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Nursing Education

GASTROENTEROLOGY NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS

UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing – Gastroenterology

To apply for a scholarship for 2011, please contact Ellen Rawstron Ellen.Rawstron@aci.health.nsw.gov.au or Ph: (02) 8644 2185

UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing - Gastroenterology

The current course available is the UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing - Gastroenterology Clinical Accreditation Program (CAP) in gastroenterology / hepatology. In brief, the program provides nurses with opportunities to expand advanced clinical and professional competence through a series of activities that are individualised to the individual's requirements over 30 weeks. The program consists of:

6 clinical competencies,
2 clinical case presentations,
Activity that contributes to ongoing learning:
- Policy document revision
- Critical incident reflective assignment
Rotations and/or Clinical Nurse Consultant experiences (dependent on institution)

Students are assigned a facilitator who provides opportunities for participants to take responsibility for their own learning. In addition, students have regular performance review and development planning to assist them throughout the program.

The program was designed such that new competencies can be incorporated to meet areas of need, and therefore, can be made more applicable for the nurses wanting to expand into hepatology. It is envisaged that hospitals with a hepatology specialty will look to commence a CAP linked to the UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing.

Gastroenterology Nurse Scholarships

The Agency for Clinical Innovation will provide part-scholarships to gastroenterology nurses who participate in the UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing - Gastroenterology.

Click here to download a Gastroenterology ACI part-scholarship form.

Hepatology Nurse Scholarships

In developing strategies for implementing the 2008 Review into Treatment and Care Services, the Hepatitis Working Group identified that to increase the number of people with hepatitis C being treated, the nursing workforce (as the main treatment providers) needed to be increased and provided with opportunities to acquire the appropriate training and experience. It was recommended that the nurses participate in accredited courses to further develop their training.

The AIDS and Infectious Disease Branch NSW Health has provided the ACI with funding for scholarships for nurses in the area of hepatology. The following criterion applies to nurses who wish to apply for the scholarship. Applicants must be:

Hepatology Nurses who currently have a position in hepatology treatment services (hepatitis C in particular)
Gastroenterology Nurses who wish to increase their skills in hepatology

Click here to download a Hepatology ACI part-scholarship form.

NSW Health - Scholarship Opportunities

The NSW Department of Health offers scholarships to Registered Nurses employed in the NSW public health system taking postgraduate nursing courses. For further information and an application form please see the NSW Health website:

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/nursing/scholarships.asp

Alternatively, contact the NSW Health Project Officer - Scholarships directly on:

Tel: (02) 9391 9813 or Email at nscholar@doh.health.nsw.gov.au

UTS Acute Care Nursing Course

Early discussions by the Network's Nurses Working Group led to a rapid consensus that there was a need for professional development and educational opportunities to encourage more nurses (particularly new graduate nurses) into the growing specialty of gastroenterology.

To gauge the likely support for a post-graduate university course for Registered Nurses working in public gastroenterology services, the Network took forward a survey of NSW Area Health Service Directors of Nursing. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and indicated strong support for a university course. As no suitable postgraduate university course existed at the time, the Executive undertook discussions in 2006 with the NSW Chief Nursing Officer, the National Director of Education of the Gastroenterological Nurses College of Australia (GENCA) and the Dean of Nursing, Midwifery and Health and senior lecturers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

The Network established a working party in 2006 in conjunction with the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, UTS to identify the gastroenterology components of the post-graduate course, UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing and to examine the feasibility of individualising subjects for gastroenterology nurses. The course was mapped against both gastroenterology-specific nursing and the GENCA advanced competencies. This led to the introduction of a UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing course with four subjects: a pathophysiology subject, two clinical theory subjects, with gastroenterology components and a professional portfolio subject, individualised for the gastroenterology nurse.

Further details about the UTS Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing are available online at:

http://www.handbook.uts.edu.au/courses/c11201.html

Nurses who wish to find out more should contact UTS:

Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, UTS
www.nmh.uts.edu.au
General Enquiries                                   Phone: 9514 5021 or 5202
Faculty Student Office                            Fax: 9514 5513
(Prospective students)