Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing

2023 Deakin University Handbook

Note: You are seeing the 2023 view of this course information. These details may no longer be current. [Go to the current version]

Year	2023 course information
Award granted	Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing
Course Map	This course map is for new students commencing from Semester 1 2023. This course map is for new students commencing from Semester 2 2023. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Campus	This course is only offered Online
Online	Yes
Duration	1 year part-time study Note: This course is only available part-time
Deakin course code	H567
Approval status	This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8.

Course sub-headings

Course overview

Critical care nurses work in some of the most complex health environments across emergency departments, ICUs and other high dependency units. As a registered nurse, Deakin’s Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing will build on your existing knowledge and skills, preparing you to provide high-quality care to the critically ill across a range of settings.

Our School of Nursing and Midwifery is ranked 20th in the world*. It is one of Australia’s best and most established schools with cutting-edge nursing research recognised as well above world standard. Our strong industry connections mean you will be guided by experts in critical care nursing as you explore the current and emerging trends, concepts, knowledge and evidence that provides the policy and practice framework of critical care nursing.

Are you ready to build on you existing knowledge and skills and take the next step in your nursing career?

Deakin’s Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing prepares you to take the next step in your nursing career. Our graduates are able to demonstrate ethical, safe, high-quality and expert clinical decision-making abilities within an interdisciplinary team.

Your specialised theoretical knowledge, evidence-based practice and person-centred care will allow you to practise effectively across a range of settings, ensuring you are well placed to meet the industry demand for nurses with speciality skills.

Deakin’s strong industry connections ensure a high level of collaboration and support during your clinical practice. This means that while you study you can immerse yourself in your specialty practice area with one of our numerous metropolitan, rural and regional health partners across Australia.

Our innovative online program delivers a rich, interactive and empowering learning experience designed for postgraduate nursing students. Live-streaming seminars and class discussions will encourage critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork skills. Australia’s top-rated tech support and access to our expert teaching staff means you can learn at your own pace, when and where it suits you, without compromising quality or support.

This course enables you to:

analyse and provide advanced patient care in response to complex data from patient and technologically derived sources
perform focused, systematic and methodical patient assessments
develop an advanced understanding of normal physiology, and the pathophysiology of illness and injury of critically ill patients
collaboratively assess and provide advanced management of specific patient groups: paediatrics, trauma, gynaecological, obstetric, oncology, older persons and those presenting with cardiovascular, renal, neurological and respiratory dysfunction
develop greater decision-making autonomy, critical thinking and leadership skills, advanced clinical judgement, and enhanced professionalism.

Graduates are prepared to handle the contemporary challenges critical care nurses may face with a course that responds to industry trends and demands. You will learn how to make a difference through roles in areas such as practice, education, leadership and research.*

*2022 ShanghaiRankings Ranking of Academic Subjects.
^Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) 2018.

Indicative student workload

As a student in the Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing you can expect to participate in a range of teaching and learning activities each week. You will attend on-line synchronous study days and complete asynchronous guided learning modules. There are also additional self-directed study commitments to complete both university and clinical assessment tasks.

Professional recognition

Nurses employed under the Victorian public hospital award receive a higher duties allowance for postgraduate qualifications relevant to their practice.

Career opportunities

With job growth of 13.9% projected for registered nurses by 2026#, there is an industry demand for nurses with sophisticated specialty skills. Our Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing allows you to meet that demand in a variety of roles across advanced practice, leadership, management and education in regional, rural or metropolitan hospitals including:

critical care nurse
associate or unit manager
clinical nurse specialist
clinical nurse educator

#2021 Employment Outlook – for the five years to November 2026, Australian Government National Skills Commission.

Clinical practice

To undertake this course you must independently secure employment of at least 24 hours per week in a critical care setting within a collaborating hospital in Australia.

Articulated courses

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on your course, the type of fee place you hold, your commencement year, the units you choose and your study load.

Use the Fee estimator to see course and unit fees applicable to your course and type of place. Further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods is available on our Current students fees website.

Course Learning Outcomes

Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Demonstrate safe psychomotor skills and clinical practice commensurate with critical care nursing theoretical knowledge, evidence-based practice and person-centred care.
Communication	Demonstrate communication skills to develop and implement plans of care to ensure the delivery of quality, safe nursing care to patients in the critical care setting.
Digital literacy	Evaluate information using digital technologies to effectively disseminate relevant critical care information to patients and/or the multidisciplinary team.
Critical thinking	Identify and evaluate complex data from multiple sources to inform clinical decision making in the critical care setting.
Problem solving	Apply specialised nursing knowledge and skills to routine and complex problems in the critical care setting to optimise patient outcomes.
Self-management	Demonstrate professionalism, accountability, reflection, and personal autonomy as a critical care nurse.
Teamwork	Establish and maintain inclusive, collaborative professional relationships with all members of the multidisciplinary team.
Global citizenship	Display accountability for, and sound professional judgement in behaviours that uphold ethical principles of practice within diverse social, cultural, and environmental contexts.

Course rules

To complete the requirements of the Graduate Certificate of Critical Care Nursing, students must attain 4 credit points of core (compulsory) units, taken over one year of part-time study.

Both the theoretical and clinical components of the assessment for each unit must be passed in order to successfully gain an overall pass in this course. Compulsory clinical hurdles form part of the assessment of this course.

Note: Failure of a compulsory clinical component in a unit will normally lead to exclusion.

All commencing Faculty of Health course work students are required to complete HAI010 Academic Integrity in their first trimester of study (0 credit point compulsory unit).