Bachelor of Nursing

UC's Bachelor of Nursing opens with a ten-day clinical placement in first semester specifically so students can test, early, whether nursing as a career matches what they expected. It's a deliberate design choice rather than easing students in slowly. Across the rest of the degree, students complete a minimum of 800 hours of clinical practice spanning community care, mental health, aged care, medical and surgical wards, rehabilitation, palliative care, operating theatre, emergency department and ICU.

Placements run through Canberra Hospital, North Canberra Hospital, Goulburn Base Hospital and a number of private clinics across the ACT, southern NSW and as far as Bega, giving students exposure to both metropolitan and regional health settings within the one degree.

On-campus preparation makes heavy use of high-fidelity simulation (manikins, emerging AI and VR tools, and even trained actors standing in for patients), so students rehearse clinical and communication skills repeatedly in a controlled setting before they're let loose on the placement hours that make up the bulk of their professional preparation.