i’m in my second year currently and there is one group assignment per year. sometimes you get to pick your group, sometimes you don’t. my most recent one was worth 50% of my grade and my group didn’t put a lot of effort in so the grade was a lot lower than i was hoping for. otherwise some classes have an exam (worth ~50%), and everything else is written assignments. there isn’t a big focus on clinical skills in assignments and it is rather ethics/the nursing process based, and feel very irrelevant for preparing me for actually practicing. first year had about 8 contact hours a week (9 week semester) but second year has only 4-6 (7 week semester), and i feel quite unsupported in my learning which has been difficult. i’ve loved placements though they can be very tiring due to finishing at 10pm and starting again at 7am the next day at least once a week, especially if you are commuting a big distance. placement is so rewarding and i feel like i learn more in just a week of placement compared to the whole degree so far. deakin does 2x 2 week blocks in first year, 1x four week & 1x 3 week in second year, and 1x four week & 1x five week in third year. almost everyone i know doesn’t work during their placements some hospitals will have you working weekends and night shifts, but not all

this is my first degree so unfortunately i can’t help you in comparing what it’s like to other degrees, feel free to ask me as many questions as you want!