Bachelor of Nursing with Honours

This course is designed for eligible graduates of the Bachelor of Nursing degree and equivalent degrees.

Successful completion of the program will provide graduates with a sound basis for subsequent leadership in nursing practice, research and education as well as enabling them to progress to higher degree research at masters or PhD levels.

Course Aims

The Bachelor of Nursing with Honours aims to provide eligible students the opportunity to develop knowledge, problem-solving and conceptual skills at an advanced level. The course provides students with techniques and skills for later postgraduate research and enhanced professional career progression.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: demonstrate extensive knowledge, problem-solving and conceptual skills necessary to conduct ethically sound research that is justifiable in the discipline of nursing; demonstrate capacity to devise and complete all components of a thesis under supervision for an approved research proposal in an appropriate timeframe; demonstrate skills and techniques necessary to advance to postgraduate research and/or further career progression; and demonstrate academic writing skills necessary to produce a thesis and/or papers for scholarly publication.

Graduate Attributes

Knowledge of a Discipline Graduates will have coherent and advanced knowledge of the underlying principles and concepts in Nursing as well as highly developed knowledge of research principles and methods and an advanced comprehension of one particular area of study that the student has selected to research. Supervisors will guide students to identify important resources that will be used as the basis for their dissertation. This knowledge will then be assessed throughout the degree through a range of assessment tasks to be determined by the relevant discipline, including the dissertation. Communication Skills Graduates will have high level communication skills, oral and written, and be able to present a clear and coherent exposition of knowledge and ideas to a variety of audiences. Guided by their supervisor, these communication skills will be developed by students when completing, for example, ethics applications, contacting potential research participants, conducting empirical and other research, communicating their ideas orally and in the writing of the dissertation. The honing of these skills will stand students in good stead for the workplace. Problem Solving Graduates will have cognitive skills to review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to identify and provide solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence. With initiative and judgement these skills will enable students to adapt knowledge and skills in diverse contexts. Students will need to locate, evaluate and interpret information in a useful manner and will be assessed on their ability to deconstruct relevant literature and to integrate theoretical and critical approaches into their work. Information Literacy Graduates will be able to recognise pertinent information and will have the advanced cognitive skills to use appropriate media, tools and methodologies to locate, access, critically analyse and interpret information. They will have the cognitive skills to exercise critical and creative thinking and judgement in developing new understanding of a subject. Ethical Conduct and Social Responsibility Ethical, professional and social responsibility is at the heart of nursing. Students' capabilities in this attribute will be enhanced through their engagement with the research project process, peers and supervisor. Lifelong Learning Graduates will have the research and critical thinking skills as well as intellectual capacity to enable them to continually further their learning. These attributes will be fostered throughout the honours program. Through completing the coursework and dissertation students will be provided with the necessary lifelong skills to be able to, with a degree of independence, research, write about and discuss critical issues. These skills can be transferred to any discipline, will be useful in any career positions and are essentially lifelong competencies. Independence and Collaboration Graduates will be able to exercise responsibility and accountability for their own learning and professional practice as well as the ability to work collaboratively with others within broad parameters. Students will be required to participate in professional, respectful and ethical discussions with their supervisor, and with other students, on issues associated with their area of study.