Abstract:
The nature and scope of education in nursing are determined by the development
and extension of the role of the nurse in health services and the concept
of nursing as such. The following factors have created new demands and
thus contributed towards a re-definition of education in nursing: the nature
of the didactic scene in the basic education of nurses; the changing nature
of inter-personal relations in the field of health; the changing interpretation
of the concept of a 'patient'; and the demands inherent in modern health
sciences as well as the contemporary role of the nurse.
Nursing education is committed to the extension of the science of nursing,
and to the development of literature on nursing within a framework of
cultural identity. The emphasis is on continual research. It is further committed
to the creation of a specific milieu, essential to the student of nursing who
desires to become a professionally competent member of the health team as
well as a mature, educated member of the community.
Because nursing education is part of vocational education, the principles it
embodies are essentially those of modern adult education. As in education
in general, the challenge of education in nursing lies in discovering the
potential of each student. The teacher's raison d'etre is derived from personal
conviction, and from a recognition of the necessity of commitment and
dedication.
