be honest it's a bit of a joke, the perioperative component was of a very low standard, I learnt nothing new at all and the information was so far out of date you have to question the relevancy of it.

They tried to start the RN first assistant role in my work. A lot of surgeons were in support of this, but many felt threatened and so it stopped. We have one nurse at my work who did training in the US and is allowed to function in this role but that's it.