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Beginning in Nursing

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Author Beginning in Nursing

kporte

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  • Joined: Feb 2010
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  • Posts: 1

Fri Feb 12, 2010 9:02 pm

I am a 44 year old welder looking to begin a new career in nursing but have no idea where to begin. Can anybody help with a starting point?
Thanks

jules74

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Feb 14, 2010, 12:21 am

hi, what state are you in? there are two nurse qualifcations in all australian states, an RN- registered nurse, and an EN - enrolled nurse. If your in Victoria, they are called Division 1 & Division 2 nurses..although just to be confusing that is about to change in July 2010 and will revert back to RN & EN again.

Basically.....
RN- is a degree qual, takes 3 yrs and you end up with a bachelor of nursing
EN- is a TAFE qual, and the length depends of where you do it (which TAFE), some do it in a year, others 18ths, or 2yrs. if you do this you can go back to uni at a later stage and qualify as a RN in 2 yrs, and have the benefit of being able to work as an EN while studying for the 2 yrs.

so depending on your choice of how you want to enter the nursing profession, you can make a decision on where you want to start. with a uni degree or a TAFE qualification. and then you can start investigating courses and finding out how to apply. you can contact TAFES & Uni's in your area and ask them for info. you can also just look up their websites some some preliminary info too.

id suggest even just doing a google search on 'nursing in australia' and you'll probably come across heaps of general info about nursing and the types of nursing and the choices available to you.

if you got any specific questions feel free to ask..otherwise, hope this helps! and congrat's on deciding to make a change...ive just started a nursing course this year and am really excited and inspired- which is a great feeling at 35! : )

SophiaK

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Feb 16, 2010, 09:31 am Last edited Feb 16, 2010, 09:31 am update #1

Congraturation! If you start step by step, you will achieve what you want finally.
First of all, find out what kind of nursing course is available and suitable to you.
Also, it is also another way to start from EN(Div2), if you are not sure whether you are really like nursing or if you want to know what the nusing career is.
Also, there are some distance course(online) available in some unis, it would be a good thing to consider if you work.
For medical education/job information, Medicareer site could give some ideas either.

modified: Tuesday 16 February 2010 9:40:24 am - SophiaK

pink_drinking_pony

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Mar 07, 2010, 10:13 pm

Hi, I am also considering a major career into nursing. I am currently in photography so it is quite a major change. I have found the info about EN and RN nursing really handy. Due to lack of money I am thinking about doing the EN course but wondered what a good access course is? I have a degree but in photography not very useful so could really do with a refresher I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this one? http://www.healthcourses.com.au/test/osc/product_info.php/products_id/40 ? or any other advice for a newbie?

Thanks

Pink drinking pony

Schizo

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Mar 09, 2010, 06:33 pm

Hi Pink-drinking-pony,

If you have a degree in arts (photography or related to it) and can prove to the admitting Uni that you have been employed or working in the field of your qualifications from Uni for the past tens years, you could consider doing a graduate entry bachelor of nursing which is 2 years, about the same time you would have invested in getting a div 2 EEN diploma.

Don;t get me wrong, nothing wrong with being an EEN, they are as invaluable as any other team member, just that if you are going to invest 2 years of your life and $$$ (moola), you might as well do a degree and become an RN (Division 1). My suggestion is because as you already have a prior degree, you can take advantage of this and go for a higher entry level education. Considering all things, with Uni you can qualify for HECS or if you pay in advance, you get a discount of approximately 20%. On average if you are a citizen or PR, your fees per semester at Uni would be around $2,100 gross. So in 4 semesters, you only pay just under $10,000 which is about the same as you would have studying TAFE. If you pay in advance, an average semester's fees are around $1,650 - to $1,700. which means under $8,000 for the whole gradauate entry course. At this rate its cheaper than most TAFEs. Hope this information helps.

BTW which State are you in?

jules74

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Mar 10, 2010, 05:34 pm

hi pink_drinking_pony,

just FYI, dependant on where you are and the TAFE itself, some EN courses are only 1 yr in duration, others are longer. so you really need to find out what is available to you and how long the courses are and how much they will cost before ruling out the EEN course on the basis that uni will be quicker and or cheaper (in my opinion) .
im at RMIT in melbourne and started in feb and will be finished in november. its a govt funded course so it has only cost me $1000 in fees and the cost of books. TAFE is a great option. i may go on and do the extra 2 yrs to be an RN, but at least i'll be qualified and working as an EEN while im doing the next part- that was a big deciding factor when i was deciding what to do myself.

good luck

Nurses Only

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Nurses Only
  • Joined: Apr 2010
  • Location: Sydney
  • Posts: 13

May 02, 2010, 10:05 am

This is a massive move but a good one,

needing Nurses in general is a given, but having Nurses that are dedicated to making a change is even better!!!! go for it and all the best

As mentioned depending on where you want to start EEN or EN series course at your local TAFE can be a great start.

All the best and i am sure if you have any questions ask the members on the forum as they would be more than happy to answer the questions that are in the field and not in a text book.

takecare Nurses Only.

www.nursesonly.com.au

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