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How To Become A Nurse In Australia?
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A career in nursing is so much more than just a job. Working as a nurse means you get the chance to make a real difference in the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people. No two days are the same when you’re working as a nurse and nothing beats the sense of satisfaction after treating a patient and watching them get better under your care.
This is a great time to be in the healthcare industry and become a nurse. There were around 298k nurses in Australia in 2020 and this number is expected to reach a whopping 345k by 2025!
A nurse can also earn up to $1900 per week working around 41 hours on an average.
Some of the industries you can work in after qualifying as a nurse include health care and social assistance services. You could choose from a number of areas like aged care, child and family health, community health, emergency care, disability care, mental health, surgical and many more.
However, to become a nurse there are some mandatory qualifications that you’ll need. This article helps understand the steps needed to kickstart your career in nursing. Specifically, this article talks about -
- Types of nurses in Australia
- Qualifications needed to become a nurse
- Nursing insurance requirements
Types Of Nurses In Australia
In Australia, nurses can be divided into enrolled nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners depending on their educational qualifications, job responsibilities and experience.
Enrolled Nurses
Enrolled nurses usually have a diploma in nursing and work under the supervision of registered nurses.
Enrolled nurses typically observe, monitor and record patients’ temperature, blood pressure, pulse as well as assisting in first aid and emergency situations. The level of supervision depends on an enrolled nurse’s experience and responsibilities.
Registered Nurses
Registered nurses have a Bachelor in Nursing and are registered under the relevant Nursing Act and regulated by the Nurses and Midwives Board. Registered nurses’ responsibilities and duties are more extensive than other nursing roles like enrolled nurses or nurse practitioners.
Registered nurses often work as team leaders, unit managers or administrators. Their responsibilities include assessing patients, administering medication and specialised care.
Nurse Practitioners
A Nurse Practitioner is essentially a Registered Nurse (RN) with experience in a specialty and with masters level qualification. A Practice Nurse needs to be endorsed by the Nurses and Midwives Board of Australia (NMBA) to enable them to offer patient care in advanced clinical roles.
A practice nurse requires 1-2 years of additional study, a current certificate to practice and some minimum years of experience in a specialty area among other requirements.
Continuing Professional Development
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) has set certain minimum requirements for continuing professional development (CPD) that applies to all enrolled nurses, registered nurses and midwives except for those who are students or not practising.
The NMBA prescribes engaging in activities to meet the NMBA's registration standard every year. There are a number of activities to choose from and the NMBA recommends completing these during the course of a registration period.
Range of activities include
- Postgraduate studies
- Participating in journal clubs
- In-service education
- Attending conferences, workshops and seminars
- Authoring a book chapter
- Having an article published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Nursing professionals are supposed to complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD every registration period. Also, a record of all CPD activities must be kept for five years from the date the CPD was completed.
For more information, visit NMBA.
Qualifications needed to become a nurse in Australia
Diploma in Nursing from Tafe
Duration: 18 months
Delivery: Online + Offline
To enter the nursing industry and become a nurse requires some prep. Let’s start with the diploma in nursing.
The diploma in nursing (HLT54115) is a nationally recognized and accredited course for getting started as an enrolled nurse in Australia.
According to TAFE, a student interested to become an enrolled nurse would be learning to analyse client health information, practise nursing within the Australian healthcare system, assess and plan nursing care, learn and apply wound management principles,monitor medicines and intravenous therapy, care for people with mental health conditions, acute health problems or with chronic health problems.
The diploma of nursing allows you to work as an enrolled nurse across Australia. You would need to work for a minimum 400 hours with an employer to attain your nursing diploma. The condition of 400 hours is the minimum required by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC).
Once you become an enrolled nurse, there are various options available to you including mental health nursing, rehabilitation nursing, aged care and acute nursing.
After completing the diploma of nursing, you would need to register with AHPRA to legally work as an enrolled nurse. You would need to adhere to the standards set by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) to practice nursing in Australia.
Enrolled Nurses (EN) are supervised by registered nurses. Their job responsibilities include tending to their patients’ safety, hygiene and comfort and carrying out activities like observing and recording pulse and blood pressure, observing, recording and reporting changes in a patient’s condition to the doctor.
Bachelor in Nursing from Western Sydney University
Duration: 3 years
The Bachelor of Nursing is for those looking to become registered nurses (RN) in Australia. The Bachelor of Nursing is a 3 year full time course on the theory and practice of nursing. Students learn and practice principles within nursing and study nursing care for individuals, families and groups.
After completing the diploma of nursing, you would need to register with AHPRA to legally work as an enrolled nurse. You would need to adhere to the standards set by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) to practice nursing in Australia.
Registered Nurses (RN) have more expertise and can undertake challenging roles like leading a team, being a unit manager etc.
After working for some time as a registered nurse, you could think of specialising in fields like aged care ,paediatrics, emergency etc.
Nursing Insurance requirements
In Australia, a registered health professional including nurses compulsorily need professional indemnity insurance.
As a nurse, you’re accountable for the health and safety of not one - but many other people. You’re not working with a patient but someone’s loved one. Even them, however careful you may be, sometimes mistakes happen. If your patient or their family holds you responsible, it could put everything you have worked for at risk.
What can a nurse be sued for?
While hoping it doesn't happen, nurses can potentially be sued for:
• Covering medical costs (current and future) for a client that is injured.
• Loss of a client's earning capacity when the client is off work.
• Additional compensation if the damage to the client is permanent/long-lasting.
• Mental trauma, pain and suffering of the client from the injury.
As a nurse, it may be a good idea to check out your professional Indemnity insurance needs and along with public and products liability insurance. Both protect you against third parties injuries, third party property damage or complaints of poor professional advice or breaches of duty that might arise while caring for your patients. If unprotected, the financial consequence could be devastating to your patient, their family, and to you or your business.
upcover’s insurance for nurses offers tailored nursing insurance that includes public & products liability insurance limits available up to $20m, and professional indemnity limits available up to $10m.
Get an instant quote in seconds to see how you can get covered in minutes! Check out nursing insurance for more information.
Information provided is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account any person's particular objectives, financial situation or needs. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or Policy Document available at www.upcover.com and consider whether it's appropriate before making any decisions about whether to buy a product.
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