Media Release

Royal Melbourne offers new deal for Postgraduate Nurses

24 June 2005
 
In an Australian first, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Australian Catholic University National will be offering nurses a graduate certificate program from next year - for a nominal fee of just $2400.

The initiative is aimed at easing the shortage of nurses by making specialist nursing more attractive.

The in-house Graduate Certificate in Advanced Clinical Nursing will be recognised by the Australian Catholic University National as part of its Nursing Postgraduate Diploma and Masters Programs.

The announcement of this new program means nurses employed at the hospital will have access to fully recognised qualifications without having to pay any university fees.

As documented in the recent Nelson Report nursing postgraduate course fees will be increasing up to $12,000, a development that will have a profound effect on specialty nursing in Australia.

"This program provides a structured pathway for nursing staff development at a postgraduate level and we believe it will increase the attractiveness of RMH as a nursing employer of first choice by providing affordable hospital-based postgraduate specialty education," said Danny Rathgeber, Executive Director of Nursing Services at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The Graduate Certificate will consist of four clinically based subjects, which will be delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, clinical simulation, learning packages and worksheets.

This program will be delivered by Royal Melbourne Health Hospital clinical nurse educators and other hospital staff.

The program will be offered in the following clinical streams: intensive care, coronary care, cardiothoracic, medical, surgical, oncology, renal, emergency, perianaesthesia, perioperative, gerontology and neuroscience.

"In the past three years, the Royal Melbourne Hospital has built the nursing education team to 35 educators all with a wealth of specialty nursing experience and postgraduate qualifications," Mr Rathgeber said.

He said a nominal fee of $2400, payable to Royal Melbourne Hospital, was significantly less than any university fee that would be required to complete a graduate certificate.

Mr Rathgeber said postgraduate nursing students entering postgraduate studies faced increased university fees next year.

"This means that students will have to pay full fees for their course. These fees could be as high as $12,000. This is turn will have a direct effect on student numbers and will directly affect specialty area staffing," Mr Rathgeber said.

Media contact: Rod Jackson-Smith
ph:       03 9342 7469
mobile: 0417 156 214