Postgraduate Nurse Programs

The Graduate Diploma in Acute Care Nursing is offered in affiliation with Latrobe University and is a 12- month program. Students of this program enrol in a Master of Nursing with the option to course complete with a Graduate Diploma of Acute Care Nursing after one year. This program is designed to assist nurses in developing higher-order clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills. The Graduate Diploma of Acute Care Nursing will also assist the development of specialised clinical proficiency as well as the exceptional communication skills that are required to care for complex and acutely unwell patients within a chosen clinical practice area.

The Graduate Diploma in Acute Care Nursing, offered in affiliation with Latrobe University will be clinically supported by the RMH Nursing Education Team with employment opportunities available in the following clinical areas:

Medical Services

Completing the Acute Care Program within the Medical Services includes an optional rotation to the Respiratory Care Unit where participants will gain exposure and experience in caring for patient requiring Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV). Ward options include:

• Acute Medical Unit (AMU)
• General Medicine
• General Medicine & Respiratory Care Unit
• Infectious Diseases and Gastroenterology

General Surgical Services

The Acute Care program offered within the Surgical Services is a rotational program. The program includes 3, 4-month rotations on the following wards:

• Emergency General Surgery
• Colorectal Surgery
• Vascular, Urology, Breast Oncology and Endocrinology

Trauma Services

Completing the Acute Care Program with the Trauma Service involves employment on one of the following wards:

• Trauma and Plastics 
• Orthopaedics

Nursing Resource Team Pool (NRTP)

• Work across wards within both the medical and surgical (general and trauma) services

Sample course structure

Find out more at La Trobe Master of Nursing.

The Graduate Certificate of Nursing Practice (GCNP) - Cardiac Care is designed to prepare nurses to meet contemporary challenges in cardiac nursing and interventional cardiology within the specialist field of critical care nursing and to progressively build on knowledge and skills required to comprehensively care for critically ill patients.

The GCNP is conducted with our affiliate university, Deakin University.

The Cardiac Care course is site-based (subject to COVID-19 educational delivery restrictions) and offered online through Cloud. Applicants must be currently employed or application successful when applying for this course.

The GCNP (Cardiac Care) is a 4 credit point, part-time, clinical coursework program. It consists of three subjects completed over 12 months.

Sample course structure

Semester 1

• DA1001 Academic Integrity (0 credit points)

• HNN791 Core Principles of Critical Care Nursing(2 Credit Points) 

Semester 2

• HNN795 Cardiac Nursing(2 Credit Points)*

Find out more at GCNP - Cardiac Care on the Deakin University website.

The RMH Cardiothoracic ward is a 30 bed ward compromised of 12 high dependency unit (HDU) beds and 18 stepdown beds. The knowledge and skills you acquire from the course will enable you to deliver specialised nursing care for postoperative patients who have had heart and lung surgery, in both the ward and the HDU environment.

The ward has a positive and vibrant team culture and a reputation for delivering nurse-led, high acuity care. This makes it an excellent and challenging learning environment in which to develop Critical Care Skills with a strong respiratory and cardiac focus. 

The Graduate Certificate of Nursing Practice (GCNP) - Cardiac Care is designed to prepare nurses to meet contemporary challenges in cardiothoracic nursing and interventional cardiology within the specialist field of critical care nursing and to progressively build on knowledge and skills required to comprehensively care for critically ill patients.

The GCNP is conducted with our affiliate university, Deakin University.

The GCNP (Cardiac Care) is a four-credit point, part-time, clinical coursework program. It consists of three subjects completed over a 12 months.

Course structure 

Semester1

• HAI010 Academic Integrity (0 credit points)
• HNN791 Core Principles of Critical Care Nursing (2 credit points)*

Semester 2

• HNN795 Cardiac Nursing (2 credit points)*

Find out more at GCNP - Cardiac Care on the Deakin University website.

Apply for the Cardiac Care program

The RMH Cardiac Catheter Laboratories caters for patients undergoing planned (elective) and emergency cardiac procedures with a 24/7 on call service. Procedures include coronary angiogram, pacing, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), complex congenital structural intervention and a world leader in treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

The Graduate Certificate of Cardiac Nursing is designed to prepare nurses to meet contemporary challenges in cardiac nursing and interventional cardiology within the specialist field of critical care nursing and to progressively build on knowledge and skills required to comprehensively care for critically ill patients.

The Graduate Certificate is conducted with our affiliate, Deakin University.

The Cardiac Nursing course is site based (subject to COVID-19 educational delivery restrictions) and offered online through Cloud. Applicants must be currently employed or application successful when applying for this course.

The Graduate Certificate is a four credit point, part-time, clinical coursework program. It consists of four subjects completed over a 12 months.

Sample course structure

Semester 1

• DA1001 Academic Integrity (0 credit points)
• HNN791 Core Principles of Critical Care Nursing (2 credit points) 

Semester 2

• HNN795 Cardiac Nursing 2 (2 credit points)*

Find out more on the Deakin University website.

We have an ongoing commitment to internal professional development. As a highly sought-after program, the Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing (Emergency) (GCCCEM) January 2024 intake is only open to internal applicants currently working in The Royal Melbourne Hospital Emergency Department.

If you are a registered nurse external to RMH Emergency, with a least one year acute nursing experience, you are eligible to apply for Grade 2 positions in the RMH ED. Current vacancies will be advertised on our careers application site.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital Emergency Department is a busy and unique workplace whose team provides a high level of acute care in a multidisciplinary setting. We are a Level 1 Adult Trauma and tertiary referral centre, with over 90,000 presentations annually. The service provides assessment, investigations and treatment of all patients who present and is part of a designated Major Trauma Service and has a high acuity case mix with an emphasis on trauma, infectious diseases, chest pain evaluation, neurosurgery and psychiatry.

As a department centred on research, teaching and staff development, our staff have valuable opportunities to participate in postgraduate training, clinical programs, mentoring and professional development. The GCCCN (Emergency) is conducted with our affiliate university, the University of Melbourne (UoM). It is a 50-credit point, part time, clinical coursework program completed over 12 months.

The GCCCN (Emergency) is designed to assist students to develop the ability to apply theoretical knowledge to understand the practice of providing care to individuals experiencing emergency care. The program is delivered through a variety of teaching modalities including lectures, tutorials, clinical simulation and online learning.

Course details

• Enrolment into a Graduate Certificate through the University of Melbourne is required.
• The Nursing Education Department including experienced, passionate and dedicated Clinical Nurse Educators will support students in this transition into Critical Care Nursing (Emergency)
• Applicants must have minimum of one year ED experience to apply
• Open to internal applicants only
• Course commencement date: January 2024
• No Commonwealth supported places available
• Applicants can apply for the RMH Postgraduate Nursing Scholarship program

Sample course structure

Find out more about GCNP (Emergency) offered through UoM.

As partners in the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC), the Haematology/BMT ward care for patients with blood cancer and other blood disorders. The Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing is offered with our affiliate University, the University of Melbourne. It is a 50-credit point, part time, clinical coursework program completed over 12 months.

You will develop a sound understanding of the theory and scientific advances that underpin the comprehensive care and management of people affected by cancer. You will apply this knowledge to clinical practice, demonstrating the ability to competently care for patients with complex care requirements using evidence-based and scientific approaches.

The Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing is delivered online by cancer nursing clinical experts and educators. This course is completed part-time over 12 months. Students of the course will complete four core subjects and two selective subjects in the speciality area relevant to your clinical practice (haematology)

Course structure

Core subjects

Selective subjects 

Find out more about the Graduate Certificate in Cancer Nursing offered at the University of Melbourne.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital Intensive Care Unit is a state-of-the-art 42-bed capacity ICU and a part of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) precinct caring for patients with:

• Haematological emergencies
• Obstetric emergencies
• Cardiothoracic surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Respiratory failure
• Renal failure
• Sepsis and multi organ failure
• Infectious diseases

The Graduate Certificate of Nursing Practice (GCNP) - Intensive Care course is designed to prepare nurses to meet contemporary challenges in intensive care nursing within the specialist field of critical care nursing, and to progressively build on knowledge and skills required to comprehensively care for critically ill patients.

The GCNP is conducted with our affiliate university, Deakin University.

The Intensive Care course is site based (subject to COVID-19 educational delivery restrictions) and offered online through Cloud. Applicants must be currently employed or application successful when applying for this course.

Course details

The GCNP (Intensive Care) is a four credit point, part-time, clinical coursework program. It consists of four subjects completed over a 12 months.

• Enrolment into a Master of Nursing Practice through Deakin University is required, with exit points at Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma levels
• Program length is 12 months
• The Nursing Education Department including experienced, passionate and dedicated Clinical Nurse Educators will support students in this transition into Intensive Care Nursing
• Applicants must have minimum of 1 year ICU nursing experience to apply
• Course commencement date: 12 February 2024
• Applicants can apply for the RMH Postgraduate Nursing Scholarship program

Course structure 

Semester 1

• HAI010 Academic Integrity (0 credit points)
• HNN752 Core Principles of Critical Care Nursing (2 Credit Points) 

Semester 2

• HNN794 Intensive Care Nursing 1 (2 Credit Points) 

Find out more at GCNP - Intensive Care Nursing on the Deakin University website.

Apply for the Intensive Care Nursing Program

The RMH Department of Neurology and Stroke is an internationally recognised centre for world-class patient care. Collectively the Neurology ward and the Neurosurgery ward provide care for patients with a range of complex conditions including the following:

• Neuro-oncology (gliomas, pituitary tumours)
• Neurotrauma (major head and spinal trauma and surgery)
• Subarachnoid haemorrhage
• Stroke (surgical and medical management)
• Epilepsy
• Hyperacute stroke (including 24 hour stroke service)

The Graduate Certificate in Clinical Nursing (GCCN) is conducted with our affiliate, the Australian Catholic University (ACU). This course is designed to prepare nurses for specialty practice at an advanced practice level. A variety of teaching modalities are used in delivering education including lectures, tutorials, clinical simulation, online learning and worksheets. The GCCN (Neuroscience) is a 40 credit point, part-time, clinical coursework program. It consists of four subjects completed over 12 months.

Sample course structure

Find out more at GCCN - Neurosciences on the ACU website.

Apply for the Neuroscience program 

The RMH Medical Imaging is a comprehensive tertiary referral service provided by Radiologists with subspecialty expertise. The imaging nurses working in this department are responsible for providing care within a range of specialty areas including CT, angiography, ultrasound, x-ray and nuclear medicine. Nurses employed within the Medical Imaging department provide safe, timely, effective, person-centred care for both in- and out- patients. The Imaging Department runs the state clot retrieval service and  nursing staff assist in these critical procedures daily well as providing procedural style nursing for other imaging based diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The Masters of Nursing (Medical Imaging) is conducted in affiliation with the Latrobe University and gives Imaging Nurses the edge in caring for the varying array of patients and conditions that are seen in the imaging department as well as reinforcing the patient focus while promoting our specialty.

The course is two years full-time or part-time equivalent and conducted online and in the first year you will study the Medical Imaging specialty core subject and follow on with critical care and advanced health assessment subjects. Each year of study is equal to 120 credit points and by the end of the first year you will have obtained your Graduate Diploma in Medical Imaging. In the second year you can choose what pathway you want to progress with in Advanced Clinical, Education and Management, Project and Research.

More information about the program can be found here at the Postgraduate pathway for medical imaging nurses page at La Trobe University's website.

The RMH Perioperative services consist of 16 theatres and 25 recovery bays, a day procedure unit (DOSA) and Planned Surgery and Pre-Admission Clinic. The RMH Perioperative service caters for all major types of adult surgery.

The Graduate Certificate - Perioperative course is designed to prepare nurses to meet the complex challenges within the specialty practice area of perioperative nursing and to progressively build on knowledge and skills to explore the specific roles within perioperative nursing practice.

The course responds to the demands of industry and partnership/collaborating hospitals by preparing nurses with sophisticated perioperative specialty skills and knowledge. The Graduate Certificate is conducted with our affiliate university, Deakin University.

The Perioperative course is site based (subject to COVID-19 educational delivery restrictions) and offered online through Cloud. Applicants must be currently employed or application successful when applying for this course.

Prerequisite Major Stream: Minimum 18 months experience in perioperative nursing. Major stream only available for substantive RMH position holders or those who have completed a RMH RISE in the Perioperative Department.

Three streams are offered are: 

• Graduate Certificate in Perianaesthetic Nursing (Major)
• Graduate Certificate in Perioperative Nursing (Blend or Major Minor)
• Graduate Certificate in Intraoperative Nursing (Major)

Please find out more information via the Deakin website.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital Nursing Education Department and Kidney care service offer supported clinical study for the Graduate Certificate In Nursing (Renal) affiliated with the University of Tasmania.

Our Renal service is a nationally recognised comprehensive service caring for all aspects of acute and chronic kidney disease, renal transplantation, dialysis (haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis). Our transplantation service is the largest in Australia and our dialysis services support the largest number of satellite units throughout Victoria.

Our postgraduate participants will learn and develop specialised skills within our inpatient renal/transplant ward, haemodialysis unit and home dialysis service where clinical rotations through each of these areas is offered throughout the program. The program, in collaboration with RMH aims to create an environment which values reflective thinking and life-long learning.

The University of Tasmania is a 50 credit point, part-time, clinical course-work program consisting of four (4) subjects completed over 12 months.

Selection of EITHER CNA772 or CNA782 - further direction provided by Renal Education team

Sample course structure

Find out more about the Graduate Certificate in Nursing (Renal) at the University of Tasmania.