CHASING THE REWARDS OF A CAREER IN NURSING? THE TIME IS NOW!

Graduating high school soon? Seeking a career change?
Nursing needs you.

Flinders final-year nursing student Ruri Yamamoto

Final-year nursing students Braden Winders and Ruri Yamamoto will next year be heading into a workforce that needs them at a time like never before.

Both Ruri and Braden are heading into fulfilling and rewarding nursing careers that are swarming with opportunity.

As the global COVID-19 health crisis continues to disrupt economies and claim lives it has also heightened the need for health workers to upskill in their nursing careers and help carry the burden of the pandemic.

Ruri studied nursing in her home country of Japan before travelling and eventually coming to Sydney and working as a nursing assistant.

Wanting to gain recognition as a registered nurse in Australia, she was accepted into the nursing program at Flinders where she ended up supporting the COVID-19 medical response in South Australia.

Ruri took up a position with one of SA Pathology’s drive-through COVID-19 testing stations, swabbing patients for the disease and gaining invaluable practical experience.

“This job really needs everyone working with each other as a team. This is very important in a clinic, and especially when everything changes every day,” she says.

For Adelaide local Braden Winders it has been his final year placement in Alice Springs working with Indigenous communities that has affirmed his desire to help people and make a difference.

“I am gaining a valuable understanding and very important perspectives surrounding social determinants of health that I will be able to take with me in any setting as a nurse,” he says.

Braden came to nursing following a brief stint studying classical piano performance before realising he would be better suited to a career in health and care.

“My first nursing placement solidified the belief that I am meant to be a nurse. I remember having that lightbulb moment when it suddenly clicked this job is for me and I love it."

Final-year nursing students Braden Winders.

With the global pandemic also disrupting universities across the globe, most of Flinders’ nursing work placements have continued throughout this tumultuous year.

As a result, students have boosted the health workforce by providing an extra pair of hands, while gaining invaluable practical experience in real-world settings. Flinders offers undergraduate and postgraduate nursing degrees that can lead to working in a large variety of health care environments, not just hospitals.

A career in nursing spans beyond wards, emergency departments and intensive care units. Nurses also work in mental health units, residential aged care facilities, community organisations, general practices, government departments, research facilities, private schools, the armed forces, and aid organisations.

A career in nursing is a career for life. It’s also a career that has promising employment prospects, with the Department of Jobs and Small Business predicting a 11.7% growth in registered nurses and a 16.2% growth in nurse managers.

Flinders University’s Academic Lead for Nursing, Associate Professor Susanne Pearce, says that the nursing program supports students from all backgrounds and experiences.

“You could be a school leaver, you might be looking for a change in career, or you might want to extend your current clinical role through further postgraduate studies – we have pathways to suit all,” she says.

“Our courses have a large breadth, backed by more than 40 years of experience and extensive industry connections. Flinders are the leaders in health care education, and our students learn in state-of-the-art facilities, including our Healthcare Simulation Centre which allows students to develop hands-on practical skills in an environment that mirrors real-life situations.

“Our undergraduate students are also engaged in over 1000 hours of work placement throughout their study, giving them a chance to make invaluable industry connections and build their clinical skills in a variety of settings.”

There are several options to enter the world of nursing at Flinders, with the pre-registration pathway open to prospective students with no previous formal nursing or tertiary qualifications.

Flinders is linked with TAFESA to offer TAFElink, a guaranteed entry pathway for someone with a Diploma of Enrolled Nursing and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) registration.

Other pathways include the Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry) for graduates who have a degree in any other area other than nursing, Nurses, like Ruri, with an overseas qualification that is not recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), may also be eligible to enrol into one of our undergraduate pathways.

Whatever the entrance pathway, the outcome of Flinders nursing graduates is the same – sought-after and multiskilled professionals ready to tackle the biggest challenges the health sector brings.

Study Nursing at Flinders