Critical care nurses provide essential care to high-dependency patients. It’s a specialist role that requires collaboration within a multidisciplinary team, ensuring patients receive the highest quality care when facing potentially life-threatening conditions.

The Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing expands the scope of practice for registered nurses. It advances your knowledge, specialist skills and core competencies in critical care nursing, equipping you with the expertise to care for patients and their families in high-pressure environments.

Drawing on current evidence-based practice in the care and management of the critically ill, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills, as well as your critical care knowledge and capabilities. You’ll also acquire the skills to analyse and critique the delivery of specialist nursing care in the current healthcare context. Through this course, you’ll become proficient in using evidence-based nursing knowledge and skills to plan, implement and evaluate the provision of care in critical care environments.

Offered in a blended online and work-integrated learning model, this flexibly delivered course will enable you to competently practice as a critical care registered nurse in accordance with the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Practice Standards.

Who is this course for

This course is for currently practising registered nurses. To be eligible, you must hold a Bachelor of Nursing degree (or equivalent training), documented clinical experience in an acute care setting within the five years prior to applying for the course, and current employment in a specialist nursing environment.

To apply, you must be a registered nurse and have the support of your employing hospital for the Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing, and the employing hospital must be equipped to support you to complete your studies.

International nurses with a working visa who meet the course entry requirements are also eligible to apply.

This course is not available to international students unless registered under APHRA as a Division 1 Registered Nurse or holding equivalent registration with an international health practitioner regulation agency.

Pathways

Upon completion of the Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing, you will meet the entry requirements for the Master of Advanced Nursing Practice.