With an increasing and ageing population, the nursing sector is anticipated to continue to grow. A Diploma of Nursing from Victoria University Polytechnic can help you launch a career in an industry where you’ll make a positive contribution to the people you care for, and the wider community. This course provides a pathway to many exciting and rewarding career options within the healthcare industry.

On completion, you will have the skills, competencies and knowledge to apply for registration as an Enrolled Nurse with the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Authority(external link) (AHPRA). You could find work in a variety of fields from public or private hospitals to private nursing or community health care facilities.

Potential areas of work include:

• acute care
• rehabilitation
• mental health
• aged care
• palliative care
• community care
• operating theatres
• general practice
• home nursing
• surgical care
• pathology
• paediatric care
• maternity.

Graduates of Victoria University Polytechnic and Victoria University’s nursing courses are known in the industry for their extensive practical experience before they finish their studies.

• 2 years

• Completion of an Australian Year 12 or equivalent. Applicants must also be able to demonstrate that they meet the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s (NMBA) English language skills registration standard.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Proof of this English language competency must be provided and can be achieved via one (1) of the following three (3) pathways:

1. Primary Language Pathway Applicants must be able to demonstrate that their primary language is English and they have satisfactorily completed at least six (6) years of primary and secondary education taught and assessed in English in either Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or United States of America, including at least two (2) years between years 7 and 12. 
2. Extended Education Pathway Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have satisfactorily completed five (5) years (full-time equivalent) of education taught and assessed in English, in any of the recognised countries. The five (5) years must include evidence of a minimum of one (1) year full-time equivalent study towards your vocational qualification (The Diploma of Nursing) which you are relying on to support your eligibility for registration under the National Law. Victoria University Polytechnic will only accept the completion of five (5) years (full-time equivalent) continuous education that is a combination of: - vocational and secondary education taught and assessed in English, or; - tertiary and vocational education taught and assessed in English, or; - combined tertiary, secondary and vocational education taught and assessed in English, or; - tertiary education taught and assessed in English. NOTE: The five (5) years referred to in the section above must include evidence of a minimum of one (1) year fulltime equivalent pre-registration program of study approved by the recognised nursing and/or midwifery regulatory body in any of the recognised countries. This means you can use your 24 month (2 year) program of study completed at VUP (Diploma of Nursing course) as evidence towards the total requirement of five (5) years. 
3. English Language Test Pathway Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have achieved the required minimum scores in one (1) of the following English language tests and meet the requirements for test results specified in NMBA’s English language skills registration standard: - IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band of 7.0 (with no individual band less than 7.0), or; - OET: minimum score of B in each of the four (4) bands, or; - TOEFL (Internet Based Test - IBT): minimum overall score of 94 (with minimum score of 24 in listening and reading, 27 in writing and 23 in speaking) and no score in any of the sections is below: 20 for listening, 19 for reading, 24 for writing, and 20 for speaking), or; - PTE (Pearson Test of English): minimum score of 65 each of the four (4) communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking. 

Placement requirements: In addition to the above requirements, for placement, all students must have or be able to apply for: - A current Working with Children Check (WWCC)(Bluecard mandatory); - A satisfactory Police Record check, and; - A Health Status check (immunisations status) are required for clinical placement purposes. These may be obtained post entry into the course but prior to first placement.