Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Midwifery inherent requirements

Flinders College of Nursing and Health Sciences offers a Bachelor of Nursing and a Bachelor of Midwifery which meet the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council’s accreditation requirements and provides graduates with the necessary qualification leading to registration as a nurse or midwife in Australia with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia. Key nursing and midwifery practice skills are embedded and assessed in compulsory topics throughout the degrees.

Prospective students are encouraged to become aware of these requirements so that they can make an informed judgement about their ability to fulfil them before enrolling in the course.

Many of the activities associated with the professional practice of a registered nurse or midwife are time sensitive, where the capacity to perform certain activities within specified time limits is required to reduce or avoid risks to the safety and wellbeing of patients, women, babies and nursing and midwifery staff.

Students with health conditions, impairments, learning or other disabilities

Flinders University is committed to providing an inclusive environment and community for all students and staff, regardless of their ability or disability. Students may be provided with adjustments in teaching and/or assessment methods, provided such adjustments do not compromise the safety or wellbeing of any person, and technical and academic standards are maintained.

Students who anticipate that they might experience challenges in meeting the inherent requirements of this course are encouraged to discuss their concerns with a Disability Advisor in the first instance. The Student Disability Service is free and confidential to prospective and enrolled students.

Professional experience requirements

Before undertaking professional placements in South Australian government and non-government sites (e.g. hospitals and health care centers and community health programs), all students are obliged to obtain, then maintain, mandatory certificates (documents). For more information please see the professional placement pages. Students who, for whatever reason, cannot be issued with these documents in their first year (and thereafter) of their degree will be unable to continue in the program.
Students are required to undertake blocks of professional placement over the course of their degrees. Blocks of nursing or midwifery placements are provided at set times of the year and occur as continuous days of placement for a duration of between 2 – 8 weeks.
Professional placements occur in mixed gender and diverse, cultural environments, and they occur in a variety of locations which reflect the Australian health context.
The ability to maintain a continuous presence at a site during the blocks of nursing or midwifery placements is an expectation of professional placements.
Students are expected to attend professional placements in a variety of settings which include rural, remote and metropolitan environments
Students who feel they may not be able meet any of these requirements are advised to discuss their personal circumstances with a University Disability Advisor or the College of Nursing and Health Sciences Disability Academic Advisor to investigate whether this is a suitable career pathway for them.

Observational skills

The core observational skills for this course include:

At a distance:

observing the broader environment, e.g. observing multiple patients, computer monitors anddifferent components of the experience
precise and rapid reaction to sensory stimuli, e.g. identifying hazards and other safety issues and
reacting within a limited timeframe.

Close at hand:

gathering and interpreting data, e.g. patient notes, x-rays, hand-written, printed and onscreendocuments, test results, medication charts and clinical and pathological specimens
recognising and interpreting sensory stimuli relating to vision (including colour differentiation),hearing, smell, and touch.

Communication skills

The core communication skills for this course include:

Speech - a student must have the capacity/ability to:

effectively and efficiently communicate verbally in English and in a timely manner
speak to elicit information
instruct and describe as necessary
be understood by others
communicate sensitively and while ensuring the cultural safety of others and self.

Hearing - a student must have the capacity/ability to:

effectively understand verbal English in a timely manner
hear in order to gather and organise information
differentiate speech, background noise, alarms and other sounds
participate effectively in group discussions.

Observation - a student must have the capacity/ability to:

perceive and interpret non-verbal communication
interpret distress and a change in mood, activity or posture.

Writing - a student must have the capacity/ability to:

construct coherent written communication in English appropriate to the circumstances
document ideas and information
construct legible hand writing.

Reading - a student must have the capacity/ability to:

read information in English in a variety of formats, including hand-written and printed text,online information, charts, graphs and diagrams.

Motor skills

The core motor skills for this course must be sustainable and can be divided into fine and gross motor skills.

The required sustainable motor skills include the capacity/ability to:

maintain a consistent level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner andover time
perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on theactivity until it is completed appropriately
maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of duty.

The required fine motor skills include the capacity/ability to:

manipulate instruments, use hand–eye coordination to complete tasks as necessary andgather and interpret information through touch
perform and/or assist with diagnostic and therapeutic nursing or midwifery procedures.

The gross motor skills and mobility that are required include the capacity/ability to:

maintain a standing position while using both arms for another task, and undertake physical ormanual tasks, e.g. percussion, palpation or moving or positioning equipment
manoeuvre around equipment and in confined spaces and over defined distances and assist withpatient transfers
provide general and emergency patient care including basic life support (requires use of botharms and may require a kneeling position).

Behavioural and social skills

The core behavioural and social skills for this course that are required include the capacity/ability to:

demonstrate time sensitivity (e.g. completing a task in an appropriate and safe timeframe)
demonstrate behavioural stability while working constructively in a diverse and changingacademic and clinical environment. Behavioural stability is required to function and adapteffectively and sensitively in a demanding role such as nursing and midwifery practice.
function effectively in stressful situations
deal with uncertainties
demonstrate consistent cognitive function
demonstrate sufficient self-awareness to manage fluctuations in health and emotional status
adapt to change
maintain logical and realistic thinking patterns.

The social skills that are required include the capacity/ability to:

perceive, recognise and respond appropriately to emotion
perceive and respect relationship barriers
demonstrate personal insight with regard to safe and professional practice
work effectively with patients and colleagues from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

Intellectual – Conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities

Intellectual, conceptual, integrative and numerical abilities are required in the Bachelor of Nursing and the Bachelor of Midwifery programs.

For example, reasoning, problem-solving, and synthesis of information occur in a clinical context in which decisions and actions are required within defined timeframes.

Timeliness (e.g. completing a task in a safe/appropriate time frame) is a factor in relation to the intellectual, conceptual, integrative and numerical skills required as part of this program).

The types of reasoning that are required include the capacity/ability for:

clinical reasoning and rational thought
sound decision-making, consistent judgement
scientific reasoning
ethical reasoning
legal reasoning.

The types of problem-solving that are required include the capacity/ability to:

break problems down into their component parts
prioritise tasks and workload appropriately
undertake and interpret measurements
perform and interpret basic mathematical formulas and calculations.

The required ability to synthesise information includes the capacity/ability to:

locate appropriate and relevant information
process information relevant to practice
integrate and implement knowledge in practice
apply learned information in decision-making
use conceptual frameworks to guide practice and identify and apply important and relevantinformation
assess and interpret information to define a problem and develop a plan to resolve theproblem appropriately.

These are all core requirements of the courses because Nursing and Midwifery practice involves care of the whole person (physical, mental, emotional, sociocultural, spiritual and psychological). Nurses and midwives need to have a wide range of skills in order to meet accreditation requirements, registering authority requirements, and the provision of timely, safe and effective health care to patients, women and babies.

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences, as an education provider, has a legal responsibility for making sure they have provided the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery board of Australia (NMBA), with the details of all students enrolled in an approved program of study or who are undertaking clinical training. The Board may refuse student registration for one or more of the following reasons:

a student’s health is impaired to such a degree that there may be substantial risk of harm to the public
a student has been found guilty of an offence punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more
a student has a conviction of, or is the subject of, a finding of guilt for an offence punishable by imprisonment.