[Questioning nursing education. A descriptive study].

Abstract

There are only few published investigations on graduates of nursing training programs in the German speaking area. The aim of the reported descriptive study was to gain information on the professional and academic career of Schwesternschule der Universität Heidelberg (University of Heidelberg nursing school; USH) graduates. Former students of all courses from 1953 to 1998 were asked about their vocational and academic development after training, about the length of their professional career as well as about their personal motivation to apply for academic courses or to leave the nursing profession. Analysis of data shows that Heidelberg graduates tend to stay comparatively long in the nursing field and prove a remarkable tendency to participate in further education programs and academic courses. It will be examined to what extend this can be led back to the training at the USH. Furthermore it will be investigated in how far widespread myths and prejudices about the USH and its graduates can be confirmed or refuted by the data.