Entry requirements

To practice safely in Australia, health practitioners, including nurses, must have strong English language skills. This includes being able to communicate effectively with patients and their relatives, collaborate with other health care professionals and keep clear and accurate health records.

Students are required to provide evidence of having sufficient language, literacy and numeracy skills to successfully undertake the program’s academic and workplace experience requirements, prior to commencing the program. The initial requirement for enrolment is that students are to provide evidence they have completed 6 years of schooling where the education was delivered and assessed solely in English. 

Domestic students

Domestic students who have successfully completed Year 12 English will not be required to complete a Basic Key Skills Builder (bksb) assessment of language and literacy.

Domestic students who have completed Year 12 studies without Mathematics will be required to complete a Basic Key Skills Builder (bksb) assessment for numeracy and achieve a competency of at least Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).

International students

Prior to enrolment, students schooled outside of Australia must provide evidence of a formal English language test result, demonstrating they have achieved the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) minimum requirements as specified in the English language skills.

The assessment must have been completed less than 2 years ago.

Formal English language tests are listed below, with their required outcomes to support enrolment*:-

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) - a minimum score of 7.0 overall and in each of the four (4) components
• Occupational English Test (OET) - a minimum score of ‘B’ in each of the four (4) components
• Pearson’s Test of English (PTE) - a minimum score of 65 in each of the four (4) communicative skills
• Test of English as a Foreign Language / Internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT) - a minimum score of 94 overall with a minimum score in each section:
  • 24 for listening
  • 24 for reading
  • 27 for writing
  • 23 for speaking

*Please refer to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia for further specific requirements for an accepted test result.

All International students will need to complete, prior to enrolment, a Basic Key Skills Builder (bksb) assessment in numeracy and achieve a competency of at least Exit Level 3 in the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).

This is a requirement in accordance with TAFE Queensland and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC)

Selection criteria

Candidates who enrol into HLT54115 Diploma of Nursing transition program will undergo gap training to map their previous successful units from HLT51612 to HLT54115 through assessments/activities and practical tests and must demonstrate the following criteria:

• Successful completion of units in the HLT51612 Diploma of Nursing (Enrolled-Division 2 Nursing) achieved within the last 5 years.
• Previous study needs to be validated by TAFE Queensland Gold Coast including evidence of any practical components.  This may involve TAFE Queensland contacting your previous education organisation to validate the studies.  If a document cannot be validated, the candidate may need to contact Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), incurring the cost for their official results, which could take up to 6 weeks.

Placement

Units in the HLT54115 Diploma of Nursing course have specific performance evidence that candidates need to successfully complete. The unit performance evidence details the skill or skills to be demonstrated:

• The number of times the skill or skills need to be satisfactorily demonstrated and;
• Where the skill has to be demonstrated, such as in the workplace environment or simulated environment (or both)

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council requires students enrolled in HLT54115 Diploma of Nursing course to successfully complete a minimum of 400 hours of vocational placement.

These hours may need to be increased to assist the candidate to meet the required workplace demonstration of skills listed in the units that make up HLT54115 Diploma of Nursing. It is the responsibility of the candidate to provide their own transport and be prepared to accommodate shift work including early morning starts, late afternoon shifts, pubic holidays or weekends.

Candidates must supply mandatory placement documentation at their time of enrolment, including but not limited to:

• Blue Card
• Current Federal Police Check
• Evidence of current vaccination and/or immunity for the vaccine preventable diseases - MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella, dTpa, Tuberculosis and/or immunity (details of evidence are available from the Vocational Placement Coordinator at your campus)

If your police check identifies that you have a criminal history or you are unable to obtain a Blue Card, you may be disqualified from being eligible to undertake placement and assessment, which would affect your course outcomes. If you think this might impact you, please speak to the relevant Vocational Placement Coordinator for further information.

Please note: All costs to obtain the evidence/documentation will be endured by the candidate. 

Resources required

No recommended textbook list will be provided. Candidates who enrol into the transition program will obtain electronic access to our library, Clinical Key database for all learning resources and Studiosity for after-hours academic support.

Uniforms are to  be purchased at a cost to the candidate and must be worn in all simulated workshops or while on placement. Further details to purchase the uniform will be provided at time of enrolment.

Need to know

Prior to attending vocational placement, students in the HLT54115 Transition Program will need to demonstrate their ability to perform safely and competently for their particular level of learning.  Successful completion of simulated assessment tasks assists TQ assessors to make a judgement about a student’s preparedness for vocational placement in the workplace. 

Depending on the outcome of an individual evaluation of prior learning and assessment, students in the HLT54115 Transition Program will need to successfully complete a Stage 1, Stage 2 or Stage 3 oral simulated clinical assessment (OSCA) before undertaking vocational placement: 

• If a student has not successfully completed Stage 1 VPC within the past 12 months, the student will be required to undertake a Stage 1 OSCA assessment prior to commencing vocational placement.
• If a student has not successfully completed Stage 2 VPC within the past 12 months, the student will be required to undertake a Stage 2 OSCA assessment prior to commencing vocational placement.
• If a student has not successfully completed Stage 3 VPC within the past 12 months, the student will be required to undertake a Stage 3 OSCA assessment prior to commencing vocational placement.

Also, students who have not successfully completed a medication calculation exam within the past 12 months will be required to do so before commencing Stage 2 or Stage 3 vocational placements.

Assessment Methods

Skill and knowledge assessments are an essential step in progressing through your course. You may be assessed in a number of ways while you are studying at TAFE Queensland, including observation, written assessment, questioning, portfolios, work samples, third-party feedback, and through recognition of prior learning. Read more about assessment methods.