Graduate Certificate in Community and Primary Health Care Nursing

What you will study

To complete the Graduate Certificate in Community and Primary Health Care Nursing, a student must fulfil four units of study.

Core units

• Advancing Professional Practice
• Chronic Disease Management in the Community

Elective

Choose one elective from the following:

• Continence Management
• Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain
• Health Promotion and Harm Reduction in Alcohol and Other Drugs Nursing
• Immunisation for Registered Nurses
• Principles of Intellectual and Developmental Disability Nursing
• Principles of Palliative Care Nursing
• Understanding Data in Health Care
• Wound Management

Specialty elective

Choose one specialty elective from the following:

• Primary Health Nursing
• Rural and Remote Nursing

Entry requirements

Admission to a graduate certificate course 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

At successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Critically examine the relationship between social determinants of health, health outcomes and the context of specialist nursing practice.
• Examine the economic and political factors influencing determinants of health and health outcomes.
• Evaluate evidence-based research to enhance clinical decision-making skills and client intervention.
• Rationalise their professional, ethical and social responsibilities commensurate to the context of nursing practice.
• Analyse contemporary models of care that meet the specialised needs of the individual to optimise health outcomes.
• Promote an effective learning environment through the development, dissemination and fostering of specialist knowledge and skills.
• Evaluate available services and resources that support the management of a client with diverse healthcare needs.

Fees and FEE-HELP

Estimated total 2025 member price (10% discount): $9,949.5 (domestic full-fee paying place)

Estimated total 2025 non-member price: $11,055 (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.