Since the degree programme launched in autumn 2017, the students have successfully completed their studies in the degree programme in Advanced Nursing Practice containing also pedagogical teacher studies. The studies have contained distance and contact learning in Kazakhstan, and a 2-week study visit to Jyväskylä, where the students observed Finnish nurses in their daily work. The degree programme was implemented in cooperation with teachers from JAMK, Lahti University of Applied Sciences and KazMUCE.
Most of the graduating students work in medical educational institutions or health care settings as teachers, doctors, or nurses. Through the programme, the students have obtained valuable tools for their own teaching:
“In the hospital, we conduct training activities, but they are held only in the form of lectures; nurses do not actively participate in classes. After an internship in Finland, I saw how JAMK teachers conduct classes and I wanted to try to start teaching my nurses using pedagogical methods.”
After completing their studies in the degree programme in Advanced Nursing Practice, graduates can work as expert nurses in clinical care as well as in nursing teacher positions. Some students have already benefitted from their improved expertise:
“At the time of admission --, I was a senior nurse at the diagnostic department. I am currently working as a nursing expert. I think the training at this master's level influenced these changes, and I am very glad.”
– As a result of this collaboration, Kazakhstan has masters of health care in the field of nursing who possess an internationally corresponding level of knowledge and skills for forming the basis for the development of the nursing profession in the Republic of Kazakhstan to increase the universal coverage of health, Academic Director of the Programme, Senior Advisor Johanna Heikkilä explains.
The first cohort of graduates will be followed by a second one next year, as the group of students who started their studies in autumn 2018 finish their studies. In the future, JAMK is looking to expand the cooperation with other Kazakh universities and organizations.
JAMK has been an active operator in Kazakhstan since 2012 and has been chosen, alongside Lahti University of Applied Sciences, as a strategic partner of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MoH) for the development of nursing education in 2016–2019. JAMK’s other current activities in Kazakhstan in the field of health care include a 2,5-year development project for the MoH and a 3-year Erasmus+ project, which both aim to support the health care reform and modernization of nursing education in Kazakhstan.
Further information:
Johanna Heikkilä
Senior Advisor
JAMK University of Applied Sciences
Tel. +358408488623
johanna.heikkila(a)jamk.fi
