Master of Specialist Nursing / Midwifery Practice

Course Code: IMSN 

AIM 
The Master of Specialist Nursing/Midwifery Practice prepares nurse/midwife specialists to advance and extend their scope of practice. This course develops students’ scholarship, clinical and professional expertise and prepares them as nurse/midwife practitioners so that they may provide comprehensive primary health care in specialist fields. In addition, students will be challenged to extend their expertise as educators, counsellors, consultants, managers, researchers, advocates, mentors and autonomous, innovative practitioners.  

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 
All applicants must be registered nurses holding a current practising certificate in their own State or Territory. Applicants from overseas must provide evidence that they are currently licensed to practise as a registered nurse in their own country or place of residence and that their qualifications to practise are equivalent to the requirements for registration with the Nurses Board of South Australia. 
Applicants wishing to undertake specialty subjects in mental health or midwifery will need to be registered psychiatric nurses or registered midwives holding a current practising certificate. 
Applicants to this course will be required to hold a 108 point undergraduate degree or diploma and a 36 point graduate diploma or graduate degree in the specialty field they wish to study or the equivalent of 4 years study at a similar level. Applicants will also be expected to be specialist nurses practicing in their specialty field or be able to gain super nummary experience within the field.  

CONTENT 
The concepts of nursing/midwifery, health and illness are studied with a focus on assessment of health status, identifying health and illness risks and needs, formulating appropriate differential diagnosis based on comprehensive assessment data, establishing mutually acceptable health and treatment plans that maximise outcomes for clients, family and/or the community. Core subjects also provide opportunity for students to explore the nurse/midwife practitioner’s role in investigative (invasive and non-invasive) procedures, identifying and prescribing appropriate pharmacological agents and non-pharmacological interventions, legal and ethical issues pertaining to autonomous and multi-disciplinary practice, furthering the scholarship of nursing/midwifery practice by defining research questions, participating in and conducting research, and critically evaluating their role as advanced practitioners in the delivery of health care, inclusive of monitoring and ensuring the quality of health care provision. 
Practitioner subjects provide opportunity for students to negotiate in-depth study in their specialty field to further advanced their specialist knowledge, scholarship and leadership in nursing/midwifery practice.  

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION 
Entry to the course requires applicants to be registered nurses holding current practising certificates. As such this course does not lead to registration or provide further recognition with the Nurses Board of South Australia. 
The Nurses Board of South Australia is currently however, investigating authorisation of advanced nurse practitioners and those graduates who wish to work in private practice or have an extended scope of practice may be required to seek authorisation with the Nurses Board.  
 

NOTES

1. Not all Practitioner N (specialties) and Practitioner M subjects will necessarily be offered every year. 
2. Applicants from overseas must provide evidence that they are currently licensed to practice as a registered nurse (and registered midwife if undertaking Practitioner M subjects) in their own country or place of residence. 
3. Applicants from overseas wishing to undertake clinical placement must provide evidence that they are currently licensed to practice as a registered nurse (and registered midwife if undertaking Practitioner M subjects) in their own country or place of residence and that their qualifications to practice are equivalent to the requirements for registration with the Nurses Board of South Australia. 
4. Students wishing to exit the course with the Master of Nursing Practice in any of the following specialities (aged and extended care; acute care; community; critical care; paediatrics, occupational health and safety) will undertake Practitioner 1N and Practitioner 2N. 
5. Students wishing to exit the course with the Master of Mental Health Nursing Practice will undertake Practitioner 1MH and Practitioner 2 MH. 
6. Students wishing to exit the course with the Master of Midwifery will undertake Practitioner 1M and Practitioner 2M.