Table 1
Search terms and combinations.
| SPICE | Search Terms |
|---|---|
| Setting | (Europe OR Finland OR Malta OR United Kingdom OR Slovakia OR Spain OR Germany) |
| Perspective | (“nurs* educator” OR “nurs* teacher” OR “nurs* educator candidate” OR “nurs* lecturer” OR “nurs* faculty” OR “nurs* professor” OR “nurs* tutor”) |
| Intervention | (qualification OR education OR training OR school OR university OR “post-graduate teaching education”) |
| Comparison | Not specified |
| Evaluation | Not specified |
Table 2
Overview of nurse educator education in DE, ES, FI, MT, SK, and the UK.
| DE | ES | FI | MT | SK | UK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulations set by competent authorities | ||||||
| Formal requirements for nurse educators defined by competent authorities | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Ministry that supervises the education of nurse educators | Federal level: Ministry of Health State level: Ministries for Social Affairs Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs | Ministry of Universities | Ministry of Education and Culture | Ministry of Education | Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic | No |
| Documents that regulate the education of nurse educators | Nursing Professions Act 2020 | Regulations as for other academics in higher education | Regulations as for other academics in higher education | Regulations as for other academics in higher education | Regulations as for other academics in higher education | Regulations as for other academics in higher education |
| Requirements for nurse educator education | ||||||
| Nurse educators must be nurses | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No (only some) |
| Educational programmes that qualify nurses | VET (diploma) UAS (bachelor) Uni (bachelor) | Uni (bachelor) | UAS (bachelor) | UAS (bachelor) Uni (bachelor) | Uni (bachelor) | Uni (bachelor) |
| Professional license and/or registration as a nurse | License | License Registration | License | License Registration | Registration | Registration |
| Educational programmes that qualify nurse educators | Further-education programmes (EQF 4/5) Bachelor's level (EQF 6) Master's level (EQF 7) | Doctoral level (EQF 8) | Master's level (EQF 7) Doctoral level (EQF 8) | Master's level (EQF 7) Doctoral level (EQF 8) | Master's level (EQF 7) Doctoral level (EQF 8) | Master's level (EQF 7) Doctoral level (EQF 8) |
| Mandatory educational level for nurse educator education according to laws, acts, or regulations, and the share* of these educators | Master's level (EQF 7) for reasonable share | Doctoral level (EQF 8) for all | Master's level (EQF 7) for all | Master's level (EQF 7) | Master's level (EQF 7) for all | Not applicable |
| Other requirements | Health requirements Clean criminal record | Work experience | Clean criminal record | Health requirements Clean criminal record | Clean criminal record | |
DE= Germany; ES= Spain; EQF= European Qualifications Framework; FI= Finland; MT= Malta; SK= Slovakia; UAS= university of applied sciences; UK= United Kingdom; Uni= university; VET= Vocational education training
Table 3
Educational programmes that qualify nurse educators and their thematic focus.
| Further-education programme | Bachelor's degree | Master's degree | Doctoral degree | Thematic focus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | pedagogy | |
| ES | ✔ | health sciences | |||
| FI | ✔ | ✔ | health sciences pedagogy | ||
| MT | ✔ | ✔ | health sciences pedagogy anthropology sociology | ||
| SK | ✔ | ✔ | health sciences | ||
| UK | ✔ | ✔ | health sciences |
[i] DE= Germany; ES= Spain; FI= Finland; MT= Malta; SK= Slovakia; UK= United Kingdom
Table 4
Structure of programmes for nurse educator education in DE, FI, and the UK.
| DE | FI | UK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level of formal education for nurse educators | Master's degree (EQF 7) | Master's degree (EQF 7) | Certificate programme |
| ECTS (credit points) | 60–120 | 60* | 60 |
| Full-time/Part-time | Full-time Part-time | Full-time Part-time | Part-time |
| Institution that provides nurse educator education | Uni UAS | Uni UAS | Uni |
| Financing | Tuition fees (paid by students) Public funds | Public funds | Free, but students must be in post in order to participate |
Table 5
Working environments for nurse educators.
| UK | DE | ES | SK | FI | MT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Classroom teaching | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Development and innovation projects | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Digital environment | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| (Skills) Laboratory | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Clinical teaching | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Socio-political activity/interaction | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
[i] DE= Germany; ES= Spain; FI= Finland; MT= Malta; SK= Slovakia; UK= United Kingdom