This course, offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, prepares nurses for leadership roles in clinical nursing, management and education. Clinical specialisations include emergency nursing, intensive care nursing, mental health nursing, perioperative nursing and nurse practitioner. Clinical specialisations require concurrent employment as a registered nurse in the area. The course enables development of advanced practice knowledge and leadership in specialist practice including 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.
Specialisations
Emergency nursing
Available: Peninsula
This specialisation will provide you with leadership skills in emergency nursing management to plan, implement and coordinate and evaluate health care, as well as formulate policy for a diverse and multicultural society. It is designed using flexible teaching delivery options and provides for a range of individual career pathways, including nursing, education or management positions within the industry, government or independent professional practice. The specialisation can be taken by coursework or a combination of coursework and research.
General studies in advanced nursing
Available: Clayton and Peninsula
This specialisation enables you to tailor your unit choices to suit your own interests or needs while maintaining a strong focus on leadership. You select from the list of electives or non-clinical specialisations. You may, for example, choose a blend of education and leadership and management.
Intensive care nursing
Available: Clayton
This specialisation will provide you with leadership skills in intensive care nursing management to plan, implement and coordinate and evaluate health care, as well as formulate policy for a diverse and multicultural society. It is designed using flexible teaching delivery options and provides for a range of individual career pathways, including nursing, education or management positions within the industry, government or independent professional practice. The specialisation can be taken by coursework, or a combination of coursework and research.
Mental health nursing
Available: Peninsula
This specialisation will provide you with leadership skills in mental health nursing to plan, implement and coordinate and evaluate health care, as well as formulate policy for a diverse and multicultural society. It is designed using flexible teaching delivery options and provides for a range of individual career pathways, including nursing, education or management positions within industry, government or independent professional practice. The specialisation can be taken by coursework, or a combination of coursework and research.
Nursing education
Available: Peninsula
This specialisation will provide you with leadership skills in a variety of nursing education contexts including curriculum development. It is designed using flexible teaching delivery options and provides for a range of individual career pathways, including nursing or management positions within industry, government or independent professional practice. The specialisation can be taken by coursework, or a combination of coursework and research.
Nursing leadership and management
Available: Clayton
This specialisation will provide you with leadership and management skills in a variety of nursing service contexts. It is designed using flexible teaching delivery options and provides for a range of individual career pathways, including nursing, education or management positions within industry, government or independent professional practice. The specialisation can be taken by coursework, or a combination of coursework and research.
Nurse practitioner
Available: Clayton
This specialisation will provide you with an advanced understanding of health assessment, diagnostics, pharmacology and clinical decision making in order to provide holistic care to patients within your particular scope of practice. Nurse practitioners may be involved in, among many other things, making direct referrals of patients to other health care professionals, prescribing medication, and ordering diagnostic investigations. This specialisation is accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) for Nurse Practitioner endorsement. The specialisation can be taken by coursework.
Perioperative nursing
Available: Clayton
This specialisation will provide you with leadership skills in perioperative nursing combining scrub scout and peri-anaesthetic role management to plan, implement and coordinate and evaluate perioperative care, as well as formulate policy for a diverse and multicultural society. It is designed using flexible teaching delivery options and provides for a range of individual career pathways, including nursing, education or management positions within the industry, government or independent professional practice. The specialisation can be taken by coursework or a combination of coursework and research.
These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 9 and Monash Graduate AttributesAustralian Qualifications Framework level 9 and Monash Graduate Attributes (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/alignmentofoutcomes.html).
Upon successful completion of this course it is expected that you 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
- generate and apply advanced knowledge and skills in a selected area of nursing practice.
Applicable only for students completing the nurse practitioner specialisation, which is accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC).
The course is structured in two parts: Part A. Specialist nursing practice studies, Part B. Research and advanced scholarly practice. All students complete Part A. Depending upon prior qualifications, you may receive credit for Part A or Part B or a combination of the two.
Note that if you are eligible for credit for prior studies you may elect not to receive the credit.
Part A. Specialist nursing practice studies
These studies provide options for registered nurses seeking leadership roles to take a clinical or non-clinical specialisation appropriate for individual career aspirations. The studies draw on best practices within the nursing specialisations for the development of advanced knowledge and skills.
Part B. Research and advanced scholarly practice
The focus of these studies is professional or scholarly work that can contribute to a portfolio of professional development. You have two options:
- a 24 or 36 point research program. If you wish to use this master's course as a pathway to a higher degree by research you should take this option.
- a program of coursework study where you select the units to suit your own interests.
The course comprises 72 points structured into two parts: Part A. Specialist nursing practice studies, and Part B. Research and advanced scholarly practice.
If you are admitted at:
- entry level 1 you complete 72 points, comprising Part A and B
- entry level 2 you complete 48 points and receive credit for a combination of units across Part A and B. Credit is usually awarded for a speciality or elective units and will be assessed individually.
Note: If you are eligible for credit for prior studies you may elect not to receive the credit and complete the higher credit-point option.
Units are 12 credit points unless otherwise stated.
Part A. Specialist nursing practice studies (24, 36 or 48 points)
You must complete the following units for your specialisation.
Emergency nursing (24 points)
General studies in advanced nursing (24 points)
24 points of electives
Intensive care nursing (24 points)
Mental health nursing (36 points)
- NUR5228 Theories and philosophies of mental health nursing (6 points)
- NUR5229 Challenges and controversies in mental health nursing practice (6 points)
- NUR5215 Mental health nursing concepts and practice
- NUR5008 Contemporary psychotherapies for nurses or NUR5227 Integrated mental health care
Nursing education (24 points)
- NUR5204 Education in health care practice
- NUR5209 Education program development
Nursing leadership and management (24 points)
- NUR5325 Clinical leadership in nursing (6 points)
- NUR5326 Leading improvement and innovation in the quality and safety of nursing and health care (6 points) or MPH5268 Financial issues in health care management (6 points)
- NUR5327 Management and leadership of professional nursing practice
Nurse practitioner (48 points)
- NUR5208 Therapeutic medication management
- NUR5218 Advanced clinical decision making
- NUR5219 Advanced clinical practice for nurse practitioner
- NUR5411 Advanced clinical assessment and diagnostic reasoning
Perioperative nursing (24 points)
- NUR5325 Clinical leadership in nursing (6 points)
- NUR5703 Pathophysiology for advanced clinical nursing (6 points)
- NUR5705 Perioperative nursing 1 (6 points)
- NUR5706 Perioperative nursing 2 (6 points)
Part B. Research and advanced scholarly practice
You must complete:
- GHS5841 research and evidence for practice
You complete either a research pathway or a coursework pathway.
Note: If you are completing the nurse practitioner specialisation or the general studies option complete the coursework pathway.
Research pathway (24 or 36 points)
Minor thesis - 36 point option (not available to mental health specialisation)
- MAP5000 Research in advanced health professional practice
- MAP5001 Advanced health practice research project
- MAP5002 Minor thesis
Research project - 24 point research and elective where required
- MAP5000 Research in advanced health professional practice
- MAP5010 Advanced health practice research project
- plus one additional elective unit (except for students completing the mental health specialisation)
Coursework pathway
Students in the following specialisations complete additional elective units to take the total to 72 points:
- Emergency nursing - 36 points of electives
- General studies in advanced nursing - 36 points of electives
- Intensive care nursing - 36 points of electives
- Leadership and management - 36 points of electives
- Mental health nursing - 24 points of electives
- Nurse practitioner - 12 points of electives
- Nursing education - 36 points of electives
- Perioperative nursing - 36 points of electives
Elective list
- MPH5268 Financial issues in health care management (6 points)
- NUR5202 Nursing informatics
- NUR5203Not offered in 2018 Palliative care practice
- NUR5204 Education in health care practice
- NUR5208 Therapeutic medication management
- NUR5209 Education program development
- NUR5210 Disaster and emergency nursing management
- NUR5214 Advanced therapeutic interaction in nursing
- NUR5325 Clinical leadership in nursing (6 points)
- NUR5326 Quality, safety and clinical governance in nursing and health care (6 points)
- NUR5327 Management and Leadership of professional nursing practice
- NUR5703 Pathophysiology for advanced clinical nursing
- NUR5833Not offered in 2018 Refugee health and wellbeing
- NUR5844 Health promotion and education
You may exit this course early and apply to graduate with one of the following awards, provided they have satisfied the requirements for that award during their enrolment in this master's course:
- Graduate Certificate of Advanced Nursing after successful completion of 24 points with a minimum of 18 credit points at level 4 or above. Students who complete 24 points from a particular specialisation in Part A will have the name of the specialisation on their transcript.
- Graduate Diploma of Advanced Nursing after successful completion of 48 points, with a minimum of 36 credit points at level 4 or above. If you complete 24 points from a particular specialisation in Part A you will have the name of the specialisation on your academic transcript.
Students entering at entry levels 1 and 2 can complete a research thesis (24 points) that will provide a pathway to a higher degree by research.
