Prostate care nurses
A program developed in conjunction with the Division of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University.
Role of the prostate care nurse
The role for the prostate care nurse can be varied, acting as counsellor, provider of information, advocate and advisor for men and their families from diagnosis to treatment, through to follow-up care and palliation where appropriate.
Subject description
In this subject you'll have the chance to develop knowledge and skills in the specialist area of prostate care, particularly the nursing assessment and treatment options for men experiencing prostate problems.
Topics covered include:
- relevant anatomy,
- physiology and pathophysiology,
- benign and malignant prostate disease and its complications,
- current trends in the treatment and management of prostate problems,
- targeted assessment and management of symptoms related to the condition,
- sexuality and psychosocial care for the patient and family as well as the nurse's role in health education and promotion.
Entry requirements
To be eligible, an applicant should:
- be registered as a Division 1 nurse with the Nurses Board of Victoria, or hold similar registration in another state
- have at least 1 year of recent nursing experience
- normally hold a degree or diploma from a university or college.
Mode of study and academic support
The prostate care subject is offered by off-campus study. It's a single unit of study which takes 1 semester to complete. Learning is supported by a learning package which consists of a study guide, learning modules, activities, assessment tasks, readings (on CD ROM) and LMS (learning management system – a web-based interface that gives each student an email address and the ability to easily ‘chat' with other students in the course).
All students have access to the La Trobe library (on campus and online). Contact with the course coordinator can be via the LMS discussion board, email, phone or fax. The semester is 13 weeks in duration.
Certification
Successful students are awarded a Cancer Council Prostate Care Nurse Certificate.
Find out more about the prostate nursing care subject
Enquiries
Elizabeth Watt
La Trobe/Austin Health Clinical School of Nursing
Phone: 61 3 9496 4461
Fax: 61 3 9496 4450
Email: e.watt@latrobe.edu.au
