Comparison of two nursing education systems - Assignment Example

Comparison of Nursing Education Systems There are numerous nursing education systems that every country implements depending on its resources and educational and cultural standards. Every nursing education system has its potential benefits for the nurses, and offers best possible training and knowledge to the nurses. Both the Chinese and the American nursing education systems have gone through a number of central, socio-political, and hierarchical changes that have created profound impact upon the nursing education systems of both the countries.

This paper compares the nursing education systems of China and USA. China has developed three kinds of nursing education systems over time. These include certificate, associate, and baccalaureate. There are two levels of entry into the Chinese nursing education systems, and these are middle school and high school education. Certificate programs, operated by hospital-affiliated health schools, produce Husi which is the name given to nursing technicians who pass that certification. Husi is the most common types of nurses that are seen in the Chinese hospitals.

The certificate program is of four years upon the completion of which the students take the State Nurse Registration Examination (RN). Passing students qualify to work in hospitals as Husi. The graduates of health schools enter the next level, the associate degree program, which produces Hushi, who are the nursing educators. It is a three year program delivered at the department of nursing at some technical college. The baccalaureate degree program is the highest level of nursing education (Zerwekh & Garneau, 2013, p.142). It is a five year program that produces nurses who work at management positions in clinical nursing.

The nursing system of China is not as well-developed as America, although it is huge in size, claim Stanhope and Lancaster (2013, p.81). On the other hand, USA implements four kinds of nursing education systems. These include certificate, associate, diploma, and baccalaureate. Unlike China, the American nursing education systems have only one entry level that is high school graduation. The certificate program produces Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) or Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs). These nurses work in hospitals under the supervision of registered nurses after passing a licensure examination.

The certificate programs are of nine to twelve month duration, which is much unlike the Chinese certification program which is of four year duration. The associate degree program produces registered nurses of the lowest technical level at two year or four year community colleges, unlike China where this program is of three year duration. These nurses qualify to give bedside care in acute, long term care settings. The diploma nursing education produces registered nurses at affiliated universities.

Initially, the diploma programs which did not conform to the nursing education standards were closed; but later on, these programs started getting affiliated with good technical universities. Still, these programs are not the most sought after option for the nurses. The baccalaureate degree program produces nurses who are able to work as caregivers, patient advocates, scholars, researchers, instructors and front-runners, within the structured or non-structured hospital settings. They provide care to individuals, families and communities.

Initially it was a five year program, but now it has been converted into four year program. In China, this program is still of five year duration. Unlike China, the nursing education system in America is very well-developed (Keating, 2010, p.2). Hence, it is clear that both China and USA implement efficient nursing education systems. Both the systems produce professional nurses of best expertise. There are some differences in entrance criteria, duration and structure of programs, but the basic system of level by level education remains the same.

ReferencesKeating, S. (2010). History of nursing education in North America. Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing (2nd ed., p. 2). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2013). Perspectives in health-care and population-centered nursing. Public Health Nursing - Revised Reprint: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community (8th ed., p. 81). New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences. Zerwekh, J., & Garneau, A.Z. (2013). What is a BSN/MSN completion program?

Nursing Today- Revised Reprint (7th ed., p. 142). New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.