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Critical care and intensive care nursing

Discipline

Gain the advanced knowledge and skills required to anticipate, rapidly respond and comprehensively care for critically ill patients in complex health environments.

Explore your study options

Our postgraduate courses enable you to enhance your professional judgement and make a difference in practice, management, education and research. Become a change agent to continuously improve the quality, safety and execution of care for critically ill patients.

Postgraduate

Postgraduate (further study)

A postgraduate qualification can be undertaken by students who have already completed an undergraduate degree or possess significant, demonstrable work experience. Postgraduate courses include graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, masters and PhDs, as well as specialist programs for industry professionals.

Choose a nursing degree that will make you work ready

At Deakin, there’s a clear connection between what you study and what lies ahead in your career. You’ll learn through valuable practical experiences, benefitting from our partnerships and research centres.

Benefit from partnerships

Deakin’s strong industry connections ensure a high level of collaboration and support during your clinical practice. This means that while you study you will immerse yourself at least 24 hours a week in your speciality nursing practice area with one of our numerous metropolitan, rural and regional health partners across Australia.

Improve patient care

Research at the school is conducted through our Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research and in partnership with several major healthcare providers. Our school is ranked 16th in the world,* and the school’s cutting-edge research is recognised as well above world standard.^

How to choose the right course for you

Deakin’s critical care and intensive care nursing courses are postgraduate level courses for working nurses. Completion of the graduate certificate or graduate diploma enables you to provide specialist care. On completion of the graduate diploma you can choose further studies in the Master of Advanced Clinical Nursing.

Are you new to nursing?

If you haven't previously qualified as, or are not currently working as, a nurse, you'll need to complete an undergraduate course in nursing before moving on to a specialised postgraduate degree. Browse the undergraduate offerings in:

Top roles in critical care and intensive care nursing

With job growth of 12.1% projected for nurse managers and 11.4% for nurse educators and researchers by 2028,# there is an industry demand for nurses with sophisticated specialty skills. Our postgraduate critical care and intensive care nursing courses allow you to meet that demand in a variety of roles across advanced practice, leadership, management and education in regional, rural or metropolitan hospitals including:

  • critical care nurse
  • ICU nurse
  • associate or unit manager
  • clinical nurse specialist
  • clinical nurse educator.

#16 in the world for nursing

Get a world-class education – we're renowned for our facilities, strong employment outcomes and teaching excellence. Graduate ready to provide high-quality patient care.

The course has allowed me to work as a critical care nurse and has opened up doors for education, preceptorship and opportunities.

Emma-Rose Schroder

Postgraduate intensive care nursing graduate

World-class teaching experiences

At Deakin, you’ll gain the confidence and skills to provide high-quality patient care across emergency departments, ICUs and other high-dependency units.

Learn from professionals

Our teaching approach ensures you develop skills in critical thinking, high-quality patient care delivery, teamwork and communication – all attributes highly valued in intensive and critical care units.

Get practical experience

You'll get practical experience from the beginning of your course, to develop and consolidate knowledge and clinical skills, giving you a competitive advantage once you graduate.

Want to explore more?

Find out how studying critical care and intensive care nursing at Deakin can put you on a rewarding career path.

Career changes for nurses: how to make the move

Read more

Different types of nurses: from paediatrics to aged care

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Footnotes

*2023 ShanghaiRankings Ranking of Academic Subjects.
^Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) 2018.
#Jobs and Skills Australia employment projections, May 2023 to May 2028.

Deakin references data from a range of government, higher education and reputable media sources. For more information, visit our list of sources

Contact us

Got a question about our critical care nursing courses? Our expert advisers are available to speak to you about your study options and how we can help you further your career.

Domestic students
1800 693 888
Enquire online

International students
+61 3 9918 9188
Enquire online