The ANMF (Vic Branch) Council has awarded almost $1 million to members in the latest round of course fee grants.
ANMF’s course fee grants are available to support members completing specialist post-registration or postgraduate nursing or midwifery education. Grants cover up to 80 per cent of tuition costs.
In 2022–2023, grants were awarded to a record 474 members undertaking postgraduate education in clinical areas of interest and greatest need, including:
- critical care nursing
- emergency nursing
- perioperative or perianaesthesia nursing
- renal nursing
- maternal and child health nursing.
A further 39 applicants were successful in receiving assistance for subjects contributing to a master’s qualification and 12 of these applicants were undertaking the nurse practitioner model in the specialities of emergency, perioperative, intensive care, midwifery, cardiology, cancer care, wound management and newborn nursing.
Once again there were significant applications in this round for maternal and child health nursing (53 successful applicants), perioperative (51), critical care (28), and emergency nursing (25).
Across all applicants, the total amount award to members was $989,100.
How does this compare to previous years?
ANMF’s course fee grants were introduced in 2018, with 102 successful applicants receiving almost $350,000 in that initial round. In 2019, we awarded 114 members study assistance totalling just over $485,000. The following year, 193 members received fee funding of more than $685,000. During the 2021 round, almost $740,000 went to 221 members.
The $989,100 total awarded to 474 members this year is a decrease on the record-breaking $1.3 million awarded in the 2022 fee grants round, which was approved due to an unparalleled increase in applications that year.
There is also more financial support available for nurses and midwives wishing to advance their careers now, with the Andrews Labor Government offering scholarships for postgraduate nurses to complete studies in speciality areas such as intensive care, emergency, cancer care and midwifery. The government also provided scholarships of up to $12,000 to support the training and employment of 100 new nurse practitioners in both acute and community settings.
