Nursing, Paramedicine & Midwifery
When you study nursing with us, you will be studying at the university which is a forerunner in health care simulation and scenario based learning across health disciplines. Our well qualified staff and world class facilities position us as the premium provider of nursing qualifications in WA.
We are passionate in finding better ways to educate nurses, midwives, medical practitioners and health professionals.
Research activities and teaching in our Nursing, Paramedicine & Midwifery disciplines are built upon a collaboration of world-class researchers, industry leaders and clinical experts.
Our research strengths in these disciplines include cancer and palliative care, aged care, mental health, acute and clinical care, midwifery, child health and primary health care.
ECU Nursing: Offering Graduates Amazing Employment Opportunities
Twenty new graduate Registered Nurses who completed their undergraduate nursing degrees at ECU have successfully gained positions in the graduate program at Joondalup Health Campus. Eleven of these students have elected to continue their relationship with ECU by enrolling in the postgraduate Graduate Certificate in Transition Nursing whilst participating in their hospital based graduate course. Similar links exist between ECU and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for new graduates.
These healthcare facilities also have strong links with ECU in their postgraduate specialty courses, including cardiac, renal, ICU, paediatrics and oncology nursing. The bipartisan agreements between these facilities and ECU ensure postgraduate students have the best of both the academic and clinical support staff to assist them in their studies.
Research Aiming to Improve the Profession
Improved nurse staffing levels were associated with a 25 per cent decrease in the rate of patient deaths, according to a study conducted by ECU's Head of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Postgraduate Medicine, Professor Di Twigg. The research entitled, "The impact of nursing hours per patient day (NHPPD) staffing method on patient outcomes: A retrospective analysis of patient and staffing data", was conducted over a four‑year period starting in 2002 when a new staffing method (NHPPD) was first implemented.
This research is one of the first studies to examine this specific nurse staffing policy. Nurses play a vital role in terms of enabling the early detection and prompt intervention when patients' conditions deteriorate. The ability of nurses to initiate actions that minimise adverse events and negative outcomes for patients is directly linked to the hours of care provided. Professor Twigg says the research argues that the number of nurses is important to patient safety and strategies must be developed to ensure an adequate nursing workforce. This must be recognised as a shared responsibility between policy makers and the nursing profession. The findings of this study are supported by similar findings internationally and both extends knowledge and improves the quality of life for Australians and people around the world.
"Postgraduate education is an essential component of maintaining the credibility of nursing as a profession."
"In terms of career progression, postgraduate study has become a prerequisite for appointment to senior positions. However, with a full-time job, husband and three children, I needed a course that would fit in to both home and work, as work/life balance is a priority to me. The ability to complete the course off-campus was therefore of great value. Whilst the idea of online learning can be quite daunting the actual experience was enriching and the support, encouragement and words of wisdom from the module tutors and my research supervisors was excellent."
Janet Jones
Master of Nursing graduate
A Joint Health Project Aiming to Reduce Building Pressure on the WA Health System
As the population ages and healthcare needs increase, there is a greater demand on the health system, and that can mean increased difficulty getting the right care at the right time. In line with this, Associate Professor Moira Sim and her team at the Systems Intervention Research Centre for Health have been awarded a State Health Research Advisory Council Research Translation grant to test home care options for patients.
In a joint project between ECU, UWA, St John Ambulance WA and Silver Chain, the paramedics called to the scene will assess whether a patient could be treated at home rather than being taken to a hospital. If the patient has a low risk condition which can be safely treated at home, they will be randomly allocated to one of two conditions: treatment at home or the usual care. Those allocated to the home treatment arm will be assessed by Silver Chain for its Home Hospital. Those in the usual care arm will be transported to hospital.
The research aims to demonstrate the advantages of home care through the analysis of clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, costs and the use of resources such as hospital beds, with the overall objective of improving healthcare in WA by finding ways to reduce hospital wait times.
Research centres
Our Nursing, Paramedicine & Midwifery disciplines are heavily involved with several leading research centres, either in leadership or partner roles. Centres include the Systems and Intervention Research Centre for Health, the Western Australian Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care, the Centre for Health and Ageing, the National Nursing and Midwifery and Research Institute and the WA Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research and Care.
In addition, we provide lead university status to a number of industry based centres of excellence with international profiles, such as The Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Centre for Nursing Research.
Leading the market in education excellence
Our new Centre of Excellence in Healthcare Simulation and demonstration areas housed in the new Health and Wellness building on the Joondalup Campus provides a safe authentic environment for clinical skills development.
The simulation suites can be configured to different settings such as operating theatres, consulting rooms, wards, birthing suites and intensive care. Each suite has cutting edge recording and interactive audio-visual facilities and its own set up/debriefing rooms and observation areas.
The Centre will lead many new initiatives in healthcare simulation and scenario based learning for nursing, midwifery, medical, allied health and health management professionals.
A partnership has been forged with Laerdal Pty Ltd, international leaders in human patient simulators and other products for health care training and therapy, and will further the development of this Centre and the associated exciting research agenda into simulation teaching and learning practice development.
A partnership with the WA Academy of Performing Arts provides actors to perform the roles for scenarios so students can feel the realistic and practical nature of the situation.