Nursing (1 Viewer)

sweetpea111

New Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2007
Messages
4
Gender
Female
HSC
2007
Hello all, i'm thinking about becoming a nurse.

Just finishing my HSC 2007, yet not getting a UAI.

Living in sydney. 18 yrs old.

would like any infomation about this course as a tafe option.
  • How should i get started?
  • what tafe is good? and what is the best uni to continue at?
  • any advice on making the tafe to uni process easier? maybe how to gain extra credits or fast track the process?
  • prerequisites?
  • anything i should avoid? that will only slow the process or be a waste of time?
  • Is it very hard to be a nurse in both the theory and practical aspects?
  • Any success or failure stories lol?
  • is it worth the 3+ years study for the amount of pay? work hours? job availability? psychological strain?
  • is there a part time option to begin my training whilst working so i can have a years break from full time studies? or anything i can start casually (volunteer or something) to get credits.
  • Are there any short courses that will give me the general idea about nursing so i can decide if i like it before going into the full study?
Thanks to anyone who can give me any feedback.
 

gracie007

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Messages
447
Location
Syd.
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
hey
i have some info i can give you. well at the moment i am doing a course at meadowbank tafe called "access to nursing - certificate II". basically i thought it'd be a quick and easy way to find out if i wanna do nursing at uni next year...rather than actually starting uni and end up dropping out / wasting heaps of money if i didnt like it. the course runs for 9 weeks and is only $192. so far im in like week 4 so yeah. i have chosen to do nursing, but for reasons that ill explain lata i dont wanna do it at tafe.
unfortunately they are stopping that course as of this year, after this session, so that wouldnt be an option for u, but id recommend starting out doing cert III which enables you to become an AIN assistant in nursing, and start work. if you enjoy that, you should go on to do enrolled nursing, EN, course. i think it runs for a year and a half , and you get placement during that time working, and are paid to study if u get selected.
as of next year they are giving the system a huge makeover, its kinda hard to explain but i would recommened getting in touch with a teacher at meadowbank tafe to talk about it. they are really nice there , as well as really experienced, im sure theyd be happy to help you.

ummm what else...meadowbank seems to be the main tafe that teaches a lot of nurses, its quite good, facilities are good, teachers are good. so i would go there if its convienient..if not they do enrolled nursing in other tafes, ultimo i know they do it at, as well as other places. just pick one near u.

you say that u wanna go to tafe to do it, but then one of ur questions is about uni...well u can do nursing at either...the difference being that at uni its 3 years study, you earn a DEGREE, and have much more status and responsibility in the workplace. An enrolled nurse from TAFE has much less room to move as its only a DIPLOMA qualification. plus much less study time. u arent taught in the same depth as uni.

if you go to tafe to do it, u have to understand that its reallly competitive and a LOT of people get knocked back. so make sure u really talk to someone about all of this if you are applying so that you know whats required. intakes i think are like 3 different times during the year so yeah.
if ur not getting a uai then itd be pretty hard to go start nursing at uni, coz obviously you need a uai and all that, so i guess start at tafe, see how u go, sometimes some students go really well and can transfer from tafe to finish at uni and end up as an RN and then have a degree, so u could do that.
my personal reason for wanting to do it at uni, is because (pllease dont get me wrong, im not being rude or predjudice, its just the truth) a lot of the people that do the course at tafe are quite unqualified, often come from other countries and struggle with english, and the tafe environment is too relaxed and slow for me, i prefer more of a stimulation and challenege

holy shit ive written an essay! haha but yeah im quite into it all so im happy to write all that for ya...im a fast typer anyway! hope u understand it all...make sure u get onto somoeone to speak about it all from tafe.
 

rockets

Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2004
Messages
194
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
sweetpea,
If u wanna do it at a uni u will need a uai so y not just tick that box????
you know the old saying 'nothing ventured nothing gained' Keep all your options open at this stage!!! Lots of kids have numerous thought changes between now and next January, so get a uai figure/rank/number - don't dismiss it at this stage as you may regret it later!!!!!
 

pikpik

New Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
2
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2007
hi everyone i am kinda new here, im interested in become a nurse and am currently in my HSC year 07

i have been having this concern in my mind about being able to get into nursing, my aim is to be able to get into nursing in UTS.

But i have heard nursing is a very competitive course just to get in no matter if it's at uni or tafe and of cause not only just getting in but able to continue and cope with the work. And i am concerned that my uai won't be enough to get in and i don't rele want to travel out of sydney area.

Since there's other ways of getting into B Nursing in UTS and the other i have been considering was through tafe if my uai was not good enough to get in.... but i am wondering is nursing at tafe really that hard to get into (from what i understand so far....it sounds pretty hard >_<; ) and could anyone tell me more about what they have to go through to get in, ie. interviews or other things? i have been trying to research more about it, but if its possiable first hand experience would be nice to hear about, even of a friend's or anything you can tell me!! i would really appericate it, if you don't mind sharing!

thankyou! :)
 

sarah-jne

New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
16
Gender
Female
HSC
2007
hey guys

i havent really been looking into nursing courses so i may be wrong but my mum is a nurse and as u probably all know there is a HUGE demand out there for nurses. thats why the nursing uni courses are the most government sponsored ones.

the gov is desperate for more nurses. so it may not be as hard as you think to get in. obviously you cant be an idiot coz ur in charge of looking after peoples lives but can it really be as hard as it seems from reading these posts?

as i said, i havent been looking into it myself. just wanted to put my thoughts out there :)
 

blerkles

Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2006
Messages
163
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
UniSA and CDU both offer nursing by distance (you have to attend for a couple of days per year for pracs) and also Open Universities run their program through UniSA (no entry requirements but there is a quota on the number of places so there is some competition like from people who have done their Cert III Assistant in Nursing). CSU and other rural uni's are often struggling to get students to fill nursing courses so maybe have a tree change for 3 years?

Open Universities also has some bridging courses (no entry requirements, no quotas) for health courses which you can use to prove to other uni's that you are capable of studying at uni level even if your HSC wasn't crash hot.
 

Nickytoto

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Messages
28
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
Hi everyone

Studying to become an Enrolled Nurse at TAFE is hard to get into because so many people want to get into it-- you work while you study and get paid for it, and it's only about 18 months. It is definately hard to get into. You need to get a lot of stuff organised before you even think about applying-- a work placement within the region that the TAFE you are going to, a first aid course, and take special tests if you haven't completed certain subjects in your school certificate of HSC (I gathered this information in 2006). It is all online and ready for you to look up thouroughly via Google if you are interested.

UTS is considered having the best bachelor of Nursing course in the state so I suggest you start there. They also have a special accelerated course for ENs that lasts for two years full time. uts.edu.au

Pay is here: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/nursing/pdf/award_july07.pdf

PLease note the yearly award is WITHOUT penalty rates. You get penalty rates for things like working afternoon or night shifts or working on Sundays or Saturdays. http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/nursing/salary.html You also get extra money for extra responsibility e.g. being in charge of the drugs cupboard, and extra money for uniform, laundry, and being on-call. See http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/jobs/empcond/awards/nurses/Nurses.pdf if you're interested. A med-surg nurse I know usually does day shifts, night shifts maybe two weeks worth per year, has 8+ years experience and is in charge of the drug cupboard. She earns $91 000 gross which equals to about $80 000 net I think. People who tell you nursing pays poorly aren't doing the right shifts ;)

To see what nurses are really like, just go here http://www.allnurses.com/

I personally find nursing hard work, but ultimately very fufilling. Don't expect nursing to be easy or glamorous. After a day of clinical I feel as though I've made a difference in somebody's life, and the best part is, it's true.
 

shanti96

ya hasra and goodnight
Joined
Sep 14, 2006
Messages
261
Location
Tally Room
Gender
Female
HSC
2007
Pikpik- Enrolling in nursing at uni shouldn't be that competitive if you have the marks...Uni of Western Syd has a UAI of 68 [and you can get a bonus 5 marks if you fall below] to UTS with a UAI of 83. Also they have programs such as flexible entry schemes at university of sydney for combined master nursing degree with arts etc which nxt yrs UAI should be 83.35.

Im not committed 100% with doing nursing so I'm scared that when I get into Usyd or UTS, I'll just flake out... should have done that TAFE aged care nursing course in the HSC.
 

Nickytoto

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Messages
28
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
shanti96 said:
Pikpik- Enrolling in nursing at uni shouldn't be that competitive if you have the marks...Uni of Western Syd has a UAI of 68 [and you can get a bonus 5 marks if you fall below] to UTS with a UAI of 83. Also they have programs such as flexible entry schemes at university of sydney for combined master nursing degree with arts etc which nxt yrs UAI should be 83.35.

Im not committed 100% with doing nursing so I'm scared that when I get into Usyd or UTS, I'll just flake out... should have done that TAFE aged care nursing course in the HSC.
Heh who cares if you flake out, the average person changes their career 5x in their lifetime. Even if you do want to do something else with your life, you could have course credit from Patho if you want to do a science or health degree :)
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top