For us who Nurse, our Nursing is a thing, which, unless in it we are making progress every year, every month, every week, take my word for it we are going back. The more experience we gain, the more progress we can make.
Florence Nightingale
One of the greatest honours in nursing is to be awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal. This medal is awarded to a qualified male or female nurse, or voluntary nursing assistant, who has shown:
- exceptional courage and devotion to their nursing practice during conflict or disaster
- exemplary and innovative service in the fields of public health, learning or nursing education.
Over 40 Australian nurses have been presented with the medal, many of whom completed their nursing education in Queensland.
Born in Brisbane in 1879, Grace Wilson began her nursing training at Brisbane Hospital in 1905. She completed her certificate in 1908 and went on to become matron of the hospital in 1914 before signing up to the Australian Army Nursing Service.
Her army career took her to Lemnos where she led teams of nurses treating casualties from Gallipoli. She was awarded the medal in 1929 and continued to serve Australia as the matron-in-chief of its nursing service in the Middle East from 1940—41.
Nurses like Matron Grace Wilson continue to inspire qualified nurses as well as students undertaking nursing studies throughout Australia.
Facing danger in their nursing practice is not necessarily one of the requirements for a nurse to be recognised in a professional capacity. A nurse may simply have continuously shown tenacity, care and loyalty throughout their career, always upholding nursing values and displaying the skills and characteristics of a 'good nurse'.
With these criteria in mind, you might wonder what personality or character traits are required to succeed in your health care and nursing career.
What Traits Do Good Nurses Need?
It's one thing to have theoretical knowledge, possess the required skills and have successfully completed your course and clinical experience placement as a student nurse. However, it's something different altogether to possess the skills required by nursing jobs. You will be learning many of these skills over time and they are enhanced with experience, although some are related to the personality traits that are most likely to have led you to nursing in the first place.
Caring
It may be seen as a given, but the ability of a nurse to truly care about the welfare and feelings of his patients is what is remembered. Hand-in-hand with care is empathy. Over his career a nurse will be required to care for hundreds of patients, making it easy to become desensitised. Empathy will help maintain quality individual care for each patient as if they were your first.
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Communication skills
Effective communication skills are key in nursing where medical error can easily occur with one misunderstanding. A nurse must work to develop these skills for the benefit of her colleagues and to ensure the care of her patients. Of course, if you end up in one of the many nurse education jobs, or as a teacher in a specialist course, great communication is an expectation.
Problem-solving skills
Throughout a nursing education course, a student nurse amasses a large amount of clinical knowledge, however, on-the-job training and work experience are what is needed to help develop problem-solving skills. On any given day, a nurse may be required to think on his feet and come up with an alternative solution to an issue that arises.
Commitment to lifelong learning
As with most jobs, nursing practice is continually evolving every year with new knowledge and techniques. To comply with re-registration requirements, a nurse must undertake regular professional learning to update her skills.
Time management skills
With multiple responsibilities and patients to care for, the ability of a nurse to prioritise tasks and manage his time is essential. This includes setting aside time for self care.
Interpersonal skills
Very rarely does a nurse work in isolation; interpersonal skills — being able to work effectively as part of a team — are essential. As a nurse, your team includes other nursing staff, doctors, orderlies, administration, patients and their families.
Where to Study Nursing in Brisbane
Students who wish to study nursing in Brisbane have a range of options available to them. Before narrowing their search, they will need to decide what type of nurse they wish to become — Assistant in Nursing, Enrolled Nurse or Registered Nurse.
Let's take a look at a few nursing courses in Brisbane, including those for people who are already Registered Nurses and are seeking further study and learning opportunities to progress their career, apply for different jobs or gain a specialisation.
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TAFE Queensland
Most TAFE institutions focus on vocational courses. For nursing, this means courses for students who wish to become an Assistant in Nursing (to graduate with a Certificate III or IV) or an Enrolled Nurse (graduate with a Diploma of Nursing).
TAFE Queensland offers certificate and diploma nursing courses in Brisbane, as well as courses in related health care and nursing fields (including a vet nursing program). These include:
- Certificate III in Health Services Assistance
- Diploma of Nursing
- Palliative Approach Skills Set (for Registered Nurses).
Because TAFE Queensland courses are vocational, there are no ATAR requirements, although a minimum level of English proficiency is required.
Australian Catholic University
The ACU boasts over 200 clinical nursing partners, meaning that students in their Bachelor of Nursing program have a wide range of practical placement opportunities available to them. Entry requirements for a Bachelor of Nursing at the Brisbane campus of ACU include a minimum ATAR of 78.00 and a C-grade in two units of a Year 12 English program.
The Australian Catholic University also has a campus offering the Bachelor of Nursing program in Canberra, Melbourne and North Sydney.
Griffith University
Consistently ranking second in the world and first in Australia for its nursing and midwifery courses, Griffith University has 5 campus locations in and around Brisbane and one 'online campus'. Students at Griffith University can study a Bachelor of Nursing program as an undergraduate. An ATAR of 81.00 is required to guarantee acceptance into the course, along with proven English proficiency.
Graduate students may elect a Master's degree or one of six Graduate Certificate degrees, allowing them to specialise in disciplines including critical care nursing, professional nursing and infection prevention and control.
University of Southern Queensland
Entry requirements for the Bachelor of Nursing program at the University of Southern Queensland include a minimum ATAR of 65.60 along with English and maths subjects at Year 12 level or equivalent. Over half of the degree is devoted to clinical practice placement, either simulated on campus or in health care settings.
The university is also known for its online program, making it the ideal place for rural students to study and get their nurse education.
Can You Study Nursing Online?
The short answer is yes — mostly.
Of course, the theoretical study component of nursing courses works when studying online. However, obviously, work experience placement modules can't be completed online. There is no real way around this as it is crucial that a student nurse gains as much practical experience and on-the-job learning as possible. The good news is that the work experience program can be completed in a wide variety of settings.
Studying and learning online has its advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages of online study are that students do not need to travel and are likely to have everything at their fingertips. Online learning tends to be more flexible as well. This method of studying also opens up opportunities — students living in Brisbane can study for their nursing degree in Adelaide or complete their nursing education in Perth through online enrolment and study opportunities.
The disadvantage is that online study can be very isolating and it can be difficult to understand subjects and concepts without having other students and your teacher directly on hand. However, this is where a nursing tutor in Brisbane can come in handy.
A student can engage a tutor at any time during their studies. Tutors may be a student at a higher level, a teacher (or retired teacher), a nurse education teacher or a practising nurses.
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Where Can I Find a Nursing Tutor in Brisbane?
The tutoring industry has exploded in Australia over the last 10 years and tutors are relatively easy to find.
If you think you might need a tutor, the first thing to determine is 'what sort of tutoring you need'.
Do you need help with specific health content? Help with writing essays? Help to refine your study skills? Perhaps you need a tutor to help you act out clinical scenarios?
Determining the help you require allows you to narrow down your search for a general tutor or a specialist nursing tutor in Brisbane.
Where do I look?
Try online tutoring platforms and study groups. Ask fellow students or your teacher for tutor recommendations. Check university or TAFE noticeboards or social media.
And don't forget Superprof. On our platform, we have a number of nursing tutors in Brisbane and over 1500 nursing tutors throughout Australia. Online tutoring is just as useful as in-person tutoring as long as you have reliable internet.
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