Entry requirements
Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification and have their candidature approved by the Faculty Board. However, the Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature. Applicants for Nursing streams must be registered general nurses and hold a current practising certificate, unless otherwise indicated. Applicants for the Child, Adolescent and Family Health Nursing stream must have at least one year post-registration experience. Applicants for the Advanced Continence Nurse Specialist stream must have at least two years' post-registration experience as a continence nurse advisor, must have successfully completed a post-basic continence education course or equivalent and must provide a supporting statement from their employer stating their willingness to facilitate the extended clinical practice components of the course within their workplace. Applicants for the Critical Care Nursing and Emergency Nursing streams must must have a minimum of one year post-registration experience (6 months of which should be in relevant clinical area) and must provide a supporting statement from their employer stating their willingness to facilitate the extended clinical practice components of the course within their workplace and/or providence evidence that an affiliated health agency will facilitate the clinical practice in a supernumerary capacity. Applicants for the Diabetes Management and Education stream must be registered general nurses holding a current practising certificate, Aboriginal health workers or other relevant health professionals. Applicants for the Mental Health Sciences stream must hold an approved undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification in a health related area, eg nursing, medicine, social work, psychology, occupational therapy, behavioural science or counselling and have a minimum of two years' mental health clinical experience. The selection process for the Mental Health Sciences stream includes an interview process that involves techniques aimed at assessing personal characteristics compatible with the learning approaches taken in these programs, and considered both essential and desirable for a career as a specialist mental health worker. These include attributes such as the ability to use a problem-based learning approach, collaborative learning, motivation to practise in mental health sciences, communication skills and trainability and flexibility. All applicants must attach to their application a statement of 300-500 words detailing the reasons for seeking the qualification, the relevant experience they would bring to the clinical modality, the value of the qualification to their clients and clinical practice and/or organisation. Applicants for the Mental Health Nursing stream must be either registered general nurses holding a current practising certificate, or for those applicants who intend to undertake the course for re-registration, must previously have been registered as a mental health nurse and must provide evidence of registration and evidence of practice as a mental health nurse during the previous 10 years. Applicants for the Self-Management stream must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualificatiion in a relevant field from an approved tertiary institution. The Faculty Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature. All applicants must also attach a resume of 300-500 words detailing previous tertiary and other qualifications, the reasons for seeking the qualification, the relevant experience they would bring to the course, and the value of the qualification to their field of work with people with chronic conditions. International applicants undertaking a nursing stream which requires them to be registered general nurses must be eligible to register with the Nurses Board of South Australia, unless otherwise indicated. Registration must be obtained prior to commencing the course.
