Bachelor of Nursing

La Trobe's standard Bachelor of Nursing places students into clinical environments from first year, drawing on the university's long-standing partnerships with major Victorian health providers, including Austin Health, the Royal Women's Hospital, and Bendigo Health, rather than waiting until later years to start placements. The 800 clinical placement hours run across acute care, chronic illness management, mental health, rehabilitation, community and emergency settings, and the course also carries a specific First Nations Health subject and an Indigenous health component woven into the broader curriculum, not treated as a standalone add-on.

Students are required to purchase a branded scrub top for placements, a small but telling detail of how seriously the clinical placement component is treated administratively. Since July 2025, eligible students on mandatory placements can access the Australian Government's Commonwealth Prac Payment, which matters in practice given how placement blocks affect a nursing student's ability to hold down paid work during those weeks.