Welcome Message

Welcome

Message from the Head of School Professor Rhonda Griffiths AM

Welcome to the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney. I hope that you take the time to investigate our web site and make contact with us if you would like further information about the School or our courses.

Nursing and midwifery are rewarding professions that provide career opportunities in clinical, academic and business environments and challenge graduates to define and identify their own boundaries and horizons. Our School is a national leader in nursing and midwifery education, research and scholarship, with the largest undergraduate pre-registration nursing degree course in Australia. We have over 2,700 students, including 200 international students, yet despite our size, we provide individual attention in our teaching and learning activities. In addition to our on-shore courses, we offer post graduate courses offshore.

The School provides a contemporary and high quality educational experience that prepares graduates for practice. The Bachelor of Nursing (Advanced) course provides the opportunity for high achieving undergraduate students to be extended intellectually and clinically. Some subjects are undertaken with UWS Medical School students and provide opportunities for future doctors and nurses to study and complete clinical placements together. Our Graduate Diploma in Midwifery program has been preparing midwives for over a decade and is complemented by the Master of Nursing (Child and Family Health - Karitane). The Master of Nursing (Mental Health Nurse Practitioner) is also a unique course that prepares mental heath nurses for nurse practitioner roles.

As national leaders in nursing and midwifery research, with a number of competitive grants from the National Health and Medical Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC), we are committed to supporting researchers, and providing opportunities for our students to work with experienced successful researchers. The School hosts a successful multi-disciplinary University Research Group, the Family and Community Health (FaCH) group.

We have strong associations with Area Health Services in Western Sydney and beyond. The School also has links with universities in USA, New Zealand, Thailand, China and the United Kingdom and a program of Visiting Professorships exposes students to distinguished nurses from around the globe. The New South Wales Centre for Evidence Based Health Care and the New South Wales Collaborating Centre for the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) is located in the School. The Joanna Briggs is a collaboration of international research centres, currently based in 26 countries, that was established in Adelaide, South Australia, for the purpose of developing evidence to inform nursing practice and disseminating findings to clinicians to enable them to base their practice on contemporary research.

If you are interested in studying a challenging course in one of Australia’s leading schools of nursing and midwifery, I invite you to take time to look at this website, and if you would like further information, contact us and we will be pleased to provide you with information about our courses.