Honours process
- Admission
- Key dates
- Potential Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) projects
- Steps involved in pursuing Bachelor of Nursing (Honours)
The Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) requires students to enrol in HONS430 (fulltime) or HONS431 (part-time).
Admission into Honours is competitive. To be considered for entry into the Honours program students will:
- be expected to qualify for, or graduate with, a relevant degree from the University of Wollongong, or hold an equivalent qualification from another institution
- normally have a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of at least 75 for the 24 credit points of 300- level subjects in the Bachelor of Nursing degree
- review topics list (below) and then discuss potential Honours projects with lead academic supervisor listed to gain more information about topics and possible projects
- complete a HONS410/411 Expression of Interest form (PDF: 226 KB) and submit it to the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) Coordinator for consideration with potential supervisor(s)
- have their Expression of Interest approved by the Honours Academic Program Director and Head of School
Please note: Admission is also subject to an appropriate project being available, and availability and acceptance by an Academic Supervisor.
Please review the Coursefinder for further details.
Students may commence BN Honours in February (Autumn Session) or July (Spring Session) and may study on a full-time (HONS430) or part-time (HONS431) basis.
An information session for students contemplating honours is held each year. These sessions are advertised in third year subjects and throughout Local Health Districts. You can also contact the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) Coordinator at any time to discuss the process.
The following list of projects are available for BN Honours students to undertake in the School of Nursing. There is a great range of topics to consider!
If you are interested in finding out more about any of these projects below, please email the primary supervisor to connect and have a conversation.
If you have any questions about the process of BN Honours or the requirements and/or expectations, then please reach out to Associate Professor Rebekkah Middleton (rebekkah_middle@uow.edu.au) or Professor Lorna Moxham (lorna_moxham@uow.edu.au) who will be happy to clarify and address any questions you may have.
Title: Outcomes of frail older people hospitalised in Western Sydney
- Aim: The project will follow up a subset of patients admitted to hospital over time, conduct a brief clinical assessment, phone follow up and be engaged in data collection, phone follow up and data analyses.
- Primary Supervisor: Associate Professor Caleb Ferguson (caleb_ferguson@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Dr Julee McDonagh and Dr Sabine Allida
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Raising the Dead
- Aim: To quantify and identify drivers of Defensive Clinical Practice Defensive clinical practice (DCP)is any practice clinicians perform that does not benefit the patient but is done to prevent legal action against the clinician/institution.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Gemma McErlean (gemma_mcerlean@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Homely Retreats
- Aim: To explore the impact and benefits of a family weekend retreat during and after cancer treatment.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Gemma McErlean (gemma_mcerlean@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Chronic care post-Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT)
- Aim: To explore barriers and enablers of nurse-led long-term follow up care of BMT survivors.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Gemma McErlean (gemma_mcerlean@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Racial and ethnic disparities in Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT)in Australia
- Aim: The aim of this study is to identify and quantify racial and ethnic disparities in the provision and outcomes of BMT in Australia.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Gemma McErlean (gemma_mcerlean@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Perfect Match
- Aim: The aim of this study is to examine racial and ethnic disparities in the identification of suitable matched haematopoietic stem cell donors in Australia.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Gemma McErlean (gemma_mcerlean@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Patient Education for Hypertension in Primary Care.
- Aim: This study will explore the evidence for various types of patient education in primary care and consumer understanding of hypertension and preferred education approaches.
- Primary Supervisor: Professor Liz Halcomb (elizabeth_halcomb@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Catherine Stephen
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Mapping the Nurse Practitioner Workforce in Primary Care.
- Aim: There is a growing number of nurse practitioners working in primary care in a range of roles. However, to date, there has been limited exploration of their demographics, roles, experiences etc. This study will provide the first snapshot of nurse practitioners working outside hospitals in Australia.
- Primary Supervisor: Professor Liz Halcomb (elizabeth_halcomb@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Practice nurses’ perceptions of the importance of social isolation and loneliness in chronic disease management.
- Aim: This study would seek to explore practice nurses perceptions of social isolation and loneliness in chronic disease management and their readiness to intervene to improve social connection.
- Primary Supervisor: Professor Liz Halcomb (elizabeth_halcomb@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Bekk Middleton
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Non-pharmacological Nurse Prescribing in Primary Care.
- Aim: This study will explore the current state of non-pharmacological nurse prescribing and the barriers and facilitators to nurses recommending such interventions in primary care.
- Primary Supervisor: Professor Liz Halcomb (elizabeth_halcomb@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: The impact of exercise physiology for people living with dementia.
- Aim: Dementia can impact on a person’s ability to mobilise, particularly in relation to coordination and balance. This study aims to evaluate the impact of exercise physiology for people living with dementia who are living in the community.
- Primary Supervisor: TBC
- Co-Supervisor: Amy Montgomery (amy_montgomery@uow.edu.au)
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: DVEAB-ICU Nurses
- Aim: Understanding the enablers and barriers towards domestic and family violence among ICU Nurses
- Primary Supervisor: Steve Frost (steven_frost@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Kelly Lewer
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Exploring pre-registration nursing students’ comfort in discussing / exploring the issue of domestic violence when on placement
- Aim: To understand the barriers and enablers to conversation for students
- Primary Supervisor: Kelly Lewer (kelly_lewer@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Videos In Nursing for Equity Diversity IncluSiON (VIN-EDISON): A qualitative study exploring visual media to change negative perceptions of men in nursing.
- Aim: To explore the impact and use of visual media in influencing changes in traditional negative perceptions of men entering nursing.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr John Rihari-Thomas (john_rihari-thomas@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisory Dr Peta Drury
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Understanding delirium in older patients admitted in the ICU with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
- Aim: To explore the incidence and impact of delirium on the quality of life in older people 65 years and over with chronical kidney disease admitted in the ICU in NSW Australia.
- Primary Supervisor: Professor Victoria Traynor (victora_traynor@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Attitudes of Registered Nurses working in correctional facilities towards harm reduction exploration.
- Aim: To explore what Registered Nurses think about harm reduction and how their attitudes may impact access to harm reduction interventions for people in prison.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Rebecca Bosworth (rebecca_bosworth@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Professor Lorna Moxham
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Overlapping recommendations for people with multiple chronic diseases: what evidence to listen to?
- Aim: This project will include desktop research and a review of guideline recommendation incongruence. The candidate will undertake a state-of-the-art review and be engaged in survey and qualitative research methods.
- Primary Supervisor: Associate Professor Caleb Ferguson (caleb_ferguson@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Dr Sabine Allida and Dr Julee McDonagh
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Acute care nurses' knowledge & experiences of geriatric syndromes in adults with cardiovascular disease.
- Aim: This project will examine the knowledge, attitudes & experiences of nurses caring for older patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD)in the acute care setting.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Julee McDonagh (julee_mcdonagh@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Associate Professor Caleb Ferguson and Dr Sabine Allida
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Promoting independence during mealtimes for individuals with dementia living in nursing homes: An intervention study evaluating the impact of Montessori-based Programmes with Spaced Retrieval
- Aim: To evaluate an intervention study evaluating the impact of Montessori-based Programmes with Spaced Retrieval
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Peta Drury (peta_drury@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Professor Victoria Traynor and Dr Ibrahim Alananzeh
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Understanding the intersection of person-centred care whilst on clinical placement.
- Aim: To explore the concept of person-centred care whilst on a (emergency department)clinical placement.
- Supervisor: Associate Professor Rebekkah Middleton (rebekkah_middle@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Professor Lorna Moxham and Dr Scott William
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: Perceptions of support whilst on clinical placement.
- Aim: To explore the perceptions of support whilst on a clinical placement.
- Supervisor: Professor Lorna Moxham (lorna_moxham@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Associate Professor Rebekkah Middleton
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: What interventions minimise seclusion and restraint practices in child and adolescent inpatient mental health services?
- Aim: To undertake a scoping review on the topic area utilising the Arksey and O’Malley Framework.
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Luke Molloy
- Co-Supervisor: Dr Kelly Lewer
- Student Commencement: 2024 (student confirmed)
Title: (Re)connecting nurses with nature to increase psychological restoration and resilience
- Aim: To undertake a scoping review on the topic area utilising the Arksey and O’Malley Framework.
- Primary Supervisor: Associate Professor Rebekkah Middleton (rebekkah_middle@uow.edu.au)
- Co-Supervisor: Dr Kelly Lewer
- Student Commencement: 2024
Title: TBC
- Primary Supervisor: Dr Luke Molloy
- Co-Supervisor: TBC
- Student Commencement: 2024 (student confirmed)
Students should start the process of developing their Honours project mid-way through the semester immediately before their preferred Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) start date. To assist with this, students should contact their potential supervisor.
Groundwork and submitting an expression of interest to the School of Nursing
- Read the UOW Honours Policy and make sure you are aware of your responsibilities as outlined. All current UOW policies and guidelines are available in the UOW Policy Directory.
- Attend the Honours information session – An information session for students contemplating honours is held each semester, usually in September. These sessions are advertised in third year subjects. You can also contact the Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) Coordinator at any time to discuss the process.
- Discuss potential Honours projects with Academic Supervisors to gain more information about topics and the projects and to determine whether the academic will agree to supervise you. You can do this before or after the information session. It is better to make enquiries about more than one project as there may be some competition for projects, and you may not get your first choice.
- Complete the HONS430/431 Expression of Interest Form and submit prior to the relevant due date.
Notification
Students will receive a notification of success to enter Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) from the School. Successful students will receive their EOI form back with both Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) Coordinator and Head of School signatures included. It is this completed EOI form that needs to be used for the next steps.
Application
5. Apply for a Course completion of their Bachelor of Nursing degree through SOLS. This is because Honours is a new course, which can only be entered into when your Bachelor’s Degree Course is complete.
If you have been successful in your expression of interest for Honours (i.e., you receive your EOI back with both Honours Coordinator and Head of School signatures) you can now use this EOI to apply to the University for entry into end-on honours - HONS430/431, course 862.
6. Complete an ‘Undergraduate Application Form’ available on the UOW Apply website. Attach your completed and approved Expression of Interest form with all four signatures (yours, your Supervisor, the Honours Coordinator and Head of School) and any other paperwork that is requested. This should be submitted as soon as possible to avoid delays.
Offer to study and activation
You will receive an offer to study Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) from UOW Admissions.
7. After you receive your offer, you yourself must activate your new course enrolment (Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) 862) in SOLS.
8. Add you relevant Honours subject (HONS410 or HONS411) to your enrolment record by completing the online Subject Management Form
Students accepted into Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) will receive an email inviting them to a Welcome to Bachelor of Nursing (Honours) Meeting to be held during one week after commencing. This meeting is compulsory.