The current study sought to compare nursing education in Ireland and China. The comparison covered a variety of topics, including the history of nursing education, the current education system, graduate-level nursing education, and discussions about the state of nurse education in the two countries.
The progress of nursing education in China was intertwined with historical events that occurred in the country. Nursing care, for example, was previously provided by traditional medical practitioners utilizing traditional Chinese medicine, while close family members were in charge of the patient's daily care. The first missionary hospitals were built in China between 1820 and 1951. (Wong & Zhao, 2012). In 1837, the first short course training in nursing was initiated. Later in 1887, a nursing training course was launched in the West Gate Hospital three years after Elizabeth McKechnie – the first American nurse arrived into the country and introduced the system of nursing pioneered by Florence Nightingale (Smith & Tang, 2004). In 1933, the Chinese government established government-owned nursing education colleges; the nursing education was unified in 1951, and the duration of all nursing education was extended to 36 months in 1954 (Wong & Zhao, 2012).
Ireland
In Ireland, the history of the education for nurses was somewhat different from what was experienced in China; this was primarily because nursing education was fundamentally modeled after the Florence Nightingale apprenticeship model, which remained as the preferred approach to nursing care for over 100 years (Dwyer, 2007). The widespread adoption of the apprenticeship model was attributed to the failure of the healthcare system to give precedence to nursing education. It was only later that the nursing education in Ireland was reformed. Notably, in 2002, the nursing preregistration program was introduced in Ireland, opening up a new frontier for the nursing education in Ireland (Dwyer, 2007).
Comparison of Ireland and China
Given the historical development of nursing education outlined above, it was deduced that education for nurses in China and Ireland transitioned from the Florence Nightingale model to modern nursing practices over different periods. China was the first to adopt advanced nursing approaches while Ireland followed suit many years later.
China
The government of China has influenced the education offered to nurses through the development of nursing facilities and enactment of legislation that determines the direction of nursing education. A case in point, in 2008 the government of China enacted the New Nurses Act which governed nursing education, training, and practice (Wong & Zhao, 2012). Apart from the government, other organizations have a bearing towards nursing education in China, and they include Chinese Nursing Association, which is part of the international council of nurses.
Ireland
The Irish government facilitated the modification of the education offered to nurses in the country through the rollout of the first pre-registration nursing program in 2002. It is worthy to note that most of the changes to nursing education that took place in Ireland were informed by the actions of the nursing organizations. For instance, in 1999, the Psychiatric Nurses Association and Irish Nurses Organization initiated a nationwide strike that lasted for nine days. The industrial action resulted in the remodeling of the education; the formation of the Commission on Nursing (Dwyer, 2007) and the pre-licensure 4-year nursing program by the Irish government.
Comparison of Ireland and China
Based on the information presented above, it was deduced that nursing organizations had influenced the scope and direction of nursing education in both countries. Nonetheless, the Chinese and the Irish governments had the overall mandate of defining the components and length of nursing education, while the nursing organizations in the two countries were instrumental in bringing to the fore the fundamental challenges affecting nursing education in the two countries.
China
The current nursing programs in China take between three and four years. After completion of the studies, the nursing students are required to sit for the National Nurse Qualification Examination; upon passing the examination, the nurses are then licensed to practice nursing. The government has undertaken some initiatives geared towards improving nursing education such as the construction of lab centers, competence training models and advanced practice nursing in China (Wong & Zhao, 2012).
Ireland
The Irish nursing education was modeled as a four-year course. The nursing students spend the first three years learning theoretical concepts and gaining experience in clinical practice. However, in the fourth year, the students are posted to healthcare service providers to obtain further hands-on work experience (Dwyer, 2007). Besides, unlike China, Ireland has made the transition into all-graduate nurse human resources. After the completion of the fourth year of training, the nurses have to be registered by the NMBI (NMBI), 2017) after undertaking the prerequisite examinations.
Comparison of Ireland and China
The current education offered to nurses in both China and Ireland was modeled on international best practices and fundamental courses in nursing at the diploma, undergraduate, and graduate level. Besides, the competency of the nurses is further evaluated by the board examinations administered by NMBI and NNQE in Ireland and China, respectively.
Post-Graduate (Masters) Education
China
China had different masters programs in nursing initiated with the aim of enhancing the ratio and competencies of specialist nurses who can handle advanced clinical cases. The programs include the M.Sc. program in nursing with a specialization in either research or clinical practice (Wang, Whitehead, & Bayes, 2016). However, postgraduate education in nursing encompasses courses that are not directly related to nursing such as political theory, English linguistics, and statistics.
Ireland
The nursing master’s program in Ireland is modeled after the curriculum in the Western countries. Besides, Irish nurses with graduate education had broader career options such as continuing with clinical practice or transitioning into academia (Drennan, 2008).
Comparison of Ireland and China
The form of education offered in both Ireland and China was informed by the need to have a competent nursing workforce that is capable of addressing the new dynamics in clinical practice in the respective countries. It was noted that the two states had adopted the standard international curriculum in nursing. However, masters programs in China have incorporated other courses that were deemed relevant to their healthcare system.
Conclusion: Reflections on Nursing Education
Presently, Chinese clinical education has resulted in the production of surplus nurses; more nurses graduate in China; however, not all were absorbed by the healthcare sector (Fang, 2007). Nonetheless, the surplus was regarded as artificial because only 39 and 9 percent of nurses in China were diploma graduates and first-degree holders, respectively (Wong & Zhao, 2012). It was noted that the Irish healthcare system has managed to catch up with other nursing education system in advanced economies, despite the late adoption of the collegiate nursing education. In brief, there was a need for China to extend the scope of nursing education because less than 50 percent of its nurse population had a diploma or undergraduate degree.
References
Drennan, J. (2008). Professional and academic destination of masters in nursing graduates: A national survey. Nurse Education Today, 28(6), 751–759.
Dwyer, P. O. (2007). The Educational Preparation of Nurses in Ireland. Nursing Education Perspectives, 28(3), 136–9.
Fang, Z. Z. (2007). Potential of China in global nurse migration. Health Services Research, 42(3 II), 1419–1428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00717.x
NMBI. (2017). Registration. Retrieved October 24, 2017, from https://www.nmbi.ie/Registration/Candidates/Adaptation-assessment-candidates
Smith, D., & Tang, S. (2004). Nursing in China: Historical development, current issues and future challenges. Journal of Oita Nursing and Health Sciences, 5(2), 16–20. Retrieved from http://www.oita-nhs.ac.jp/journal/PDF/5_2/5_2_1.pdf
Wang, C. C., Whitehead, L., & Bayes, S. (2016). Nursing education in China: Meeting the global demand for quality healthcare. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 3(1), 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2016.02.009
Wong, F. K. Y., & Zhao, Y. (2012). Nursing education in China: Past, present and future. Journal of Nursing Management, 20(1), 38–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01335.x
