Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science (Level 8)

Summary

Advance your nursing or health science career

The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science is a 120 credit programme (one year full-time or up to four years part-time) that provides the opportunity for qualified nurses, health professionals and health service managers to develop advanced practice knowledge and critical analysis skills.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science is characterised by advanced study in a specific nursing or health science discipline.

The programme requires a foundation of undergraduate knowledge and skills achieved through previous tertiary qualifications or equivalent professional experience.

International students have the option of undertaking this programme at the Auckland Campus. For more information about the Auckland Campus offering, please download the information sheet here.

Outline

The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science offers two pathways, one for nurses and one for interdisciplinary health professionals. The diploma offers a selection of online and blended courses designed to meet the needs of health practitioners and other professionals whose practice has a focus on health. The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science may be completed with or without a specialty option.

Nursing specialty endorsement options available are:

• Advanced Nursing Practice
• Registered Nurse Prescribing (approved by the Nursing Council of New Zealand)

As a graduate of the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science you will have developed your knowledge and skills of critical analysis, constructive synthesis and their application to health care delivery.

Graduates of this programme may be able to credit these courses to the Master of Health Science programme. Registered nurse graduates may progress to the Master of Nursing Science or Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) programme (pending successfully achieving the specified academic and professional practice criteria).

The Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science (Registered Nurse Prescribing) is approved by the Nursing Council of New Zealand as an advanced nursing practice programme.

The courses required for the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science (Registered Nurse Prescribing) in the recommended order are:

• MN8.402 Advanced Pathophysiology for Health Professionals
• MN8.409 Pharmacotherapeutics for Advanced Nursing/Midwifery Practice
• MN8.401 Advanced Clinical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
• MN8.424 Registered Nurse Prescribing Practicum

You will also need a minimum of a B average in the prerequisite courses to enrol into the RN Prescribing Practicum, and a minimum of three years’ experience in the clinical area that you will be prescribing in (a requirement of Nursing Council). We recommend that you take the opportunity to discuss your study options with the Postgraduate Programmes Coordinator, prior to enrolment. This will help ensure that you select the most appropriate pathway to meet your career goals.

For nurses contact:

Jamie Hanley (Nursing) on 06 830 1111 or email jhanley@eit.ac.nz

For non-nurses contact:

Associate Professor Anita Jagroop-Dearing (Health Science) on 06 830 1535 or email ajagroopdearing@eit.ac.nz

Online / Blended Delivery

Our postgraduate courses are offered either online or with blended delivery. This means that the majority of the work is located on a virtual teaching and learning platform with directed activities and learning that you work through. Lecturers work within the virtual classroom setting so that they maintain contact with you.

Blended delivery means that there are contact sessions or workshops with the bulk of the learning activity undertaken in the online environment.

Various teaching modes are used, such as virtual classroom discussions at predetermined times, and also in the asynchronous format.

This flexible delivery method allows you to study at your pace, in your place, at locations throughout New Zealand.

Workload

Generally the courses are delivered online. However, some courses may require attendance at online sessions or face-to-face workshops. Any requirement for attendance at face-to-face sessions is identified in the course information.

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