BlogUniversityPros and Cons of a Bachelor of Nursing at RMIT

Pros and Cons of a Bachelor of Nursing at RMIT

Out of all the nursing degrees offered in Australia, it can be difficult to figure out which is the best option for you — perhaps Nursing at RMIT is a viable option! Looking into the pros and cons of study is one way to give yourself more clarity.

With the advice of Niesyl, a Bachelor of Nursing graduate from RMIT, this article goes over some reasons to consider the degree, as well as some conditions you should factor in before applying.

Let’s dive in! 

Why should you study a Nursing degree at RMIT?
Top 3 Pros of a Nursing Degree
Top 3 Cons of a Nursing Degree
Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make
Things to Know Before Starting RMIT Nursing
Motivations for Studying RMIT Nursing
Potential Career Paths

Why should you study a Nursing degree at RMIT?

RMIT is not only known for giving high quality education,” Niseyl says, “but they are also known for producing quality nurses widely sought after around Australia.”

RMIT provides a great nursing program that is accessible for many people! In terms of finance and academic accessibility, the overall cost of the degree at $12K and the ATAR cut-off of 69.05 is relatively lower than nursing programs offered at other universities. 

RMIT Nursing - Quote

Yet, it still provides a valuable experience as it focuses heavily on the practical skills of clinical care.

As the campus is located in outer Melbourne, RMIT has both industry connections to metropolitan and rural clinical settings. This provides its Nursing students with a diverse wealth of experience through their work placements, that supports their journey to becoming professional nurses. 

Top 3 Pros of a Nursing degree

#1: Career that is in high-demand 

Niesyl tells us that nurses are in demand after graduation. Most nursing graduates have the ease of mind when it comes to job security, which is not a universal experience in relation to other careers. 

This comes down to the fact that upon completing a Bachelor of Nursing at RMIT, students are accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC). This means that they may professionally practice as nurses all around Australia as soon as they graduate. 

Through the multiple work placements undertaken in their study, they will already have the industry connections to find a nursing job quickly, or choose between their options.

#2: Diverse career options 

Related to the first point, Nieysl says, “There are different pathways you can take when it comes to nursing.” 

Despite the common conception that nurses only work in public hospitals, there are many diverse career options for nursing graduates!

While these career options revolve around working as a nurse, the fields graduates enter typically aligns to their interests. These fields include mental health, emergency, rehabilitative, neonatal and paediatric.

However, it should be noted that RMIT nursing students don’t choose their placements — rather they are assigned to them by the Nursing faculty. 

#3: Interesting coursework  

“Nursing is an interesting degree as you try to learn to care for a person holistically from the tiniest cell inside their body to their magnificent persona they display on the outside,” Niesyl says. 

From learning the theoretical frameworks in bioscience, nursing students learn to see how clinical care can recuperate or otherwise change the bodies. It is a fascinating body of knowledge that has a great balance between theory and practice!

 

Top 3 Cons of a Nursing degree

#1: Overwhelming coursework

On the flip side of being an inquisitive course, Niesyl says that a Bachelor of Nursing at RMIT “can be overwhelming as there are so many topics to learn.”

Nursing students wrestle between learning bio-scientific theory, ethics and clinical care in various settings such as medical, mental health and surgical settings, and for a range of patients. On top of this, students undertake 160 hours of experience for their work placement (which is required almost every semester!). 

#2: You’ll need a high level of discipline and strength 

You need to be dedicated emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually as you need to continue to study and improve your skills,” Niesyl tells us. 

In addition to the overwhelming coursework, nursing is both a study and career option that works directly with people, and most of the time, people who are physically vulnerable. Taking care of such people requires an emotional strength, especially in the fields of mental health and emergency. 

In terms of the content, grasping the concepts all in your head can be difficult when many of the concepts relate to the care of and interaction with other people. 

Studying alone might be a bit hard so you might have to have a group to study with and learn and practise with,” Niesyl recommends.

#3: RMIT is not known for its nursing program

While RMIT stands at #7 for Arts and Humanities in Australia in QS rankings, its nursing program is not recognised on the list of the QS Nursing rankings. 

If you want to graduate from a more prestigious nursing program, this may not be the degree for you.

Any regrets? 

Despite being a rigorous degree, Niesyl says that she doesn’t have any regrets at all. 

I enjoyed my stay at RMIT and despite the hard work, it was all worth it,” she iterates. 

What do you wish you had known before starting the degree? What makes this degree different from the ones offered at other universities?

Niesyl tells us that RMIT has more rotations and placements than the other universities. 

It’s an often, but understandable, situation wherein nursing students do not realise the amount of placements they have to undertake.

Not only are they required every semester besides the first semester of the degree, these placements require a lot of mental strength to practice caring for others, while knowing there will be a few slip-ups, and discipline since students simultaneously wrestle their university work. 

What inspired you to choose this degree?

For Niesyl, her decision to choose Nursing at RMIT was through word of mouth: “I knew RMIT by reputation as I have met people who have studied there and said they were quite satisfied,” she says. 

So maybe when making your choice about studying Nursing at RMIT, you’ll just have to take it from us!

What are the possible career paths?

Nursing RMIT - Careers

Most nursing students graduate to work as nurses and since they are accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC), they can choose to work in clinical settings anywhere in Australia.

In addition, the field they choose is up to their interests. Some examples include: 

    • Mental health
    • Emergency
    • Rehabilitative
    • Neonatal
    • Paediatric

Haven’t read up on what it’s like studying a Bachelor of Nursing at RMIT? Check out our article here!


Lynn Chen is a Content Writer at Art of Smart Education and is a Communication student at UTS with a major in Creative Writing. Lynn’s articles have been published in Vertigo, The Comma, and Shut Up and Go. In her spare time, she also writes poetry.

 

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