A comparison of education in Greek and English nurses

• Published in: International nursing review Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 88 - 93
• Main Authors: Bakalis, N. A., Bowman, G. S., Porock, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.06.2004
• Subjects: Adult; Anatomy; Anatomy - education; Comparison; Cultural Diversity; Curriculum; Curriculum - standards; Education; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate - standards; Education, Nursing, Diploma Programs - standards; Educational Measurement; Electrocardiography - nursing; England; Female; Greece; Heart - anatomy & histology; Heart - physiology; Humans; Male; Needs Assessment; Nursing; Nursing Education; Nursing Education Research; Physiology - education; Program Evaluation; School Admission Criteria; Student Nurses; Students, Nursing; Teaching - methods; Teaching - standards; Greece; England; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0020-8132; 1466-7657
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-7657.2003.00213.x

Background:  Curriculum is an important component of nurse education and is thought to vary from country to country. Aim:  To determine the level of cardiac knowledge in Greek and English final‐year student nurses. Method:  Subjects were final‐year diploma and degree student nurses (n = 161) from Greece and England. Pictographs (testing knowledge in a pictorial form) were used as a method of data collection. Three anatomical cardiac diagrams were used. Students were asked to label 20 anatomical parts. Results:  Final‐year English student nurses have better knowledge in the discrete area of cardiac anatomy and physiology (P < 0.05) than their Greek counterparts. Problems associated with translation and interpretation were avoided using pictographs and were shown to be useful measures for determining knowledge in nurses from different countries. Conclusion:  The findings of the study are important because they show differences in anatomical knowledge levels between Greek and English students. More research is needed to explore further different levels of knowledge and education within the European Union and the consequences for nurse decision‐making and patient outcomes.