This page lists online education packages useful to early career nurses.
Though many of these courses may offer a certificate on completion and may even be integrated into formal tertiary education programs, these courses have been curated to be of a length and cost reflecting their CPD nature. Please see our Postgraduate Courses page for recommendations for more in-depth courses that confer either a tertiary or professional qualification.
The courses listed here run the gamut of community through to intensive/critical care settings, reflecting the connection of these clinical areas in holistic care and the diverse practice of early career nurses and nursing students. At this stage there is minimal psychiatric nursing content outside of Emergency Department, delirium and older person mental health in acute settings contexts. Suggestions for resources relevant to psychiatric nursing are welcome as their absence merely reflects the dearth of professional psychiatric nursing experience in the Nurse Zed team (much the same can be said for operating room nursing and midwifery).
Due to the length of the page it is suggested that users use the search in page function of their browser (usually Ctrl+F or ⌘+F) if they wish to find specific topics.
Courses with a specific or significant focus on COVID-19 are indicated with the following icon: 
Some courses may have originally been designed for other health professions but have relevance for nurses. These courses are indicated with the following icon: 
Please note that some of these courses attract fees, which may be claimable on your tax. These courses are indicated with the following icon: 
Nurse Zed receives no financial or personal benefit in recommending these courses.
Providers:
(Click for quick scroll)
Queensland Clinical Skills Development Service (CSDS)
Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration in Adults
An Introduction to Chest Radiographs
Defibrillation and other uses for the defibrillator
Six Rights to Medication Administration Safety
LearnEM
EM (Emergency Medicine) on the EDGE (Nursing)
ABCDs of Acute Behavioural Emergencies
ABCDs of the Critically Ill Child
NPS Medicinewise
National Standard Medications Chart Course
Quality use of medicines: for health professional students
British Medical Journal
Medcast
Ausmed
Medication safety and knowledge:
- Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
- Preventing Medication Errors
- High-Risk Medications: Avoiding Common Drug Interactions
- Medication Safety
- Medication Safety: Providing Credible Information
- De-prescribing Medications
- Antibacterial Antibiotics
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship
- Pain Management
- Opioids and other analgesics
- Insulin Therapy
- Obesity and Medications
- Lipid lowering medications
- Medicines in pregnancy
- Nausea and vomiting treatment options
Infection Control:
Diabetes Mellitus:
Clinical Deterioration:
- Cardiac Deterioration
- Respiratory Deterioration
- Renal Deterioration
- Sepsis: When Time Matters
- Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalances
- Preoperative Assessment
- Postoperative Assessment and Monitoring
Pathophysiology and Case Studies:
- Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
- Asthma and COPD
- Liver function, assessment and common diseases
- Skin/Integumentary Assessment
- Cardiovascular Assessment
- Rheumatological Assessment
- Women’s Health Assessment
- Neurological Assessment
- Stroke Management
- Allergic Rhinitis (Hayfever)
- Pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and HELLP
- Ectopic Pregnancy
Wound Care:
- Wound Assessment
- Wound Cleansing and Debridement
- Wound Dressings
- Pressure Injuries
- Leg Ulcers and Compression Therapy
Falls Prevention:
Communication:
- Incident Report Writing
- Report Writing in Patient Health Records
- Communication Saves Lives
- Apology and Open Disclosure in Healthcare
- Holding Difficult Conversations in the Workplace
- Managing Aggression in the Workplace
Ethical Care:
- Ethics at the Bedside
- Elder Abuse
- Restraint use in Healthcare
- Advance Care Directives
- Mandatory Reporting
Royal College of Nursing (UK) RCNi Learning
Pathophysiology and disease management courses:
- Alcohol-Related Liver Disease
- Ascites
- Blood glucose monitoring in acute stroke care
- Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP)
- Chronic Heart Failure/Congestive Cardiac Failure (CHF/CCF)
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Pleural Effusions
- Intrapleural Chest Drainage
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease/Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease (COPD/COAD)
- Gout
- Hypertension
Care of the elderly, dementia patients and other vulnerable persons:
- Cultivating compassionate care for patients
- Improving care for people with learning difficulties
- Improving nutrition for older people in acute settings
- Improving surgical outcomes for patients with dementia
- Pressure ulcer prevention in frail, older people
- Promoting better care for stigmatised patients
Emergency care:
- Haemorrhagic Shock
- Preparation and use of resuscitation equipment to assess and treat children in emergency settings
- Use of femoral nerve blocks in adults with hip fractures
General nursing skills:
- Applying critical thinking in nursing
- Care of patients with a stoma
- Care of patients with peristomal skin complications
- Patient safety during nasogastric tube insertion
- Parenteral Nutrition
- Preventing catheter associated urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Preventing healthcare-associated (nosocomial) respiratory tract infections
- Reducing Medication Errors in Nursing Practice
- Caring for people who are dying
- How to care for a patient after death
Australian Primary Nurses Association (APNA)
Some courses are free to non-members; most courses are heavily reduced or free with membership of APNA.
Building Dementia Practice in Primary Care:
- Step 1: Building Dementia Knowledge in Primary Care
- Step 2: Building a Process Towards Dementia Diagnosis
- Step 3: Building an approach to dementia support
- Step 4: Building sustainable dementia practice
Mental Health in Primary Care:
- Part 1: Identification, communication and management
- Part 2: Mental Health Teams, Disorders and Early Intervention
Diabetes Management in the Primary Care Setting:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Diabetes
- Unit 2: Supporting People Living with Diabetes
- Unit 1 and 2 combined with discounted price
Technical Skills:
- Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT): Foundation Course
- Using a doppler to calculate Ankle Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI)
- Immunisation in the Primary Health Care Setting
- Foundations of Ear Cerumen Management/Ear Irrigation
- Basic Pharmacology
Non-technical Skills:
- Leadership in Action
- Identifying, Reporting and Responding to the Abuse of Older People in Care
- Health Literacy: Improving Communication and Participation in Health and Healthcare Delivery
Primary Care Nursing and Health Promotion:
- An Orientation for Nurses New to General Practice
- Scope of Practice in General Practice
- Pre-conception Health Promotion in Primary Care
- Optimising Health as People Age
- Population Health for Nurses
- Foundations of Chronic Disease Management
- APNA Family Planning Decision Support Tool
- Palliative Care
- Influenza Prevention
- Cardiovascular Disease Risk Calculator Tool: Assessment and Management
- Asthma Fundamentals for Primary Health Care Nurses
Pathophysiology:
- An Introduction to Eyes
- Pertussis
- Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and Blood Borne Viruses
- Sickle Cell Disease
- Haemochromatosis for Nurses
- Enhancing Knowledge of Adolescent Fertility
- Obesity, Chronic Disease and Fertility
- Obesity Management
- Ulceration of the Lower Legs
ThinkGP
COVID-19 Coronavirus in Australia
Autism in children: a General Practice guide
Essential epilepsy: from presentation and referral to regular review
Managing iron deficiency, including iron deficiency anaemia, in adult patients
Topical corticosteroids in atopic dermatitis/eczema
Taking control of problem drinking
Optimising insulin for patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in General Practice
Recurrent UTIs and prophylaxis in the era of antibiotic resistance
Dementia:
- Demystifying Dementia: Diagnosis and Management of Dementia
- Dementia in primary care: Carer, legal and end of life issues
- Dementia in primary care: Recognising and managing behavioural and psychological symptoms and physical comorbidities
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD):
- Chronic Kidney Disease management in General Practice
- Chronic Kidney Disease: Issues for General Practitioners
- Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Sinister Combination
Skin Cancer:
- The prevention and early detection of skin cancer in General Practice
- Diagnosis and management of non-melanoma skin cancer
- Diagnosis and treatment of melanoma
- Recognising and managing non-melanoma skin cancer and other effects of sun-damaged skin
- Biopsy techniques, skin cancer prevention and Vitamin D
Nursing CPD Institute
Clinical and Ethical Nursing Skills:
- Gastronomy Tubes and Clinical Care
- Stomal Therapy
- NIKI 34 (NIKI T34TM) syringe driver/pump management
- Indwelling Catheters in Adults
- Infection Control: Aseptic Technique
- Infection Control: Standard Precautions
- National Inpatient Medication Chart Use
- Implementing a Clinical Handover Process
- Understanding Mandatory Notifications
- Family Violence in Clinical Practice
- ECG for all patients in the Post-Anaesthetic Recovery Unit (PACU)?
- Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration
Wounds and Pressure Injuries:
- Risk Factors Associated with Pressure Injury Development
- High Risk Patient Populations and Pressure Injuries
- Categorisation of Wounds
- Physiology of Wound Healing
- 2018 International Recommendations for Skin Tears
Pathophysiology and Clinical Management:
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease/Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease (COPD/COAD)
- Fibromyalgia
- Neuropathic Pain Management
- Down Syndrome
- Gout
- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) testing and Early Management of Prostate Cancer
- Atopic Eczema Management
- Emergence Delirium in Adults
- Colorectal Cancer
- Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Prevention
- Alcohol and Social Determinants of Health: an Equity Lens on Interventions
- 2016 Hip Fracture Clinical Care Standard
- 2016 Australian Clinical Care Standards for Delirium
- Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Clinical Care Standard 2017
- 2018 International Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- 2018 Australia/New Zealand Guidelines for Prevention, Detection and Management of Heart Failure
- Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Human Health
- WHO Consolidated Guideline on Self-care Interventions for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- Preventing DKA at diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) in children under 16
- 2020 Autism Guidelines Update
Remote Area Health Corps (RAHC)
- Introduction to Indigenous Health
- Communication and Education
- Chronic Conditions Management
- Mental Health
- Paediatrics
- Maternity
- Major Incident Management
- Managing Medical Emergencies
- Trachoma
- Ear Health
- Oral Health
- Primary Eye Care Checks
- Eye Health and Diabetes
- Managing Scabies and Crusted Scabies
- Sexual Health in a Primary Health Care Setting
- Machado Joseph Disease (MJD)
- Mandatory Reporting of Domestic and Family Violence
- Northern Territory About Giving Vaccine up-skilling
- Introduction to Remote Driving
- Trachoma Grading
- Trichiasis Grading
- Introduction to Remote Scope of Practice
National Diabetes Services Scheme
National Diabetes Nursing Education Framework
NB: This website is poorly designed; the information relevant here is at the bottom of the page, but clicking the link to find out more will take users directly to a login/register page. The course contains the following module topics:
- Diabetes pathophysiology, prevention, screening and diagnosis
- Blood glucose and ketone monitoring
- Hypoglycaemia
- Hyperglycaemia
- Oral glucose-lowering medications
- Injectable diabetes medications
- Diabetes-related macrovascular conditions
- Diabetes-related microvascular conditions
- Lifestyle factors
- Pregnancy and diabetes
- Bariatric-metabolic surgery
- Diabetes in children and young people
- Supporting diabetes self-management
- Diabetes management in hospital
- Cultural safety.
Lung Foundation Australia
The respiratory system and COPD
National Cancer Nursing Education Project (EdCaN)
Supporting and nursing care resources
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) People and Lung Cancer
eviQ Cancer Education
Antineoplastic drug administration
Best practice management of lung cancer
Clinical and Community Practice:
- Oncology Basics
- Central Venous Access Devices (CVADs, including PICCs and Ports)
- Extravasation
- Geriatric Oncology
- Immunotherapies
- Adult neutropaenia, fever and sepsis
- Psychosocial care of women affected by gynaecological cancers
Rapid Learning Courses: (complete list)
- Understanding systemic anti-cancer therapies (SACT)
- Principles of opioid conversion
- Lung cancer: advancements in treatment and care
- Mastering patient education
- Melanoma: changes across the care pathway
- Superior Vena Cava Obstruction
- Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)
- Brain metastases and associated complications
- Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secrection (SIADH)
- Hypercalcaemia of malignancy (HCM)
- Tumour Lysis Syndrome
Cancer Council eLearning
Occupational carcinogen exposure and cancer
Jean Hailes
Fertility, infertility and preconception
Jean Hailes’s curated list of CPD related to women’s health, sexual health, continence, family planning and contraception, vulvovaginal health including genital dermatology, cervical screening, and working with people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.