Study Nursing at Griffith University, Queensland

Nursing is a vibrant and challenging career focused on maintaining health and wellbeing.

Today’s nurses are reflective practitioners who must not only react to illness and stress, but also be technically skilled, proactive and able to work in partnership with others in helping people enjoy healthier lives. 

Griffith’s Bachelor of Nursing degree:

• is accredited with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia,
• emphasises the practice-based nature of nursing with many compulsory clinical placements throughout the programme,
• offers selected students the opportunity to participate in an international short-term clinical placement working on a Community Development project in Laos,
• offers access to state-of-the-art equipment and nursing facilities,
• has a very committed and experienced staff base with strong industry contacts.

Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing

Griffith University is home to the NCREN, Australia’s first Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). NCREN leads world class clinical research to examine the complexity of hospital patient care and provides evidence to ensure research knowledge is translated into healthcare policy and nursing practice to improve the care hospitalised patients receive.

Clinical practice labs

Griffith’s clinical practice labs are set up with state-of-the-art audio-visual teaching equipment and the latest nursing facilities currently used in hospitals. Treatment rooms provide a realistic hospital setting for students to practice key skills in patient care including:

• wound care materials
• catheterisation  equipment
• IV parental equipment
• feeding modules
• manual handling equipment
• patient mobility support aids
• a wide variety patient care charts, heath education and promotion materials

A range of anatomically realistic simulation manikins allow students to practice patient care scenarios in realistic settings. The labs include: 

• adult manikins with pulses, heart and lung, vocal and bowel sounds,
• adult and baby resuscitation manikins,
• wound simulations,
• placebo pharmacological units,
• audio-visual teaching equipment.

Short Term Placement in Laos

The School of Nursing and Midwifery at Griffith University has offered short term placements to Laos for the past five years. The three week placement is to a Community Development project in the Seuang River Valley, three hours north of Luang Prabang. As an immersion placement, students and academics home-stay with local families in small villages, with only basic bedding and washing facilities, eating local food and participating in village life. Each community has between 200-400 people, and many have little or no access to regular health care. Infectious diseases, typhoid, gastroenteritis and basic musculoskeletal injuries are common in the community, but can often be treated with the right clinical equipment and knowledge.

Additionally, student and staff raise funds to support a specific community development project each year. So far the project has provided electricity to two local health clinics, construction of a High School toilets and washing facilities with permanent water supply, extension of a remote clinic to include kitchen, toilet and bathing area and just recently provided funds to complete the water supply and repair a local primary school building.

Postgraduate options

If you’re currently working in nursing or in allied health, you can develop your skills further through Griffith’s postgraduate programmes. These emphasise professional development and research preparation, and allow you to choose from a wide range of specialisations. All of Griffith’s postgraduate programmes offer flexibility in programme structure and mode of offering.

Ranking and reputation

Griffith University's nursing programmes have recently been ranked 29th best in the world by the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016.