Now that you’ve sussed out what it’s like studying a Bachelor of Nursing at Griffith University, you might have a few lingering questions about exactly what this degree looks like for the average student.
Well, we got you covered!
We chatted with Md Mahdi, a recent graduate of Griffith’s Bachelor of Nursing, to talk about his personal experiences in the degree and hopefully answer any of the remaining questions you might have.
Keen to get started? Let’s jump right in!
Why should you study a Nursing degree at Griffith Uni?
Top 3 Pros of a Nursing Degree
Top 3 Cons of a Nursing Degree
Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make
Things to Know Before Starting Griffith Nursing
What Makes this Degree Different
Motivations for Studying Griffith Nursing
Potential Career Paths
Why should you study a Nursing degree at Griffith Uni?
If you want to spend your time helping people and making a genuine difference in their lives, then Nursing at Griffith is for you. This degree leads to a super rewarding career path and is the ideal option for students wanting to spend their time studying amongst a really supportive and friendly campus culture.
Top 3 Pros of a Nursing degree
#1: University has strong industry connections
Griffith University has a good range of hospitals, clinics and industry partners. Because of this, they are able to send their Nursing students to really good places, which show them exactly what is expected of them when they enter into the workforce in the future.
#2: Practical experience
“I love the placements. Most of the placements that I’ve been to have been pretty good,” Md said.
Placement blocks throughout the year give students the opportunity to experience different aspects of Nursing in various professional environments. For example, Nursing students can expect to complete placements in rural and remote areas, busy city hospitals and specialist clinics, even aged-care centres!
#3: Friendly culture
The campus culture at Griffith is hard to beat. According to Md, “It is a pretty darn awesome culture.”
The Nursing faculty is very supportive and the student cohort is super friendly. There are even heaps of cool extra-curricular opportunities for students to partake in around campus. Some of these include mentoring groups, sporting clubs and leadership positions.
Top 3 Cons of a Nursing degree
#1: Question the relevancy of certain assignments
“Some of the assignments — not all of them, but some of them — you kind of think, why am I doing this?” Md said.
Be prepared to complete some assignments where you are left questioning just how helpful they will be to your future career.
Md explained, “Some of them you totally understand why you are doing them, but others not so much.”
When this happens, it can be hard to stay motivated.
#2: Campus needs some improving
While the overall campus culture is great, the physical structures of the Nathan campus are less appealing. While the green spaces are beautiful, a little freshening up of the buildings would go a long way to help make the physical appearance of the campus better align with its awesome culture.
“They need to improve the Nathan campus a little bit more. Gold Coast is beautiful and Nathan is nothing like that,” Md explained.
#3: Food outlets close too early
Following on from this, one of the main downfalls of Griffith’s Nathan campus is that all of the cafes and food outlets shut way too early.
Md said, “A lot of students want to study late and they close everything really early at Nathan, so if you stay back and study, everything is closed by the time you want to grab something to eat.”
This can be a real pain for students who have just had a long day on campus, are itching to head home and simply want to treat themselves to a yummy dinner without having to venture too far.
Any regrets?
Md said that he didn’t have any regrets about choosing Griffith’s Bachelor of Nursing and that it was a good decision overall.
According to him, this course teaches you everything you need to know to become a registered nurse, prepping you for the real workforce, all while doing so in a really supportive environment — what more could you ask for?
What do you wish you had known before starting Griffith Nursing?
While he doesn’t have any regrets about choosing Nursing at Griffith, there are a few things he wished he had known before starting the degree.
One of these is the importance of time management, not only as a uni student, but also as a practicing nurse. Md explained that when working in hospitals and clinics you have a lot of time constraints to work with and so you have to be able to adapt to those effectively. This is why it is important to build strong organisational skills early on.
Another thing he wished he had known before starting this degree was just how physical nursing actually is.
Md mentioned, “Nurses get back pain a lot. Nurses get back pain more than most occupations, because you’re bending over all the time and it messes up your back. Now it has improved with mechanical aids and things, but it is up to you to look after your back. You need to be careful.”
What makes this degree different from the ones offered at other universities?
For Md, what made this degree stand out from others offered at different universities was its strong reputation.
“Griffith had a really good reputation in the community and amongst nurses as well,” he said.
Additionally, Griffith ensures that there is constant communication between students and faculty — a commonplace practice at Griffith that is sometimes lacking at other universities.
Md said, “They are quite receptive to feedback. They have you fill out a survey at the end of each semester and you can see that they really take that feedback on board.”
What inspired you to choose Griffith Nursing?
Md explained that in high school, science and biology were always of great interest to him. While this encouraged him to pursue something in the general field of medical science, it was his innate desire to see his actions improving the lives of others which motivated him to choose Nursing.
“I wanted to do something where I would be able to see results. Say for example, as a nurse you administer medication — you know that you’ve made a difference to someone’s life, which is very rewarding,” he shared.
What are the possible career paths?
This degree creates job-ready graduates who are equipped with all the necessary skills to work in a range of professional environments. Students can aspire to work in certain specialisations such as paediatrics or oncology.
Here are some of the possible avenues available to graduates:
- Aged care nursing
- Mental health nursing
- Perioperative nursing
- Critical care nursing
- Paediatric nursing
- Midwife nursing
Alternatively, with further study, they can also pursue a career in education or research.
Jessica Arentz is a Content Writer at Art of Smart and an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney where she studies a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies (Media and Communications) (Marketing). She currently volunteers at 2SER community radio station as a producer and newsroom reader. When not writing, you can find Jess searching the web for cheap flights or spending her days with her head buried deep in a book.
