In-country activities
BiH | Harmonization of nurse curricula with European standards
Higher nurse education has been in place in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since 2002, when one of the existing public faculties introduced bachelor studies in nursing. It replaced the previous short-cycle programs and complements still ongoing secondary nurse education. Today, all nine public faculties offer bachelor, six offer master studies, while four faculties have also PhD studies in nursing. However, a brief analysis indicated that these programs differ significantly among the faculties and in comparison with the EU (in terms of titles obtained, duration and number of training hours, proportion of practical training, subjects taught, learning outcomes, core competencies etc.).
With the support of the Strengthening Nursing in BiH Project (ProSes), financed by the Swiss Government, the process of curricula revision and their alignment with European standards was initiated. It is expected to enable student, teacher and worker mobility within both BiH and Europe, but also to contribute to the improved nurse competences and quality of nursing care. Between 2015 and 2017, the project supported the revision of bachelor nursing curricula at four BiH faculties and equipped clinical skills laboratories at all of the faculties.
Research into the existing master study programs was conducted during 2018/2019 at all the six public faculties in BiH with the nursing master’s degree programs. The Consensus Group Technique was used in groups consisted of academic staff members and representatives of the education and health ministries. The findings showed that master programs were not aligned with the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) competences for Advance Nurse Practice (ANP) and vertical upgrade of the Directive 2013/55/EU on the recognition of professional qualifications. In that regard, the following issues were identified: (i) discrepancy between the program’s title and subjects taught; (ii) subjects with the biomedical orientation; (iii) inadequate use of the term “nursing”; (iv) high percentage of the medical teaching staff; (v) inadequate percentage of elective subjects and individual student work. Following the analysis, the master study curricula of the six faculties were revised and aligned with the European standards, taking into consideration teaching capacities and internal regulations of the faculties as well as the existing legal framework. Three faculties have developed nursing master’s degree programs, while the other three opted for health sciences/studies master’s degree.
The new conceptualization of master's education of nurses was needed also because of the necessity for the continuous upgrade of nurses' knowledge and skills for them better respond to health needs and challenges in the country. The revision process was facilitated by a regional (Slovenian) nurse expert and supported by ProSes.
Recently, the project has also initiated the process of alignment of secondary nurse education with European standards in order to allow the shift of nurse education in BiH from secondary to higher education level.
Related resources
Contacts
Nena Markovic, Pillar 3 Manager
Strengthening Nursing in Bosnia and Herzegovina Project
nena@fondacijafami.org
Maja Zaric, Senior Programme Officer and Advisor on Cooperation Policy
Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina
maja.zaric@eda.admin.ch
