[Myamum]

I am planning on studying a Nursing degree next year. I have two young children who are not in school yet so I was thinking about starting the course part-time.

I am looking for feedback from EB Members who have studied or are studying Nursing at university in Melbourne.

Which university did/do you attend and how did you find the course? How much is involved in practical placements?

Are there any universities that are better regarded?

Thanks in advance.

[ubermum]

Have you considered external (online) study? I found the cost of childcare, travel, parking conbined with other uni costs quite prohibitive so went external.

[mrskb]

With 2 young kids, I would go to a uni that is close to home. I am currently studying Nursing at Deakin and enjoying. I know ACU offers a really good program, and part time as well.

Good Luck!

[JuliaGulia]

I am currently at Deakin and I have been really happy with the course.

From what I have seen and heard, and based on feedback from preceptors in hospitals, I would say that Deakin and ACU currently have the best reps, and Monash would be in the mix too. Grad places are getting more and more competitive, so while it is good to think about managing for the next few years, It is also important to think long term to what will happen after you graduate. There is no point going through all that pain (and it will be quite painful) to get to the end and not be able to work.

Placements are a massive commitment. I am on placement now and my roster has been ridiculous this week. I am fortunate that I have a lot of support and DH has been available to step up and take over pretty much everything. I study with a lot of mums, and it is a challenge but we all manage. I am in a fellowship so my placements are almost all organised through one hospital, and they have been very accommodating with trying to organise our rosters to help us out, but as you get further along in the degree it gets harder to manage that and you have to be prepared to make other arrangements.

Good luck with sorting it out. Doing this degree has been the best thing for me and I am really excited about starting my career next year.

[Phascogale]

Some of what you hear may depend which hospitals have which students. Monash is fairly high up there in reputation but you find that most of the monash students tend to go to hospitals closer to the uni ie you'll find them at Frankston Hospital and at Southern Health rather than at Sunshine or the Northern.

Deakin also has a good reputation and they offer the double degree in nursing/mid (monash do too but at their churchill campus).

I haven't come across any nursing students from Melbourne Uni so I searched their website. It doesn't look like Melbourne Uni offer nursing as an undergrad degree.

I'd look at where you live as to where you do your course. You don't want to travel too far if you don't have to especially if you have a family.

Clinicals can be pretty full on and they are usually full time shiftwork. You often do blocks 2/3/4 weeks. The further you get into your course the more clinicals you tend to do. Some courses do things like 2 days a week of placement for certain semesters but it really depends on your course and the units you are doing.

If you do it full time you can schedule your classes so you stretch out when you do your clinicals ie instead of doing clinicals in first year you can do it in your second year (nursing is a 3 year full time course).

[Julie-Anne]

I completed my degree at a northern suburbs uni and when applying for grad programs I didn't sense that it mattered what uni you went to.

With Latrobe and RMIT students a few apply at the Austin and the Northern due to the clinical placements that are mainly centered there. Whereas Victoria Uni you'll find they will apply at the western suburbs facilities as they do a lot of their placements out there.

I had 26 weeks of clinicals over 3 years which at the time was one of the degrees that offered the most and I had a fantastic variety of placements and got everything I asked for (as in location, type of placement).

We've had students from all universities at my hospital and some apply themselves and some don't and that's from the supposed excellent reputation nursing programs, so I look at the student's abilities and willing to learn before what university they attend.

[lakurumau]

A friend of mine just started a part-time nursing degree. She opted to do it externally and after lots of research went for a Uni in South Australia (she lives in northern suburbs of Melbourne) as she wants to specialise in midwifery. She doesn't have to go anywhere - all her lectures, tutorials are online. She will have to take exams each semester and then they set her up in a room at a local Uni, from what I remember her saying.

Seems to be going well and the way she has organised it has worked out really well for her (two kids - 3 and under 1).

Best wishes for your course search!

[UpsyDaisy]

I'm studying Nursing at Deakin. I'm loving it

Just in regards to UniSA. You will need to travel for placements, so have to consider accomadation, flights, child care/babysitters if you have children. I believe being external and having no pracs, that those are also done in a block, so again more travel and costs.

[ubermum]

I'm studying Nursing at Deakin. I'm loving it

Just in regards to UniSA. You will need to travel for placements, so have to consider accomadation, flights, child care/babysitters if you have children. I believe being external and having no pracs, that those are also done in a block, so again more travel and costs.

My external course organized prac close to home, in fact I was closer to my prac than some students on prac with me from a uni in this state. I had to do a one week practical teaching block on the campus in each year of study. For me, being absent and planning around 1 week away per year was easier than planning around 3 years of classes, childcare, parking etc.