Master of Nursing

Overview

Tailor your studies to your career aspirations with La Trobe's Master of Nursing. Pursue clinical specialisations in relevant hospital settings with our prestigious health partners, or complete non-clinical specialisations to develop advanced knowledge of nursing research along with the critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills you need to thrive as … For more content click the Read more button below. By completing La Trobe's Master of Nursing, you will:learn to effectively plan, implement and evaluate practice in your specialised context, make high-level independent judgements, and function effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary teambenefit from a flexible, blended learning approach that offers face-to-face or fully online study options that you can fit around your work commitmentschoose from clinical specialisations in acute care, cardiac care, critical care, medical imaging, neonatal care, neonatal special care, and perioperative practices; or non-clinical specialisations in health management, leadership or public healthexplore the introduction to nursing in the Australian context, including an understanding of professional standards and the healthcare organisational systeminvestigate legal and ethical issues pertinent to nursing practice.

Tailor your studies to your career aspirations with La Trobe's Master of Nursing.

Pursue clinical specialisations in relevant hospital settings with our prestigious health partners, or complete non-clinical specialisations to develop advanced knowledge of nursing research along with the critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills you need to thrive as a nursing researcher, educator or leader.

By completing La Trobe's Master of Nursing, you will:

learn to effectively plan, implement and evaluate practice in your specialised context, make high-level independent judgements, and function effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary team
benefit from a flexible, blended learning approach that offers face-to-face or fully online study options that you can fit around your work commitments
choose from clinical specialisations in acute care, cardiac care, critical care, medical imaging, neonatal care, neonatal special care, and perioperative practices; or non-clinical specialisations in health management, leadership or public health
explore the introduction to nursing in the Australian context, including an understanding of professional standards and the healthcare organisational system
investigate legal and ethical issues pertinent to nursing practice.

Portfolio

Office of the Provost

School

Course coordinator

Rachael Duncan

Location(s)

On-Line

Course instance contact

Rachael Duncan

Course duration (full time)

2 years

Course duration (part time)

4 years

Study level

Postgraduate

AQF level

Level 9 - Masters Degree

Available only as an exit award

Study options

Domestic

International offshore

Completion requirements

To qualify for the award of Master of Nursing, students must complete 240 credit points consisting of:

60 core credit points

60 specialisation credit points

120 learning pathway credit points

Course structure
240 credit points

Level one120 credit points

Core30 credit points

Core choice30 credit points

Specialisation60 credit points

Level two120 credit points

Core choice - Pathway120 credit points

Students to select one learning pathway from the list below.

Education and management120 credit points

Students undertaking the Leadership specialisation cannot undertake the Education and management pathway.

Core90 credit points

Core choice30 credit points

Project120 credit points

Core90 credit points

Core choice30 credit points

Research120 credit points

Specialisations60 credit points

Course intended learning outcomes

On successful completion you will be able to:

Synthesise advanced nursing knowledge, skill and scholarship to make independent judgements in complex nursing scenarios and professional nursing contexts.

Critique and synthesise developments in a specialised area of professional nursing practice.

Contextualise clinical information and generate complex ideas and concepts to inform practice and leadership in a professional nursing context.

Communicate effectively and sensitively with colleagues, clients/patients and the public in a variety of professional and social contexts in accordance with the ethical standards of the profession.

Critically reflect on theory and scholarship, adapting established theories and current evidence to inform knowledge and professional practice.

Defend scholarship and knowledge in a range of contexts for research and clinical practice to optimise population and care outcomes

Formulate research principles and methods to execute evidence-based scholarship.

Course features

Work based learning (placement) requirements

Compulsory placements (Work Based Learning)
During this course, you will participate in one or more supervised Work Based Learning (WBL) placements designed to allow you to practice newly acquired skills, behaviours and knowledge while integrating theory with practice. The placements will immerse you in professional work culture, enabling you to develop and further enhance your skills. WBL provides you with the opportunity to gain valuable industry experience at one or more of our local, interstate or international industry partners or agencies. WBL placements will generally be arranged by the Placements Operation Team or Experiential Learning Team at La Trobe University. The number of hours undertaken can vary considerably, depending on the requirements of the course. Students may incur additional costs and it may be necessary to travel or relocate to complete a specific placement. Please refer to the individual subject entries for more information.

Work integrated learning opportunities
A course that integrates theory with the practice of work.

Industry informed curriculum, Industry-informed projects, Interprofessional learning, Career development learning

Career outcomes

Depending on your specialisation, you could be eligible for a range of clinical or non-clinical healthcare roles, including:

acute, cardiac, critical, medical imaging, perioperative practice or neonatal care nurse
clinical nurse manager
clinical nurse specialist
director of nursing or chief nursing officer
nurse educator
nurse researcher.

Handbook