Postgraduate - Course1250 - Master of Nursing

This course, offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, prepares nurses for general and specialist practice roles in a range of clinical areas. The course enables development of advanced practice roles such as leadership skills to plan, implement, coordinate and evaluate health care, as well as the ability to formulate policy for a diverse and multicultural society. Graduates are employed in a wide range of general and specialist clinical, educational and health care environments in senior positions and contribute to the health of individuals, families and communities, in addition to the development of the profession.

These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 9, the Bologna Cycle 2 and Monash Graduate Attributes. For more information refer to http://opvclt.monash.edu.au/curriculum-by-design/aligning-course-outcomes-with-aqf-bologna.html.

Upon successful completion of this course it is expected that graduates will be able to:

• employ creative approaches and skills to address complex nursing and health-related issues
• support the development of evidence-based nursing interventions
• initiate, manage and sustain changes which positively affect health outcomes
• evaluate the impact of care delivery on health outcomes
• provide professional leadership
• contribute to the development of nursing knowledge and practice through education, research, scholarly debate, presentation and publication
• develop and apply advanced knowledge and skills in a selected area of nursing practice

Assessment

Assessment includes exams, seminar presentations, field-based report, virtual classroom tutorial participation, literature reviews, assignments, skills assessment, computer conferencing and essays.

This course consists of coursework and project or thesis, or coursework only. The coursework component comprises core and elective units.

Students may undertake the course in one of three ways:

• coursework units only (72 points)
• coursework units (48 points) and a project (24 points) involving research into an aspect of nursing which enhances nursing practice and patient care. Students submit a report of approximately 15,000 words which must meet the standards required for publication
• coursework units (36 points) and a minor thesis (36 points) involving in-depth, systematic research into an aspect of nursing which enhances nursing practice and patient care. Students submit an original report of approximately 25,000 words in length which will lead to publication.

Students studying in Australia with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia registration will be able to undertake a clinical specialist pathway of study within the degree, giving them the opportunity to develop specialist knowledge and skills in clinical practice.

Students wishing to pursue a specialist pathway must have Monash University School of Nursing and Midwifery-approved employment in a clinical setting prior to commencement of study.

All students who elect to do the project or minor thesis option will be supervised by a Monash University-approved supervisor. Thesis and project guidelines are available from the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Courses of study are individually planned according to each student's career path plan. Students are encouraged to discuss a range of options with the course coordinator when constructing their individual program of study.

All units are 12 points unless otherwise indicated.

Generic pathway

To undertake a generic pathway of study students must complete the required number of credit points including:

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• any other units from the School of Nursing and Midwiferyunits from the School of Nursing and Midwifery (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2013handbooks/units/index-byou-school-of-nursing-and-midwifery.html) (keeping in mind that there are prerequisites to some units)

Specialist pathways

To enter a specialist pathway Australian Registered Nursing students will normally be required to work an average of two to three days a week within the speciality (or with contact with patients/clients from the speciality) for the duration of the course. To complete a specialist pathway the following requirements must be met.

Elective units

Students studying a specialist pathway choose from a wide range of master's-level elective units offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, or the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, to a total of 36 credit points. The choice of electives will need the approval of the course coordinator. Some recommended electives are detailed below.

Option one - coursework only

Any available units or units selected from the specialist pathways listed below.

Advanced medical surgical - Clayton

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR4926 Advanced medical/surgical nursing practice
• NUR5703 Advanced pathophysiology and health assessment

Students will normally be required to work in supervised clinical practice for a minimum of three days a week at a Monash University School of Nursing and Midwifery-approved Medical Surgical unit.

For further information contact ian.mosley@monash.edu

Paediatric nursing - Clayton

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5217 Advanced paediatric nursing
• NUR5405 Explorations in child and family nursing

Students will normally be required to work in supervised clinical practice for a minimum of two days a week at an approved department. This may be waived for students with two years' clinical experience in paediatric nursing.

For further information contact beverley.copnell@ monash.edu

Critical care nursing - Peninsula

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR4924 Critical care nursing
• NUR5703 Advanced pathophysiology and health assessment

Students will normally be required to work in supervised clinical practice for a minimum of three days a week at an approved critical, intensive, or coronary care unit.

For further information contact tamsin.jones@monash.edu

Disaster and emergency nursing management - Peninsula

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5210 Disaster and emergency nursing management
• 12 points from the list below

Students complete 12 points from:

• ECX9700 Introduction to health economics
• ECX9720 Introduction to epidemiology and biostatistics
• ECX9730 Economic evaluation in health care
• ECX9750 Principles of health economics for developing countries
• MPH5042 Climate change and public health
• MPH5222 Assessment and control of workplace hazards
• MPH5243 Chemical and biological hazards
  
• MPH5244 Ergonomic and physical hazards
• MPH5248 Primary health care in developing countries
• MPH5249 Field methods for international health planning and evaluation*
  
• MPH5250 Health of women and children in developing countries
• MPH5258 Effective responses to HIV in developing countries
• MPH5260 Health policy and prevention in a global world
• MPH5265 Law for health systems
• MPH5266 Clinical leadership and management
• MPH5268 Financial issues in health care management
• MPH5286 Applying and practicing the principles of patient safety and quality improvement
• NUR5833 Refugee health and wellbeing

Elective units

Students choose from a wide range of masters-level units offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, or the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. The choice of elective will need the approval of the course coordinator, however units from the list above are recommended.

There is no clinical requirement for this major and research project work is recommended for the final 24 credit points of the course. It is therefore suitable for international students.

For further information contact virginia.plummer@monash.edu

Emergency nursing - Gippsland and Peninsula

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR4925 Emergency nursing
• NUR5703 Advanced pathophysiology and health assessment

Students will normally be required to work in supervised clinical practice for a minimum of three days a week at an approved emergency department.

For further information contact Julia.Morphet@monash.edu

Gerontics specialist - Gippsland

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5301 Gerontological nursing practice
• NUR5203 Palliative care practice

Students will normally be required to work in supervised clinical practice for a minimum of two days a week at an approved department.

For further information contact sonia.allen@monash.edu

Mental health - Peninsula

Students complete the following core units (48 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5214 Advanced therapeutic interaction or NUR5008 Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• NUR5215 Mental health nursing concepts and practice
• NUR5227 Integrated mental health care

Students must complete the three specialist clinical core units with a minimum of 250 hours of supervised clinical experience each. Of the total 750 clinical hours for the course, at least 250 hours must be in an acute admission unit. Experienced mental health nurses, for example, division three nurses or division one nurses with an recognised psychiatric nurse qualification, do not have to complete the clinical hours and may be eligible for credit for previous study or clinical experience. Credit for successful completion of an approved graduate nurse program (GNP) in mental health or equivalent based on previous clinical experience in mental health may be granted to a total of 12 credit points.

For further information contact ian.munro@monash.edu

Palliative care nursing - Peninsula

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5203 Palliative care practice
• NUR5214 Advanced therapeutic interaction

Students must complete a minimum of three days per week of mentor-guided clinical practice and competency development in an approved clinical environment.

For further information contact susan.lee@monash.edu

Refugee health nursing - Berwick

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5833 Refugee health and wellbeing
• NUR5844 Health promotion and education

For further information, contact suzanne.willey@monash.edu

Education in nursing - Berwick

Core units

Students complete the following core units (36 points):

• GHS5841 Research and evidence for practice
• NUR5204 Education in nursing and midwifery
• NUR5209 Education program development

For further information contact suzanne.willey@monash.edu

Option two - coursework and a research project or minor thesis

The generic or specialist pathways are available under this option. The key criteria for each pathway must be met.

To progress to either the research project or minor thesis, a minimum of 36 credit points and GHS5841 (Research and evidence for practice) must have been completed, normally with a minimum of a distinction grade average (70 per cent). Students wishing to progress to the project or minor thesis units must contact their course coordinator for further information and advice.

Students enrol in the following units as they progress through the project or minor thesis:

• MHS5000 Research design and proposal
• MHS5001 Research ethics and conduct
• MHS5002 Data analysis and results
• MHS5003 Writing up and submission

Students should seek guidance from their research supervisor on when to register for each unit. For example, part-time students undertaking a project are likely to register for MHS5000/MHS5001 in semester one and MHS5002/MHS5003 in semester two.

Each unit must be completed once but may be repeated if necessary (not in the same semester) to meet the requirements of a 36-point minor thesis. For example, repeating MHS5002/MHS5003 in the third semester of study.

Students who complete this course and achieve a minimum of a distinction (70 per cent) or above in the project or minor thesis units may qualify for admission into higher degrees by research including course 3438 Master of Philosophy and 0047 Doctor of Philosophy, among others.

Students wishing to exit this course may apply to graduate with one of the following, provided they have satisfied the requirements for that award:

• Graduate Certificate of Nursing
• Graduate Diploma of Nursing

If a specialisation has been completed it will only be noted on the student's transcript, not the testamur.

Master of Nursing