Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar;72(1):e12982.
doi: 10.1111/inr.12982. Epub 2024 May 31.

Understanding of and attitudes towards nursing education reform at medical colleges in Kyrgyzstan: A mixed-method study

Brigita Skela-Savič  1 , Altynai Mambetova  2 , Marina Giachino  3 , Olivia Heller  3 , Kathrine Zimmermann  3 , Gulzat Orozalieva  2 , Burulcha Rustamova  2 , Nurida Zhusupbekova  4 , Bruno Lab  3
Affiliations

Understanding of and attitudes towards nursing education reform at medical colleges in Kyrgyzstan: A mixed-method study

Brigita Skela-Savič et al. Int Nurs Rev. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Aim: To determine teachers' understanding of and attitudes towards nursing education reform at four medical colleges in Kyrgyzstan.

Background: The quality of nursing education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels has a major impact on patient outcomes and the development of nursing as a profession and a science.

Introduction: Lower middle-income countries have sought to advance their nursing education by adopting the experiences of high-income countries.

Methods: A mixed-method cross-sectional study design was used. The STROBE combined checklist was followed. A cohort of all faculty members at four colleges were included (N = 150). The questionnaire consisted of 10 groups of questions and statements. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.

Findings: A total of 56.4% of respondents were familiar with the European approach to nurse education; 73.3% of respondents with a nursing education reported being familiar with the European approach, compared to 40.7% of respondents with a medical education. Qualitative written comments yielded 57 superscripts of codes, 14 subcategories, 5 categories and 2 themes as drivers and barriers of reform.

Discussion: The survey revealed weak support for the nursing education reform. Respondents do not envisage nurse education being offered at all three levels of higher education (bachelor's, master's, and PhD), and even fewer recognise nurses as leaders of healthcare institutions.

Implication for nursing: Teachers in nursing programmes should mostly be nurses with academic careers.

Implication for health policy: Nursing is still not recognised as an extremely important health profession that needs to be developed. This misunderstanding and negative attitude towards the role of nurses in the health care system are evident in both the quantitative and qualitative parts of the study.

Keywords: Baccalaureate; credentialing; nursing capacity building; nursing care; nursing education; nursing leadership; nursing policy; nursing regulation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow chart of the development of thematic qualitative insights. KR, Kyrgyz Republic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Aiken, L.H. et al. (2014) Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: a retrospective observational study. Lancet, 383, 1824–1830. 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62631-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baker, C. , Cary, A.H. & Conceicao Bento, B. (2021) Global standards for professional nursing education: the time is now. Journal of Professional Nursing, 37, 86–92. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.10.001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burford, B. et al. (2020) Effects of a single interprofessional simulation session on medical and nursing students' attitudes toward interprofessional learning and professional identity: a questionnaire study. BMC Medical Education [Electronic Resource], 20, 65. 10.1186/s12909-020-1971-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Campos Silva, S. et al. (2022) Nurse educator education in six European countries: a descriptive study. International Journal of Health Profession, 9, 67–77. 10.2478/ijhp-2022-0006 - DOI
    1. Cho, E. , Chin, D. L. , Kim, S. , & Hong, O. (2016) The relationship of nurse staffing level and work enviroment with patient adverse events. J. Nurs. Scholarsh, 48(1), 74–82. 10.1111/jnu121183 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources