CQUniversity
Graduate Certificate in Clinical Nursing (Generalist)
- Delivery: Online
- Study Level: Postgraduate
- Duration: 12 months
Learn advanced clinical skills to enhance your practice across a broad range of healthcare settings.
Course overview
The Graduate Certificate in Clinical Nursing is an innovative course designed for those who want to develop their knowledge, confidence, and nursing competence in the clinical setting. The course is a discipline-based degree with two core units covering Patient Deterioration and Clinical Governance and two further units from your chosen major.
You'll gain advanced nursing knowledge and skills based on contemporary national and international evidence relevant to the beginning registered nurse, and you'll apply these in your own clinical setting. The combination of online delivery with group discussions, use of current international and national research, and review of standards of care in clinical settings will enhance the learning and development of key clinical skills required in professional practice. You will have the opportunity to enhance your professional nursing attributes, including autonomy, accountability and critical reflection.
CSP Subsidised Fees Available
This program has a limited quota of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP). The indicative CSP price is calculated based on first year fees for EFT. The actual fee may vary if there are choices in electives or majors.
Key facts
From $926 (CSP)
What you will study
You must complete four units (24 credits):
Core units
- Patient Deterioration in the Clinical Setting
- Nursing and Clinical Governance
Generalist major
- Nursing and Professional Practice 1
- Introduction to Developing Specialty Practice
Entry requirements
To be eligible for entry into this course, applicants must supply:
- Evidence of current registration as a Registered Nurse with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
- A letter of employment demonstrating you are currently employed in Australia with an approved clinical partner for new graduates is also required.
- Or a letter of employment demonstrating current employment in Australia as a Registered Nurse, detailing a minimum of 16 hours per week in a clinical setting.
Letters of employment must be presented on company letterhead and be signed and dated by a delegated authority. Please ensure that the letter contains your full name, position title, duties performed, hours per week, and length of service.
English language requirements
If you were not born in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa or the United States of America, you are required to meet the English Language Proficiency requirements set by the University. Applicants are required to provide evidence of completion of:
- A secondary qualification (Year 11 and 12, or equivalent).
- Or an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) diploma-level qualification.
- Or bachelor-level qualification study for a period of at least two years full-time with a minimum overall GPA of 4.0
Completed within Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ireland, or the United States of America, which will meet the English proficiency.
If you do not satisfy any of the above, you will need to undertake an English language proficiency test and achieve the following scores as below:
- An International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic) overall band score of at least 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subset.
- Or a test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Requires 550 or better overall and minimum TWE score of 4.5 (Paper Based Test), or 75 or better overall and no score less than 17 (Internet Based Test).
- Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) - Requires an overall score of 54 with no sub-score less than 46.
- Or an occupational English test with grades A or B only for each of the four components.
English test results remain valid for no more than two years between the final examination date and the date of commencement of study and must appear on a single result certificate.
Recognition of Prior Learning
If you have completed prior study relevant to units within this course, you may be eligible for credit for your past studies. Contact the university for more information.
Outcomes
Career outcomes
This course provides registered nurses with a nursing specific post-graduate qualification. As a graduate, you can enjoy a range of opportunities including:
- Enhanced competency and confidence as a registered nurse.
- Increased financial remuneration from some employers.
- A solid foundation to work towards nursing leadership roles in clinical specialties, management, education or research.
- A seamless pathway into our Master of Clinical Nursing.
Fees and CSP
Indicative first-year tuition fee in 2024: $3,705 (Commonwealth Supported Place)
Indicative first-year tuition fee in 2024: $13,878 (domestic full-fee paying place)
The indicative first-year fee is the approximate cost of enrolling in this course for one academic year depending on the type of place you are offered, for example, a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) or full-fee paying (FFP) place. For a graduate certificate, this is usually four units studied full-time over one term or part-time over two terms.
A student’s annual fee may vary in accordance with:
- The number of units studied per term.
- The choice of major or specialisation.
- Choice of units.
- 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.
Commonwealth Supported Places
The Australian Government allocates a certain number of CSPs to the universities each year, which are then distributed to students based on merit.
If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you'll only need to pay a portion of your tuition fees. This is known as the student contribution amount – the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower.
Limited CSP spaces are offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.
Your student contribution amount is:
- Calculated per unit you're enrolled in.
- Depending on the study areas they relate to.
- Reviewed and adjusted each year.
HECS-HELP loans are available to CSP students to pay the student contribution amount.
FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee-paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.
