Nursing education at Spanish universities.
Section: TEACHING TO LEARN
Authors
Epifanio Fernández Collado
Position
Doctor en Enfermería. Catedrático de Universidad de Enfermería. Universidad Europea de Madrid.
Contact address
C/ Tajo, s/n. 28070 Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid.
Contact email: epifanio.fernández@uem.es
Abstract
This paper is based on reflections from past experiences lived and accumulated in my professional life as a healthcare nurse, as an educator, as a manager and as an investigator. I consider myself to be part of the world that I research, I consider that I influence and am also influenced by the world and this compels me to use self-reflection as an investigation element. My aim is to provide a critical vision of what has been carried out since 1978 to construct a new Graduate model, overcoming errors from the past and recognising the advances made in the nursing discipline at university level. The integration at the European Space for Higher Education is an opportunity and a strength that we need to face and take advantage of in this decisive year of 2007 in order to construct the new development of Graduate, Postgraduate and Doctorate degrees in Nursing at Spanish universities. This position does not pretend to be the only and absolute truth. It is one truth among many other truths; it is the truth that comes from past experiences lived by the author herself, whose wish is to share her insight.
To do this, I have taken into account the trajectory I have led throughout my professional life, forged since 1975 to the present. I have taken possession of this reality, keeping as critical as possible regarding the reality of nursing, a reality that I have unveiled in order to make it known and have followed Freire’s style in an attempt to identify myths that are deceitful help and that help maintain the reality of a dominant structure. These reflections are developed and presented in the form of an article divided into two parts: a first part entitled “A retrospective look into the education curricula of nurses at Spanish universities”; and a second part entitled “Challenges and questions on nursing education in the development and implantation of the Graduate degree”.
Keywords:
nursing education; curricular development; nursing discipline at Spanish universitiesEuropean Space for Higher Education
Versión en Español
Título:
