Sergeyevich
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Dec 13, 2010, 01:23 pm
Hey James..
A lot of international students have dropped out just the same as local students. Of course the international students have the added difficulty in that English is not their primary language.
The course content really isn't that difficult. I think most of the people who dropped out weren't really that committed to completing the course and weren't the most studious and/ or gifted of students. The volume of content covered in a few classes, particularly Anatomy and Physiology (Semester 1), Acute (Semester 2) and Chronic (Semester 3) may seem a little overwhelming but most of the exams are in multiple choice format and they really don't expect you to have a great depth of knowledge.
All assignments, exams and classes are marked pass or fail only or competent or not yet competent. If you fail an assignment you do get adequate feedback and a chance to resubmit and if you fail an exam you also get a second chance to sit a similar exam a week later.
One issue most people had with the exams was that they use a cluster marking system where there may be perhaps 13 clusters of 4 questions each and to pass you would have to get a least 3 out of 4. So you could well get say 47 or even 50 out of 52 but because you got 2 of the 4 questions on the urinary system or the nervous system wrong.
The teaching at Alex Hills was generally excellent. Anatamony will probably be a bit boring no matter who teaches it but most of the other first semester 1 classes are a bit lighter, presented in a pleasant fashion and are quite enjoyable. There were a couple of teachers at Alex Hills who were thought to be quite pedantic markers although I never had any issues with them at all. Answer the questions correctly or address the topic thoroughly and you shouldn't have too many issues and if you do need to resubmit you will be given some quality feedback to help you.
There were always plenty of assignments to keep you busy. From about week 4 or 5 through to week 8 or 9 it always seemed like you had at least one and sometimes two assignments due every week. A lot of the assignments would either be in question and answer format or workbooks to complete. There was also a few oral presentations and a few 1500 word essays to complete. Generally all assignments need to referenced properly using Harvard authort-date style referencing which posed a fair bit of drama for quite a few.
I have a good memory, good research skills, have always been a strong student and I was already very familiar with Harvard referencing so I better off than most undertaking the course.
I did attend 95% of classes as TAFE was close to home and it was good to keep in touch with classmates and I certainly learnt a few things too. Though I would generally start assignments 48 hours before they were due and very rarely had to resubmit any. I did no revision throughout the semesters and would cram for exams the day before and rarely had to resit any. There were also a couple of people who were the exact opposite to me though- English as a second language, no previous experience with referencing or essay writing and not having undertaken any formal education in the last 20 years who also completed the course within 18 months. So I think the course definitely isn't beyond anyone if they are willing to make the effort. Not to turn you off but MSIT can defenitely be quite disorganised compared to universities. I think everyone who studied nursing their would agree. Nearly everyone from my class would have something negative to say about the institute or the course. I am pretty relaxed, a good self- learner, figure things out for myself and didn't have too much in the way of expectations so I've not got too many complaints. They have the foundations of a very good program there and a few dedicated teachers really holding the whole thing together. Some times the assignments and exams are not as well contructed as they could be. Some students seem to think that MSIT are just looking for a reason to fail you but I don't think that is true at all. I believe they definitely want to see you succeed but they are also looking to maintain some basic standards.
Several students that have failed a couple of subjects at MSIT have moved on to Southbank TAFE and they have all commented on how much easier assessment items are. That is probably why MSIT students always get such positive feedback while on placement and Southbank students tend to prove more problematic when out on placement. This has been communicated to us by various teachers and confirmed my multiple clinical facilitators and nurses while we have been on placement. As for transport I think the majority of people drive and there are plenty of parking spaces. I know of a few people who caught the bus daily and I am sure there are plenty more people that do. The closest train station would be at Birkdale which would be 45 minute walk away. That is certainly one thing the Logan campus has over Alex Hills as the Loganlea train station is only a 3 minute walk from Logan campus. I actually can't say I ever saw a bicycle on campus though. I would have no idea of the total number of students who study at Alexandra Hills. At times the campus seems pretty quiet with not too many other people around while sometimes it can be quite busy. The average age of the wider student body is quite young, certainly significantly younger than the average age of nursing students. The job market is quite tight right now, with the GFC and stock market correction causing a lot of older nurses to delay their retirement I think. If you are a highly- skilled and experienced Registered Nurse you can still send out a resume and get 4 job offers that same day but for new graduates, even more so for EN graduates than RN graduates getting a good job isn't easy at the moment. I have been accepted into uni to start next year which I will probably study part-time and I might just end up working in the casual pool at one hospital or another. So James what is your story? Are you coming all the way to Australia from the UK just to study Enrolled Nursing at MSIT? Any other questions just ask.
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moonbeam
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Jan 01, 2011, 04:40 am
Hi Serge, Happy New Year to you! Thanks again for your really comprehensive reply! Your messages have been really appreciated! Thanks for spending the time. Well I am really looking forward to starting my DoN course at Alex Hills. It'll be a great change for me! I will be coming from a senior management position within the airline industry having decided to make a complete career change after recently loosing both elderly parents and with little existing close family. I thought this will be a fresh start doing something I'm interested in, in a better climate, and somewhere my famkly used to live many moons ago. Hopefully after the DoN I may go on to study the Bachelor of Nursing at QUT. I hope that the end result will be me doing what I enjoy, giving something back to the elders in our society, and also with the view to establishing a business in the aged care sector either in Australia or elsewhere. Hopefully for me, a completely new chapter begins with plentiful opportunities, challenges, and some rejuvenation along the way! What Uni are you going to study BoN at? I have to say communicating with some of the educational institutions in Australia has dreadful. Almost like the Uni's don’t want the money an international student has to pay! Would be great to keep in touch? Are you from Brisbane?
Cheers James
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jlh86
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Jan 19, 2011, 01:46 am
serge you are definately full of good information for people looking into this course. im going to be starting in july this year at the alex hills campus after returning from a year working and travelling in the u.k so it will be a shock to the sysytem but i cant wait for the challenge!! Do you know how much the diploma costs? on the website it says 21,000 but i heard it was about 8 or 9000. im really hoping its going to be about 9000 as im going to pay for it outright before i start. Goodluck moonbeam your definately going to enjoy the aussie weather, im in london at the moment and its freezing!!
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moonbeam
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Jan 19, 2011, 09:44 am
Hey jlh86! I'm in London too! Oh yeah I am dreaming about the Aussie weather! I'm in London too! Your right....its absolutely freezing here tonight! Got to be hear 0 degrees. Where about in London are you? Look like I'll see you at Alex Hills! When are you heading back to Brisbane? Moon!
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jlh86
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Jan 21, 2011, 01:33 am
im in shepherds bush, heading home in june to start my studies in july. just working and travelling for a year it has been amazing here! i have studied at alex hills before thats where i did my beauty diploma its pretty good there, really good library etc. when are you making the move down there?
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moonbeam
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Jan 21, 2011, 01:59 am
Hi... good you liked it! I'm in Kew. Heading down to Brisbane in June too, for July start. Great to hear from people who've already been there. I was weighing up Southbank Institute v MSIT...then between Alex Hills and Logan. Feel a bit nervous of the going back to study bit.... but looking forward to it and for the change! LOL MSIT tried to sell me another course and I think beauty was one of the options..... not my interest really :-))) Enjoy your last months in London! What are you doing here for work?
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jlh86
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Jan 22, 2011, 02:58 am
Alex hills is pretty good i found, southbank is in a really good location but it seems very expensive for the same course? im still trying to find out how much the een course is as the msit website is saying its about 21000 but its surely not that much.
In london im working at cowshed as a beautician and massage therapist, i hate it so much but its getting me through my travels. Just really looking forward to getting home to start my studdies. Im also hoping i can use some of my credits from my beauty diploma for RPL. I think i have to wait until i get home to sort all that out. Good luck with the move to brisbane! hope the weather is a bit better when we get there!
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moonbeam
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Jan 22, 2011, 03:46 am
Hi, Yes... wishing for blue sky's.....somehow I think the weather will be better in June than it is here! Have you not applied for a place on the course yet??? Surely you'll be paying local fees which are much cheaper than for international students. Dont look at the MSIT international site but the local one. If your a local I'm sure you get to pay a fraction of the fees! If you havent already I'd apply quick, as I head the places are filling up quick. For January 2011 intake I though the course was full by July 2010. Mabe I'll see you in class???? I think they run a few classes of the same course.
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jlh86
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Jan 25, 2011, 12:33 am
Oh yes i was looking at the wrong site! thankyou! i have a place held for me and paid the deposit, but am letting them know soon if im going to start in july or the following feb as im still travelling around and there may be a slight chance i wont make it home in time, but if i dont start my deposit will hold my place for 2012. Im real excited to start, im hoping its going to be hard and challenging as i feel i havnt used my brain in a long time! Im more nervous about the uni degree after than the tafe diploma as iv never been to uni before. Where are you planning on living when you get there? Yup if i dont see you in clas im sure il see you around campus as alex hills!!
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moonbeam
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Jan 25, 2011, 08:47 am
Hi, Still traveling around? Good for you...lucky you! You're bringing back memories of the time when I'd say exactly the same!....about the travelling and not about not having used my brain in a long time!!! :-))) I've never been to Uni either...but managed to do quite well career wise so far....but really looking forward to the change. Probably going to live somewhere around the Redlands area.... any suggestions? Preferably no where low laying...... You'll recognise me if you join in July....I'll be the pom in shorts with the white legs...
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jlh86
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Jan 29, 2011, 04:07 am
well we can study together, im not very good with referencing and that kind of thing so that will be interesting. my boyfriends half english with shorts and white legs too haha. He grew up in capalaba which isnt too bad, nice and close to alex hills. cleveland is nice around the bay area, also thornlands. We will be living closer to the city bulimba, norman park area its quite nice there. Are you buying or renting? moving out by yourself or you have family coming with you? I wouldnt want to live in alex hills personally. its much easier to do everything in aussie and people will help you out alot more while your settling in, i find in london not very many people want to help you out?
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moonbeam
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Feb 01, 2011, 03:44 am
Hey! Well yeah would be nice to have a "study buddy" already lined up! How old are you? I'm 35….kind of wondering if I'll be the oldest guy in the glass sitting at the front madly scribling everything down that's said into my notebook! :-) What were the age range of the students when you were last there? Thanks for the tip on places to live! Will think again about living in Alex Hills. Maybe I'll take another look! I lived in Brisbane about 15 years ago….and visited in 2003, and then again last May. I couldn't believe how much it has changed over the years! The plan is to rent initially and then see how things go. House prices seem to be dropping in the Brisbane area at the moment and I think they'll keep dropping for a while. My finace and I are planning of going to Brisbane together…..but she's not 100% sure if she wants to come along….its a long story!!!! So if she decides against it I'll still be going and she may come later. I know what you mean about aussies being more helpful, I think more friendly might be the right word…hopefully! How long have you been traveling for? Seen much of Europe? Brisbane will certainly be a big change for me! I can’t wait! This cold weather is making me feel like having a shower in the morning before work is like some kind of endurance test!
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abbeyside
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Feb 01, 2011, 11:03 am
I dont think you will be the oldest in the class. I'm doing a degree externally and when I attend res school I'm not the oldest at 41! Either way don't worry about that. I live around the corner from the Alex Hills TAFE. Wellington Point, Cleveland, Birkdale, Thornlands are all good areas to live. If your driving then you will have plenty more options. Hogans at Wellington Point has an English theme once a month. Good luck with the move. I did it 6 years ago and haven't looked back.
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Sergeyevich
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Feb 13, 2011, 04:09 am
Hey James and others.. I haven't checked back here for quite some time. Not sure if there were any new questions there about the course. To answer your question James I was going to be going to Griffith Uni (Logan campus) but have since defered my place for 12 months. I just have a few too many things going on this year and have just landed an EN job in my dream ward at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Griffith was the only uni I had applied to as it is the most convenient for me to get to and the place where most of my fellow graduates were applying. I have also heard the facilities at their Logan and Gold Coast campuses are very nice. As for where to live you might like Birkdale. It boarders Alexandra Hills and there is a train station for easy access to the inner city. There are plenty of British ex-pats in the area and the shopping centre there has a British grocery store and a traditional British fish and chip shop that actually imports their fish from England and serves the chips sooky. There is also the Spice Avenue restaurant in Birkdale for genuine Balti style British- Indian food. If I remember correctly I think the owners still operate their original restaurant back in Wolverhampton. My favourite Indian restaurant in Brisbane though is Scherhazade in Morningside. haha. Alex Hills or any of the suburbs surrounding would be fine to live in. Alex Hills and Capalaba might have lower median real estate prices than and not boarder the ocean like Birkdale, Wellington Point, Ormiston, Cleveland and Thornlands do but all of these suburbs have nice pockets and not quite so nice pockets. The whole area is well situated and extremely safe though. I won't leave it so long to check back here again this time so if anyone has an questions I would be happy to answer them the best I can.
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Sergeyevich
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Feb 13, 2011, 04:12 am
Opps.. I meant soggy chips not sooky chips. haha.
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KMac
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Mar 29, 2011, 08:24 pm
I am nearly finished with my second semester at the Logan campus....its been a hard road this semester....
have enjoyed reading everyone's posts. Serge, the overall consensus on the dip of nursing course is the same at the Logan campus.....
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