Excellence..... Innovation...... Experience.....

The Bachelor of Nursing academic program is designed for students who wish to become registered nurses, prepared for practice in a wide variety of clinical and non-clinical areas.

Students will gain extensive practical experience in the clinical setting, more so than is traditionally taught in university programs. This program will have significant and extensive clinical focus supported by academic rigour.

Key Features of Academic Program

• Emphasis on health care as a dynamic and ever-changing system: Students will be encouraged to accept that review and change is a natural feature of health care. The program will assist understanding of how policies and politics effect change. Students will be prepared for work as clinical leaders and managers.
• Focus on practice: All teaching and learning will be practice-focused and practice experience will be extensive. Students will engage in practice placements as rostered members of the nursing team. The focus throughout the program will be on developing excellence in core clinical nursing skills.
• Reliance on experiential learning: The practice experience and integration of students into the nursing team will provide an opportunity to embrace experiential learning throughout the curriculum.
• Philosophy of person-centred nursing: Care of patients in hospital will be understood in the family and community context through the concept of a patient's total 'journey of care'. This will be reinforced by involvement of consumers in teaching.
• Increasing emphasis on health, health promotion and primary care-led health services: Practice experience will occur across a range of institution and community settings.
• Preparation for evidence-based practice: All teaching and learning will be strongly research-orientated and clinical decision-making skills will be evidence-based.
• Emphasis on developing team-working skills: Developing the skills of team-work are essential as health care in hospital and in community settings is multidisciplinary.
• Interdisciplinary learning: The Discipline of Nursing is part of the Faculty of Health Sciences and students will benefit from working with other disciplines within the university.
• Information technology literacy: Students will be prepared to work in a technological environment to enhance patient centred care.

Program Structure

The program is structured over an extended academic year in order to facilitate clinical placements and increase the amount of clinical time available to students. The program comprises 2 courses per semester, each divided into 2 core areas: Human Sciences and Nursing Practice. Each of these courses includes 4 modules.

Clinical Placements

Students will work in the clinical area, as full members of the health care team and additional clinical support and clinical lecturers will provide supervision. Clinical placement maybe undertaken in the Central Northern Adelaide Health Service (for example, at the Royal Adelaide Hospital - North Terrace and Glenside campuses and Hampstead) or the Calvary Health Care Group Adelaide and at other faciliites such as Port Pirie Regional Health Service, Royal District Nursing Service, Prison SA, Playford Community Centre, Helping Hand and Resthaven Group of Residential Care Facilities just to name a few.

One of the most important strengths of this innovative program is the substantial amount of time dedicated to learning in practice. This clinical time is significantly increased from traditional Australian undergraduate nursing programs.

Students will be introduced to the practice environment in a structured manner and will be able to integrate knowledge with practice. Annual clinical placements will extend from 35 - 40 weeks (3 days per week). Placements will vary across different practice settings from acute care tertiary to primary health care areas. Not only will students participate in the care of people as they journey through the stages of acute illness to rehabilitation and recovery, they will also be placed in areas where the aim is to promote health and prevent disease. Placements will be in both metropolitan areas and rural areas of South Australia.

This program offers one of the most clinically extensive undergraduate nursing programs in Australia.

Prospective students need to be aware of the demands of this program; with 2 days of lecture and tutorial contact per week during the academic year and 3 days of clinical placement per week over an extended academic year a strong commitment to the course is required.

Alternative entry pathways

Enrolled Nurse

This pathway is designed for nurses who are enrolled and wish to study to become Registered Nurses. Applicants must be an Enrolled Nurse with the Nurses Board of South Australia (or eligible for enrolment). Students will receive status for Nursing Practice 1A and Nursing Practice 1B which is 50% of the study load in year one of the program. These students will not be required to undertake clinical placement during the first year effectively giving them a part time load.

Tertiary Transfer (University Health related program)

To be eligible for entry via this pathway, applicants must have completed at least one year full time of a recognised Health Science related University degree. Students will then receive status for Human Sciences 1A and Human Sciences 1B which is 50% of the study load in year year one of the program. The Discipline will examine the curricula each student has studied and ensure that the student meets the learning outcomes of these two courses. If necessary, students will be required to attend particular sessions and demonstrate they meet learning outcomes.

Students in this pathway will be required to successfully complete Nursing Practice 1A and Nursing Practice 1B and will be required to undertake clinical placement during first year.

The nursing program curriculum reflects the reality of the working environment and the characteristics of the population that nurses care for in various health care settings. It is essential that graduates are prepared with skills and knowledge that enables them to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing and dynamic health care system. They must be able to integrate theory into practice. Continual technological advancement and expansion of the registered nurse role has created an increasing need for a highly specialised nursing workforce. The curriculum has been developed to fulfil University requirements for the award of a Bachelor degree as well as meeting the requirements for nursing registration as laid out by the Nurses Board of South Australia.

This program expects students to attend lectures, tutorials and clinical placements. The amount of contact time often approaches 40 hours per week with each year of the program extending beyond the usual academic period.

The key features of the program are as follows:

Focus on practice: all teaching and learning will be practice-focused and practice experience will be extensive. Students will engage in practice placements as rostered members of the nursing team. The focus throughout the program will be on developing excellence in core clinical nursing skills.

Reliance on experiential learning: the extended practice experience and integration of students into the nursing team will provide a unique opportunity to embrace experiential learning as a key approach throughout the curriculum. This is supported by hospital based clinical tutors.

Integration of theory and practice: From Week 8 of first year students will attend lectures 2 days per week and be on Clinical placement for the remaining 3 days. University-based study and clinically-based learning are central to the curriculum design. Integration will be fostered from both `sides' through the input - and interaction - of academic staff, clinical tutors and clinically based Clinical Title Holders.

Students will graduate as clinically competent and theoretically knowledgeable practitioners and will be highly desirable as employees in a variety of nursing settings.

All new students will be required to show evidence of their Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS status during the first few weeks of enrolment. Potential applicants should consult the website www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/?591. A national police check will also be required before students start clinical placement. Applicants to this program should make themself aware of the program structure as courses are not repeated each semester therefore if a student fails one course, they may need to take up to 10 months off before repeating that course and therefore progressing in the program.

The Bachelor of Nursing at The University of Adelaide seeks to produce a graduate who is well-prepared, both academically and clinically, to meet the ongoing changes and challenges of a 21^st century healthcare system. Graduates will have the  professional knowledge, skills and attitudes required to function in the role of a registered nurse, according to the Australian Nursing Council National Competency Standards for Registered Nurses and will be able to function in accordance with the professional codes of ethics and conduct as described by the Australian Nursing Council. Graduates will be eligible to register with the Nurses Board of South Australia. 

1. The potential to work as team leaders and managers and undertake the role of case management and care co-ordination.
2. A rigorous academic knowledge of the human sciences that inform nursing practice.
3. The clinical and technological skills required to provide high quality effective nursing care.
4. The attitudes and skills to practice person-centred nursing in a culturally sensitive and ethically sound manner;
5. Being able to use critical thinking skills and knowledge to problem solve in their nursing practice.
6. Highly developed communication skills and sound interpersonal skills to work effectively as members of the multidisciplinary team and to provide quality nursing care.
7. Being able to critically analyse in order to evaluate the evidence and make decisions and implement nursing care based on the best available evidence.
8. Being committed to and having the skills to continue life long learning to advance their nursing practice and provide high quality nursing care.
9. Being able to work effectively both independently and as members of the nursing and multidisciplinary team in a variety of health care setting.
10. Being well equipped to practice as a registered nurse in an technological environment. This means being flexible, receptive and knowledgeable regarding technology, being literate in health informatics and general information technology and being able to best use this to provide quality nursing care.
11. Being able to effectively integrate skills and knowledge in order to facilitate quality nursing care.
12. Having a sound understanding of the dynamics of the health care system and the sociological, cultural and political influences that influence professional practice.
13. Being prepared to practice and promote safe practice in accordance with legislation and professional codes. 
14. The knowledge, skills and attitudes to practice in a health system that has an increasing emphasis on health, health promotion and primary health care services.
15. The knowledge and willingness required to contribute to the professional development of other nurses.

Nurses Board of South Australia

• Discipline of Nursing
• Program Information Leaflet
• Undergraduate Scholarships
• Student Centre enquiry form