International Day of the Nurse

In order to develop nursing science and research in the higher education system of Kazakhstan, since 2021, an international structural project for the capacity building in higher education  as a part of the Erasmus+ program "Accelerating master and PhD level nursing education development in the higher education system in Kazakhstan– AccelEd" has been launched in our country, aimed at improving management, planning, quality assurance of services, internationalization and wider recognition nursing education at the master's and PhD doctoral level, where the project co-coordinator in Kazakhstan is the Astana Medical University with active involvement of researchers from European partners – Lithuania, Finland and The Netherlands.

Time dictates that the further development of nursing is impossible without the integration of education, practice and science. Thus, the goals and objectives of the project were formed on the basis of the problems and challenges associated with higher nursing education and the specific needs of the target groups of the project.

The goal of the project to strengthen nursing education at the master's level, as well as the creation and implementation of PhD doctoral studies in nursing science in Kazakhstan corresponds to the strategic interests of the Republic of Kazakhstan and meets the needs of specialists in the field of nursing education, research and clinical practice.

It has already been over 2 years of fruitful implementation of the AccelEd project. Despite the unstable situation in the world, the AccelEd project team successfully carried out 15 project events with the active participation and support of associated partners, nurses, representatives of practical healthcare organizations.

To date, 85 students of higher educational institutions, 169 teachers, 64 representatives of practical healthcare, 33 administrative staff have been trained in nursing theories, methodology of qualitative research, nursing services, service design approach, maintaining the quality of postgraduate education in the field of nursing.

During the events, educational and methodological materials were developed, which are freely available on the project's website. Following the results of the trainings and master classes, the participants wrote works, the best of which were selected for publication in Astana medical journals and on the website of the Center for the Improvement of Nursing. Three (3) reports with recommendations on the development of structures and processes of cooperation between universities and healthcare institutions have been prepared and sent to ministries and healthcare institutions for consideration; a report on experience and recommendations in working with service design and methods of its facilitation to support the development of nursing services in Kazakhstan; a report on the best practices of education management in master's and doctoral studies in nursing, as well as the necessary reforms to support the quality of postgraduate education in the field of nursing.

Within the framework of the project, undergraduates and doctoral students completed a 7–week, and the teaching staff of the Faculty of Nursing completed a 2-week scientific and pedagogical internship at universities in Finland, Lithuania and the Netherlands. The purpose of the internships is to exchange experience and improve competencies in the field of research and pedagogy. During the internship, foreign professors shared what pedagogical methods are used in the learning process, familiarized with current and completed studies. It is important to note that the internship assists in improving the quality of research in the field of nursing as a separate discipline.

By the end of the project, it is planned to hold 2 conferences that will be held in June in Almaty and in October in Astana. More information can be found on the official website and social networks of the project.