Career Pathways for Enrolled Nurses
Generally, it takes around 18 months to complete a Diploma of Nursing course and be on your way to practicing as an Enrolled nurse. If you are a soon-to-graduate enrolled nurse, then you most likely want to know what your options are for career pathways under this title.
Fortunately, as an enrolled nurse, your position is a sought-after one by health institutions all around Australia. You may choose to work in a regular hospital setting in the city, or in regional and rural areas where professional healthcare services provided by nurses are equally needed.
Although it is not a general requirement by the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to have completed a transition to practice program before you start along the path of your profession, you may still opt for this to increase your credentials as an enrolled nurse. You may enquire with us at Education Training and Employment Australia (ETEA) regarding the requirements for transition to practice (graduate) programs.
As an enrolled nurse, you have the option to work in any of these areas:
Specialist clinics
General medical and surgical unit
Day surgery unit
Aged care
Psychiatric, forensic and correctional health
Emergency
Theatre nursing, and many more areas.
You may even opt to work in a casual nurse bank or agency, where you can enjoy the flexibility of choosing which shifts you are available to work. A nurse bank or agency can also give you experience in handling different areas and hospitals, as well as the opportunity for future permanent employment. By submitting your curriculum vitae (CV) and a cover letter to the human resources departments for nurse bank or the relevant agency, you can obtain a position in this area; after which you will need to complete general online competencies, such as hand hygiene, fire and emergency procedures, managing bloods, medications, and practical competency of basic adult life support. It will be important for you to be fully-oriented and have good familiarity with the policies and procedures of the workplace you have chosen to work for.
Nursing is indeed a very fulfilling profession in the knowledge that you are providing care to others, for the betterment of their health. Yet you should be aware that altruism shouldn’t be the only reason for you to enter this profession. Although a sense of altruism serves as a major purpose for most people to enter into nursing, it can also cause great disappointments when you are not ready for the realities of what being a nurse actually entails. Work stress that eventually leads to burnout, or emotional exhaustion are some experiences that nurses with purely altruistic motives have encountered. Find other purposes as well that this profession can provide you with, so that you can have a more well-rounded purpose and outlook.
After all, nursing was never meant to be treated as a sideline job. Choosing to become a nurse requires a good amount of dedication to this path, as you embrace the needs of your patients for empathic and dedicated healthcare. The rewards of being an enrolled nurse, however, can be far-reaching and deeply fulfilling.
Education Training and Employment Australia (ETEA) can get you well on your way to becoming a qualified and competent enrolled nurse, with our course offering in Diploma of Nursing HLT54115. We will equip you with instruction and practical training that is at par with Australian healthcare standards, so that you can secure yourself with a fruitful career as a professional healthcare provider, both in Australia and internationally. Enquire with us today.
Education Training and Employment Australia
Email: info@etea.edu.au
Domestic Students: 131389
International : +61 3945 00500
Head Office: Level 1, 113 Burgundy St,
Heidelberg 3084, VIC
