Admission Procedures in Nursing Education and Training

Abstract

This article discusses the difficulties encountered by nursing institutes in developing admission criteria. Eligibility requirements for training are currently based on cognitive abilities. Criteria such as empathy which is much needed for any social profession is hardly taken into consideration. The aim of this article is therefore to underscore the significance of students’ psychological and mental development potential. Narcissistic and dissociative difficulties in the social professions are discussed in connection with the importance of admission criteria. The risks involved in developing criteria and the dangers of sadistic relationships of dependency are also discussed. Moreover, there is a focus on both students’ functional levels of personality organization and mentalization abilities as they are used as qualification criteria within the social professions. Kernberg’s Structural Interview is used to determine the functional level of an individual. The Reflective Functioning Scale by Fonagy et al. is used to assess mentalization abilities in both individual and group settings. The capacity to form relationships with others, to reflect on these and the development for psychological growth qualify students for the social professions. If training institutes focus on these capacities rather than on cognitive abilities when accepting students for training, they will be more likely to assess whether students are eligible for training.