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The School of Nursing and Midwifery (SNM) first graduated students in 1992 from its Rockhampton campus. Since then the School has expanded to be located on another four campuses of CQUniversity: Mackay, Bundaberg, Noosa and Emerald. Since becoming a School in its own right the governance of the SNM now includes a strong professoriate with portfolios in learning and teaching, research and community engagement. Alongside these structures are the positions of heads of programs (undergraduate nursing, postgraduate and midwifery) and a strong work integrated learning (WIL) team under the direction of a lead academic.
The SNM provides on-campus and distance learning in its undergraduate program in nursing. The Graduate Diploma in Midwifery offers opportunities for students of midwifery to learn in a supernumerary or supported paid clinical environment. The Graduate Diploma and Master of Mental Health are new initiatives that have been well received by industry. New Postgraduate offerings are heralded for 2012, including a Postgraduate award in health professional education. The School boasts numbers of well over 1500 students.
Work integrated learning opportunities are a strong feature of our programs. Each campus has a clinical academic who fosters relationships with our clinical partners to provide excellence in work integrated learning in many diverse clinical settings. Being a regional university affords the School with opportunities for students to gain experience in rural and remote places as well as regional and metropolitan spaces.
Our staff members have a strong and growing focus on research and many are actively engaged in research projects that inform their teaching and practice. Their contribution to the profession has resulted in many publications in the form of journal articles, books and conference papers, all disseminating new knowledge in the professions of nursing and midwifery. PhD students are attracted to the School and are engaged in a variety of research studies. Our strengths in this area are presently focused on mental health, nursing practice and education with other areas of research growing year by year.
The School of Nursing and Midwifery has a growing academy; many staff members already hold higher degree qualifications (masters, PhD and Doctorates) with others working towards these qualifications. Some staff members have lived and worked overseas or in other academic settings in Australasia and bring a diverse range of skills and experience to share.
The School of Nursing and Midwifery boasts an energetic and creative group whose use of simulation is integral to their teaching. Mask-Ed was born at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at CQUniversity and the characters integral to this program are continually developing.
I encourage you to further explore this website. Read about our undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the vibrant portfolios, our research and scholarship and visit individual staff members' pages.
Professor Ysanne Chapman
Dean, School of Nursing and Midwifery
The School of Nursing and Midwifery at CQUniversity is committed to providing a quality education that ensures an experience of study that is both successful and enjoyable for students. The staff of the School encourage engagement in the education process regardless of the student's mode of enrolment. Curricula are built on solid foundations of educational principles and reflect the needs of the contemporary health care setting. The emphasis on work integrated learning ensures that the theoretical content of each program is transferable and applied in the variety of environments in which nurses and midwives are employed.
Research activities of staff in the School ensure that the curriculum for each course is evidence based and reflective of current practice. The globalised environment of health care requires an emphasis on internationalisation of curricula and programs offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery are developed and implemented with these principles in mind. Opportunities for international student placements are one example of how a global perspective of health care is instilled in graduates. Ultimately the School produces nurses and midwives that are highly sought after by industry through recognition of the quality of education that CQUniversity provides. Information about the various programs offered can be obtained through this site or by contacting staff via the links provided.
Nursing is a profession has that has changed dramatically over the past decades and continues to change through research and new technology and provides a career that is both challenging and exciting. Nursing offers the choice of working in varied specialty areas, following different career paths and a chance to belong to a profession that is in high demand both now and in the future. While nursing provides you the opportunity to help and care for people within the health environment, it also provides a rewarding and diverse career with unlimited job opportunities.
The Bachelor of Nursing (CQ23) offers a combination of theoretical and practical subjects to prepare you for your nursing career. You will cover areas such as nursing patients across the age spectrum, clinical assessment skills, acute nursing, mental health, wound and pain management, professional issues, pathophysiology and health promotion. Students can undertake study from Rockhampton, Mackay or Bundaberg campuses, or study by distance and attend regular residential schools. On completion of your study from CQ23, you will be eligible to apply for registration as a nurse with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. This registration opens up opportunities to work as a nurse across Australia and to apply to work anywhere in the world.
Postgraduate Courses
Professional nursing practice is no longer only a matter of keeping up-to-date with changes in practices. Health care professionals including nurses are at the forefront of change in practice, utilising new techniques and knowledge and acting as leaders in change processes in the workplace. The programs, Master of Mental Health Nursing and Master of Clinical (Specialisation), of study are designed to assist today's busy practitioners by developing the knowledge and skills in proactive practice while they gain a relevant postgraduate award.
The midwifery programs offered by CQUniversity are based on a philosophy of primary health care and partnership with the woman. The midwife/woman partnership model of care is woman-centred. Women-centred care embraces trust, empowerment, a supportive environment and continuity of care. Continuity of care enables women to establish trusting relationships with their midwifery partners. The midwifery programs promote students to provide women-centred care which is holistic encompassing, as accepted by the woman herself, the emotional, psychological and social as well as physical needs of the baby, the family and the community. Women-centeredness' places the woman in the position of power and control as the decision-maker during her unique childbearing journey. The midwifery programs at CQUniversity teach midwives to use their expertise and evidenced-based knowledge to support and help women discover their individuality and uniqueness to birth resulting in physical and psychological growth. In other words the woman?s ability to trust and know that her body can birth her baby is acknowledged and honoured by midwives.
CQUniversity Nursing was recently ranked at World Class standard by the Excellence in Research Australia exercise. This is a significant achievement for a regional university and with the recent recruitment and promotion of research active staff the School aspires to become one of the best research schools in Australia.
Staff of the School of Nursing and Midwifery have a diverse range of research interests, but most fit within one of the three following three strategic areas:
Mental Health Nursing
CQUniversity has a very strong mental health nursing team, demonstrated by a solid performance in grant income, refereed and other scholarly publications, higher degree by research candidate numbers and community engagement. The implementation of the Masters of Mental Health Nursing is expected to increase the number of higher degree students and stimulate further research activity.
Innovative Education
Learning and teaching is a major strength of the School, including simulation, curriculum development and the use of technology. This area of research is growing substantially with a number of academics choosing to follow a teaching only pathway in their careers.
Quality Outcomes in Health Care
This area draws on a number of research areas while providing focus to activities. Quality practice in health care can be underpinned by either primary health or acute care approaches The focus will be research that draws on the current health agenda and priorities that will inform health care policy, health care practices, quality and safety.
The School of Nursing and Midwifery plays an active role in community engagement through activities in learning and teaching, research and service. We strive to remain connected with our industry partners and communities as they play a crucial role in helping us deliver quality programs that are matched to the needs of our students and the profession. We are often described as a school of innovation and 'can do' attitude. Our campuses in Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Noosa continue to grow and each facilitate engagement through a range of activities at local, national and international level.
Our aim in Community Engagement is to:
Some of our key activities include:
CQUniversity CRICOS Provider Codes: QLD-00219C; NSW-01315F; VIC-01624D
