Focusing on research, the honours year builds on the foundations established in your undergraduate degree. You will study a particular topic of professional interest in greater depth and create pathways to specialisations and further research or study. The Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) is a specialised year of study taken after the completion of a Bachelor of Nursing, entry to practice Master's degree or combined degrees.

For entry into senior nursing and midwifery roles there’s now an increasing industry expectation for graduates with high-level research and evaluation skills. Honours offers you a competitive edge in the job market and is designed to provide you with the knowledge and research skills to undertake a postgraduate research degree, advanced professional training or to pursue diverse employment opportunities.

The School of Nursing and Midwifery offers research in areas influencing quality and patient safety in health care. These include: clinical risk and symptom management, chronic disease management, effective health delivery, health care ethics, decision making, aged care, midwifery and translational research.

Throughout this course you will gain a deep understanding of the philosophies, ethics and principles of health care research; knowledge of a range of research approaches; skills in data management, methods and tools for research practice; and skills in planning, implementing and reporting research studies.

This course will give you an understanding of how to develop a research proposal, from the identification of a research issue and literature review through to writing and submitting the proposal for approval by an ethics committee. You will undertake a research project and an individual research thesis in the area of nursing practice and develop evaluation and research skills in nursing practice and health service delivery.

You will be qualified for rewarding roles in all areas of nursing including acute care/sub-acute care, emergency, aged care, paediatrics and rehabilitation; in hospitals, government departments, district health services, the education sector, business and private industry. Alternatively, you may decide to undertake a research degree such as a research Masters or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

After successfully completing the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours), you will be well prepared to build on your profile as a Registered Nurse, leading quality care initiatives and evidence based practice. You will have improved entry into a range of areas including quality management, policy, education, research and clinical practice.