Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical preparation of nurses for professional practice. It is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other health professionals who are qualified or experienced educators, traditionally in a type of professional school known as a nursing school or college of nursing. Pre-qualification education is typically offered at the diploma or bachelor’s degree level. Depending on the country, programs may prepare students for general nursing or a specialty such as mental health nursing or pediatric nursing. Nurse education commonly continues after graduation through post-qualification courses in specialist subjects such as postoperative care.
Historical background
Nurse education was traditionally delivered through an apprenticeship, often undertaken in religious institutes such as convents by young women (although there has always been a proportion of male nurses, especially in mental health services). Over time an emphasis on evidence-based practice has replaced the more ritualistic practical training structure with a more academic pathway.
Early development In 1859, Valérie de Gasparin and her husband Agénor de Gasparin opened the first nursing school in the world in Lausanne, Switzerland. Florence Nightingale was one of the pioneers in establishing the idea of nursing schools from her base at St Thomas' Hospital, London in 1860 when she opened the 'Nightingale Training School for Nurses', now part of King's College London. Her intention was to train nurses to a qualified and specialized level, with the key aim of learning to develop observation skills and sensitivity to patient needs, then allow them to work in hospital posts across the United Kingdom and abroad. Her influence flourished and nursing is now a course taught at a number of British universities. In 1873, the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing, of New York City, was founded. It was the first school of nursing in the United States to be founded on the principles of nursing established by Florence Nightingale. The School operated at Bellevue Hospital until its closure in 1969. Some other nurses at that time, notably Ethel Gordon Fenwick, were in favor of formalized nursing registration and curricula that were formally based in higher education and not within the confines of hospitals. Rebecca Strong OBE (1843–1944) started a Preliminary Training School for Nurses at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1893. She had been working as a Matron there since 1879. This 'block apprenticeship' programme had separate classroom based teaching and practical periods on the wards. Two courses were arranged in conjunction with the Professors of St. Mungo's College - a three-month course consisting of elementary Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene. If these exams were passed a second course was given which consisted of Medicine, Surgery and Practical Nursing. The prospective nurse was then able to enter the hospital with this theoretical knowledge. Strong was supported by the pioneering surgeon Sir William Macewen. Eva Luckes, Matron of The London Hospital (1880–1919) was mentored by Florence Nightingale, and was her friend and disciple.Eva Luckes was another innovator in nurse training and education and introduced the Preliminary Training School concept to England in 1895. This was adopted as an element of mandatory training programme following the 1919 Nurse Registration Act. Eva Luckes produced over 470 matrons who filled posts at home and abroad, including three who filled the top positions in Military Nursing, Ethel Becher, Sarah Oram and Maud McCarthy. Luckes's other matrons also spread her style of "Nightingale nursing" to voluntary hospitals and infirmaries both in the provinces and London. They included Annie McIntosh, Matron of St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1910–1927.
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