Bachelor of Nursing Course Code BNURS20

Overview

Career opportunities, include:

• Registered nurse

Pathways to further study:

• Masters or other post-graduate qualifications
• The Bachelor of Nursing is accredited by The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMAC).

2023 and 2024 Scholarships Available

Find out if you are eligible for a Victorian Government scholarship for nursing and midwifery study
Read more

Studying the Bachelor of Nursing at Holmesglen

At Holmesglen, we develop professionals who have valuable skills and knowledge, and are known for their culturally sensitive client care, safe and ethical clinical reasoning, and advanced communication skills.

You are prepared for practice through a combination of on-campus theory and the latest simulation activities that are delivered in our state-of-the-art simulation apartments and clinical wards. At our Moorabbin campus health precinct, we have invested over $5 million creating the highest standard of health training equipment and facilities in Victoria. Holmesglen students spend a lot of time simulating real nursing practices in a safe learning environment. With a focus on inter-professional learning, you will develop valuable skills to operate as part of a healthcare team.

Your supported clinical practice will take place in a variety of healthcare settings throughout Victoria. You will be exposed to clinical practice early in the course, through a range of clinical placements including aged care, acute and sub-acute, community, mental health, paediatric and high-dependency nursing.

All academic staff in the Bachelor of Nursing have relevant industry/professional experience and higher education teaching experience.

For information on healthcare workers and students living with blood-borne viruses and performing exposure-prone procedures at risk of exposure to blood-borne viruses, please refer to the Australian national guidelines (PDF 895KB).

Course structure

Timetable
1st year : Wednesday to Friday 8am-6pm
2nd year: Thursday and Friday 8am-8pm
3rd year : Monday and Tuesday 8am-6pm

Mode of study
Full-time, on-campus, face-to-face delivery.

All new students commencing in a higher education course must attend their Faculty Course Orientation and Holmesglen's Higher Education Orientation.

Major studies
Acute care nursing, aged care, communication, community nursing, comprehensive acute and chronic nursing care, ethics and law, health and wellbeing , human biology, indigenous health, mental health nursing, paediatric nursing, palliative care, pharmacology, rehabilitation therapies, research and evidence-based practice, society and culture.

Clinical placement
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing undertake 880 hours of supervised clinical practice across the three years of the program. Students encounter a variety of clinical settings including aged care, rehabilitation, community settings, mental health, paediatric, high dependency and acute medical surgical wards in both metropolitan and regional hospitals and health care services.

To be eligible for the award of Bachelor of Nursing, you must successfully complete 144 credit points comprising 24 core subjects. Subjects are organised into three themes of study - Nursing Theory and Concepts, Integrated Clinical Practice and Professional Perspectives. Students also study an integrated Bioscience subject in the first year of the program.

Units

Assessment

Multiple formative and summative methods of assessment will be used in the Bachelor of Nursing.

The individual subject statements provide specific details of assessments students are required to complete. These involve the use of various types of assessments appropriate to an undergraduate degree, including examinations and tests, presentations, essays, assignments, group projects and investigative activities. The range of assessment methods assists in meeting the varied learning styles of students.

Written examinations
Formal written examinations use a combination of multiple-choice, short-answer and long-answer / clinical scenario-based questions. In many subjects the emphasis will be on using ‘key feature’ examinations which present students with a clinical case scenario and a series of related questions. The questions are designed to test the critical steps or ‘key features’ in the management of a clinical case. This form of examination will test content knowledge, problem-solving and decision-making abilities in a context that is relevant to the actual clinical situation.

Assessment of clinical competence
While written examinations test the cognitive ability of students, it is equally important to examine how nursing students take client histories, perform physical examinations, communicate, and master the technical skills required of them. Their problem-solving, decision-making and client management abilities must also be examined, as must their professionalism. These are measured through objective structured clinical examinations and the clinical passport, which comprises competency-based assessment, mini health assessments, a clinical log, and a professional portfolio.

For details of credit points, learning outcomes, weekly contact hours, assessments, pre-requisites, co-requisites, download the Bachelor of Nursing subject summary (Word - 128kb).

For details on the profile of students undertaking this course, download the Bachelor of Nursing student profile (Word - 134kb).

For details on ATAR-based offers, download the 2023 ATAR-based offers for the Bachelor of Nursing (Word- 131kb).

Entry requirements

Admission requirements for applicants

All applicants must complete an online Basic Key Skills Builder (BKSB) test.
You must achieve a minimum of Level 5 for both the English and Maths Initial Assessments to be eligible to undertake the course.
To schedule the test, please contact 9209 5606.

Applicants with recent secondary education (within the past two years)
This course uses the ATAR as part of its selection considerations.
A minimum ATAR (eligibility score) of 50 is required to be considered for the course.
Units 1 and 2: satisfactory completion in one of General Mathematics, Mathematical Methods or Specialist Mathematics, or Units 3 and 4: any Mathematics
Units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 25 in any English

Higher education study applicants
The following entry requirements apply:
­your entire academic record will be considered
you may be eligible for credit transfer or recognition of prior learning in accordance with your previous qualification/s.

Vocational education and training (VET) study applicants
The following entry requirements apply:
­your entire academic record will be considered
you may be eligible for credit transfer or recognition of prior learning in accordance with your previous qualification/s.

You also need to hold NMBA registration as an enrolled nurse prior to commencement into the Bachelor of Nursing.

Work and life experience applicants
your entire academic record will be considered
direct entry into the course is possible for mature-aged applicants who have met the above criteria and do not have a VTAC application in place for any Victorian tertiary course. These applicants are invited to apply directly to the institute for commencement into first year.

Bachelor of Nursing English language requirements.
The Bachelor of Nursing has entry criteria set by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. All students entering this course must demonstrate they have achieved the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) specified level of English language skills, prior to commencing the course.Download the English language requirements here (PDF - 332KB) .

You must provide evidence of English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 7.0 (Academic) with no individual bandscore less than 7.0 (if secondary education has not been completed in English).

Inherent requirements of the Bachelor of Nursing
The inherent requirements are the abilities, knowledge and skills needed to complete the course that must be met by all students.Download the inherent requirements here.(Word - 402kb).

Prior to undertaking clinical placement, Students must be a minimum of 18 years of age at the time of their first clinical placement. Additionally, students must be prepared to declare their health and immunisation status, complete a National Police Records Check annually and hold a valid Working with Children Check.

Immunisations required include:
Measles/Mumps/Rubella
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Tuberculous
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis
Polio
Influenza
Varicella

COVID-19 immunisations
Prior to the commencement of the course students must be fully vaccinated, including having had their booster shot (third vaccination) to attend clinical placements.

Holmesglen will register all students with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA).

Transition program
To ensure a smooth transition from previous studies, students enrolling in the degree via alternative entry or advanced standing will be required to attend an on-campus transition course prior to commencing the degree.

Following completion, applicants will commence the degree in the second year of the program.

Special and/or alternative entry: articulation pathway admissions
There are currently no formally agreed credit arrangements for advanced standing with other providers.

** An applicant’s possible advanced standing is considered depending on previous study undertaken.

Applicants who have completed the HLT54121 Diploma of Nursing, HLT51612 Diploma of Nursing or the HLT541607 Diploma of Nursing may be eligible to pathway into the Bachelor of Nursing with advanced standing and enter into Year 2 of the Bachelor of Nursing program.

Advanced standing

You may be able to reduce the number of units to be studied in your chosen course by measuring skills acquired through work, life experiences or qualifications obtained from formal studies or training. Read more about gaining advanced standing and credits.

Outcomes

Qualification and recognition

On completion you will receive the Bachelor of Nursing

How to apply

Direct

Apply Now

Visit How to Apply for more information on the application process.

Recruitment

Holmesglen may engage third parties to recruit students on behalf of the institute. Third party recruiters receive a commission and this will not impact on your fees.

Find out more about your rights and obligations as a student and the services we provide at Holmesglen.

Fees

For details of fees per unit, download the Bachelor of Nursing - Full Fee 2023 tuition fees (Word - 135kb).

For details of fees per unit, download the Bachelor of Nursing - Commonwealth supported place (CSP) 2023 tuition fees (Word - 135kb).

^*Students are required to pay a compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). This fee contributes to the cost of providing student support services including counselling, welfare services, learning support and other activities provided by the student support and wellbeing teams. For 2023, the SSAF fee is $326 for 12 months. This fee is charged per semester at $163 per semester. All local higher education students are required to pay this fee at the time of enrolment, regardless of study mode. Part time students are charged 75% of this amount. For more information, please visit the SSAF webpage.

^**Additional costs may also apply for course consumable and other costs. These may include consumables such as learning resources, personal protective equipment/clothing and other costs such as immunisation costs, National Police Check and Working with Children Check for relevant courses. To view the additional costs that apply for each course, download a full list of estimated additional costs by course (PDF - 102kb).

Higher Education Loans Program (HELP) are available to eligible students to pay for tuition and studnet amenities fees for this course. Read more about HELP. Find out more about paying for your course. Mandatory materials and activities fees, and additional course costs are not covered by HELP Loans.

All fees are indicative only. Holmesglen reviews its tuition fees and charges annually. You will be required to pay the current fee that applies from the beginning of the next study period.

Tuition assurance requirements

Under the Higher Education Support Act 2003, Holmesglen Institute must meet tuition assurance requirements for persons, other than overseas students, who are enrolled in the higher education courses we offer in the event we cease to provide a course of study in which a student is enrolled.