Public health nursing education in Ireland and Norway: A comparative analysis

Background: Public health, primary health care, and nursing are founding principles of public health nursing. Thus, the underpinning curriculum needs to reflect these core principles. Public health nursing educators sought to delve deeper into curricula and training of public health nurse (PHNs) in Ireland and Norway. Objective: To compare PHNs’ educational training in Ireland and Norway through a collaborative process. Design: This study used a descriptive comparative design. Sample: A panel of expert educators (the authors) compared national Public health nursing education strategies, guidelines, and curricula used to train PHN students. Results: Four core categories emerged from the analysis: general characteristics, theoretical and empirical knowledge base for PHNs practice, applying theory to clinical practice, and professional/ethical dimensions for practice. Results revealed more similarities than differences in both countries’ educational models. The central difference related to the specialist role in Norway versus the generalist role in Ireland. Conclusions: Workforce requirements drive the delivery of Public Health Nursing programs and educational curricula. However, it is imperative that educators evaluate their curricula in terms of fitness and practice, not just purpose.