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Author	Diploma or degree?
bhonsai (offline) Joined: Mar 2010 Location: Posts: 2	Wed Dec 15, 2010 3:12 pm Hi all, I am a PCA with 7 years experience and would like to study either the diploma of nursing or the bachelor of nursing. Should I study the diploma first and get the credit to do the bachelor? Am I able to do the bachelor or do I need a bridging program? I would appreciate any suggestions on where to study. I would love to do this externally so as not to disrupt family life. Thank you

Upcoming RN (offline) Joined: Dec 2010 Location: Posts: 42	Dec 16, 2010, 04:48 pm What qualifications do you currently hold and which state are you from? Diploma of Nursing (Enrolled/Division 2 Nursing) or Certificate IV in Nursing Advantages - if you live in Victoria you may be able to complete the Cert IV as part of a paid traineeship. - In NSW the Diploma is offered in 4+ locations - including Ultimo (in the city) - Becoming an enrolled nurse in NSW only takes 1.5 years - half the time it takes to become a registered nurse - The NSW course includes 600 hours workplace clinical practice (15 weeks) - Most enrolled nurse courses now include medical administration and monitoring and qualify you as an Endorsed Enrolled Nurse (EEN) - There is the opportunity to complete an Advanced Diploma and learn additional skills such as blood collection and administration and monitoring of IV's - You can earn $40000 gross per annum after graduating - If you decide later to become an RN, you can work part-time or full-time while you study and get paid, plus you may be able to claim university expenses (e.g. textbooks) as tax deductions University (Bachelor of Nursing) Personally I'm leaning towards UTS or the University of Notre Dame, as they both have an extensive clinical practice component (Notre Dame's course includes 33 weeks of clinical practice). UNE's course also looks quite good - it is a combination of on-campus and blended learning and includes between 29 - 35 weeks clinical practice. Advantages - you qualify as a RN faster - You get paid the same as a level 5 EEN when you graduate (approx. $49000 - correct me if I'm wrong) - You have an increased scope of clinical practice - you can do everything an EEN can do and more - You'll still enjoy lots of patient contact and maintain your clinical skills - After you become an RN, new roles open up to you (e.g. nursing unit manager, clinical nurse specialist, clinical nurse consultant, registered midwife, nurse practitioner) Good luck with your studies! P.S. One you have the diploma, you can get up to 1 year's RPL at some institutions (e.g. UTS), shortening the BN to 2 years duration.

bhonsai (offline) Joined: Mar 2010 Location: Posts: 2	Dec 29, 2010, 09:27 pm Hi thank you for your very informative response! I think I'll take the enrolled nursing route- I'm in Victoria and I think for the moment it will be better to commit to. I currently hold a certificate 3 in aged care. Any way thanks again for you response it has given me a lot of insight to what is available

Chippie62 (offline) Joined: Aug 2010 Location: Posts: 3	Dec 29, 2010, 10:00 pm Hi Bhonsai, Was reading both of your posts and thought I would put my bit in as well. I have been an Endorsed Enrolled Nurse for 13 years and an Enrolled Nurse for 30 years. I trained in Queensland and have always worked in QLD until this year I moved to NSW for a while. Well, if I were you, I would never ever go anywhere near NSW to train or to work as a EEN,, I found the system there dreadful and about 15 years behind the times. As far as the EEN scope of practice goes,, you a very limited as to what drugs you are allowed to give and also are limited in some nursing procedures as well, due to NSW policy and State Law. I found working there was terrible and I would hate to think you picked that State to train/work in. Stay in Victoria or come to Queensland where you are treated really well and work within the full scope of that of an Endorsed Enrolled Nurse. Good Luck with your studies!

roocooper (offline) Joined: Jan 2015 Location: Posts: 4	Jan 26, 2015, 07:52 am Hello, okay I know this response is a little old but I too am faced with the same predicament. I have started studying the EEN course in NSW and have also been offered to do the degree, starting March 2015. I get many mixed messages about which way to go. I'm hearing a common issue here in NSW (with NSW Health) that if you fail to secure a NewGrad position, then you can't work for NSW Health as a Nurse until you get 12 months of experience working elsewhere. The EEN course allows graduates to work as an EEN and there is no restrictions on how long you've been practising. Therefore a lot of people are now opting to become EEN's first and do the degree via correspondence with Charles Sturt Uni (as they can work in the EN/EEN casual pool with NSW Health whilst they are studying to become an RN. As a mature aged student and new to the industry, this method appeals to me. I undertook some research and found the future job prospects for RN's is huge. Sadly, EEN roles have been steady for over ten years - no push to increase or decrease the number of EN's or EEN's. http://joboutlook.gov.au/alpha.aspx#N As to which way I'll go, no idea. Both ways have their positives. Sadly the Uni I was offered a place with only do it full time and will not make allowances for those that have to work to live. The Diploma is shorter, achieves a qualification sooner, and it gives you around one year off the degree. The only downside to undertaking the Diploma first is purely financial. The Diploma and the Degree cost about the same. So if I finish the diploma and then go with the degree, it's costing me two thirds more than if I did the degree upfront.

enigma (offline) Joined: May 2009 Location: Posts: 72	Jan 31, 2015, 11:55 am As an EEN you will definitely earn more than $40k especially if you include penalty rates. You can also salary package in not for profit places which means you are paying a lot less tax. I only work 65 hours per f/n and after tax bring home $2000 per fn.

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Diploma or degree?