Challenges of Fulfilling European Union Directives: The Importance of Clinical Practice at the Bachelor Nursing Study Program

Abstract

Nursing education in EU countries follows EU requirements and directives. Even Albania, as a candidate country in relation to nursing and midwifery education must start planning to implement these standards. EU directives require that 50% of the nursing education curriculum to be converted into hours of laboratory and clinical practice, which should be carried out in specialized hospital units. The non-compliance of the Albanian Nursing Education’s programs with these standards has become an issue for our graduates and makes the equivalentation of the nursing program abroad difficult. Aim: To sightsee the nursing programs offered by Higher Education Institutions in Albania and to analyze how they meet the standards defined in the EU directives. Method: The data was collected from a review of the programs of some Higher Education Institutions in Albania, during the academic year 2019-2021. Results: The results obtained from the analysis of the programs offered by the Higher Education Institutions showed that they do not meet the EU recommendations. The number of hours of nursing lab and clinical practice, as well as the operation of practice are below the standards defined in these directives. Conclusion: This study clearly shows the challenges faced by Higher Education Institutions in Albania. The implementation and coordination of Nursing programs with EU directives is a crucial task. The standardization would enable not only solving the nowadays problems referred by students but would also enable in the future mobility for all lecturers, researchers and nurses who have studied in Albania. Keywords: EU directives, nursing, Higher Education Institution, nursing clinical and laboratory practices.