EU Infringements Belgium case Gerlinde De Clercq Dean Erasmus University College Brussels

Content  Declaration of BOLOGNA and its impact on the nursing education in Belgium  Nursing education in Belgium  Dir 36 Infringements  Questions

FIRST SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT BELGIUM

Flanders + Wallonia + German = Belgium

Declaration of Bologna History  Ministres of education of 40 (mostly Eur.) countries compromises on the creation of one ‘higher educational landscape’

Declaration of Bologna Starting point –Increased demand for higher educated employees –Transparancy between educational levels –Increased competition in higher education

Declaration of Bologna Purposes  1 Higher educational landscape  More transparancy  International settlement of certificate’s and degree’s  Students- and lecturers mobility  Between 2010!!!

Declaration of Bologna  BACHELOR-MASTER SRUCTURE  ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System  MOBILITY OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS  QUALITY ASSURENCE ON EUROPEAN LEVEL (Accreditation)  PROMOTION OF THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION

Nursing education in a European perspective  Qualified nurses (EQF level 5)  Bachelor in Nursing (EQF 6) –180 ECTS  Bachelor after Bachelor Executive and Management Training for Headnurses –60 ECTS  Master in Nursing and Midwifery (EQF 7) –120 ECTS  Phd in Nursing ( EQF 8)

NURSING BACHELOR PROGRAMME profession-oriented and scientific, and combines theoretical and clinical education.  The theoretical part includes, nursing and biomedical and social scientific programme elements.  The clinical education part includes practical nursing and communicative skills, and also includes practice placements.

Nursing education Annual review first year  Nursing methodology  Nursing Theory  Specific target groups  Anatomy- physiology-biology  Microbiology-hygienics-prevention  Dietetics-biochemistry  Psychology-philosophy-sociology  Law –deontology  Skills-practice placement

Nursing education Annual review 2th year  Nursing methodology  Nursing Theory  Option-oriented nursing  Basic pathology  Specialised pathology  Psychology-ethics  Skills  Practice placement

Nursing education Annual review 3th year  Nursing diagnostics and interventions  Evidence based nursing  Special Methodology  Pathology  Pychological and social siences  Thesis dissertation  Skills  Practice placement

NURSING BACHELOR PROGRAMME Decree of April 2004: flexibility of higher Education  1 ECTS = hours of work. =10 hours of courses

Directive 2005/36/EG  The training of nurses responsible for general care shall comprise at least three years of study or 4600 hours of theoretical and clinical training.  The duration of the theoretical trainig representing at least one-third and the duration of the clinical training at least one half of the minimum duration of the training

NURSING BACHELOR PROGRAMME First year: 366 actual course hours of theoretical courses 298 actual course hours of practical nursing Total of 1593 workload hours Total of 60 credits Second year: 426 hours of theoretical courses 520 hours of practical nursing Total of 1740 workload hours Total of 60 credits

NURSING BACHELOR PROGRAMME Third year 290 hours of theoretical courses 600 hours of practical nursing Total of 1659 workload hours Total of 60 credits

Clinical placement  1st Year –8 weeks  2nd Year –14 weeks  3th Year –18 weeks

Directive 2005/36/EG  The training of nurses responsible for general care shall comprise at least three years of study or 4600 hours of theoretical and clinical training.  The duration of the theoretical trainig representing at least one-third and the duration of the clinical training at least one half of the minimum duration of the training

infringement 4600 ‘hours’ What’s the definition of course hour?

Clinical instruction Nursing in relation to:  General and specialist medicine  General and specialist surgery  Child and pediatrics  Maternity care  Mental health and psychiatry  Care of the old and geriatrics  Home nursing

infringement  No clinical practice/instruction on a maternity  Field of the Midwifery

FLEXIBILITY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION  The student can study part-time thanks to the semster principle  Earlier acquired competences and earlier acquired qualifications are taken into account  More E-learning = students can study at home

infringement  2005/36/EG knowledge and expierence listed in the annex V, Point is acquired in an adequate manner.  Article 31,2: Training of nurses responsible for generale care shall be given on a Full- time basis and shall include at least the programme described in the annex V, Point

Specialised versus general nurse  During the third year of the study there is a little differentiation on certain areas of nursing Option = 30 ECTS of the 60 Option in geriatrics, pediatrics, psychiatrics, social nursing, hospital nursing

infringement  Training of nurses responsible for general care  It is a general nurse with a little specialisation/differentiation in geriatrics, pediatrics, ….  Hospitals are asking for “specialised” nurses

Minister of Education has responded to the commission that the Belgium nursing education is conform the directives.

Conclusions We are pro-active in formulating solutions  We are working to instal bridging courses for those nurses who are not potentialy complying with the EU directive 36  We are actualising the curriculum conform the dir 2005/36/EG

Questions? More information? 