Graduate Certificate in Aged Care Nursing

What you will study

To complete the Graduate Certificate in Aged Care Nursing, a student must fulfil four units of study.

Core units

• Advancing Professional Practice
• Assessment of the Older Person
• Clinical Issues in the Care of the Older Person

Elective

Choose one elective from the following:

• Assessing and Managing Adult Pain
• Clinical Leadership in Aged Care
• Continence Management
• Dementia Care
• Healthy Ageing
• Immunisation for Registered Nurses
• Infection Prevention and Control in Clinical Practice
• Principles of Intellectual and Developmental Disability Nursing
• Parkinson’s Care
• Principles of Palliative Care Nursing
• Therapeutic Communication
• Wound Management
   

Entry requirements

Admission to graduate certificate courses is based on academic merit and selection. In addition, applicants must satisfy any prerequisites or additional requirements specified for particular courses, including ACN’s general eligibility criteria.

All applicants seeking admission are required to:

• Hold a Bachelor of Nursing or registered nurse equivalent qualification.
• Hold current registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) or the equivalent registering authority in your country of origin.
• Meet the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia English language skills registration standard (nursing and midwifery) – please refer to the AHPRA website to download the standard.
• Have a minimum of one year of postgraduate experience.
• Be currently employed in the clinical area of specialisation.

For some graduate certificate units of study, individual consideration may be given to applicants who are not registered nurses.

Outcomes

Learning outcomes

This course is designed to develop specific learning outcomes. Students will:

• Integrate specialist knowledge, assessment skills and information to support an improved standard of care for the older person.
• Develop enhanced clinical decision-making skills using multiple modes of enquiry and collaborative approaches.
• Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with older people, their support network, professional colleagues and other stakeholders.
• Critically analyse literature and develop evidence-based nursing practice within diverse aged care environments.
• Demonstrate professional and educational leadership skills to provide support and contribute to the multidisciplinary aged care team.
• Advocate for older people within all aged care environments.

Fees and FEE-HELP

Estimated total 2025 member price (10% discount): $10,624.5 (domestic full-fee paying place)

Estimated total 2025 non-member price: $11,805 (domestic full-fee paying place)

Being a part of the ACN community allows nurses to be the best they can be and strengthens the voice of nursing through various invaluable benefits, including 10% off graduate certificates.

Estimated fees are based on four units of study.

A student’s annual fee may vary per:

• The number of units studied.
• Choice of courses.
• Credit from previous study or work experience.
• Eligibility for government-funded loans.

Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.

FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee-paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.