General Nursing

The main goal of the three-year bachelor's program General Nursing is to prepare qualified specialists (educated at university level) authorized under Section 4 of Decree No. 55/2011 Coll. (on the activities of health care professionals and other professional workers) to perform the medical profession of a general nurse in the healthcare system.

The general aim of the study is to obtain theoretical and practical knowledge and skills which enable the graduate to independently provide the work of the profession of the general nurse. The aim of the field is a professional qualification to provide direct nursing care oriented to the needs of individuals, their families, and communities in healthcare based on evidence (Evidence-Based Nursing and Practice).

Emphasis is placed on professional training, acquiring theoretical and practical skills. Ethics, morality, sense of responsibility, teamwork, communication, empathetic approach and the use of theoretical knowledge and practices ("lege artis") in practice are the necessary prerequisites for the preparation and performance of the profession of a general nurse. In addition to gaining theoretical knowledge during the study, the emphasis is placing on practical training to the extent given by legislation for the regulated profession of a general nurse. The study program is accrediting under the law and the overall national concept of nursing.

The study program is designing for those who want to work in health care facilities and want to help people. Enjoy working with people and want to contribute to the protection and support of the health of individuals, families, communities. Also, for those who wish to provide care to sick, needy, dying people in different types of health facilities, and are interested in quality nursing care and development of nursing as a science and clinical practice.

The aim is to prepare competent healthcare professionals (autonomous competencies, cooperative competencies, research and development /R&D/ competences in nursing and managerial skills), under applicable legislation, national and international regulations for the nursing profession, ethical standards and qualification standards.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• to provide individualized nursing care and support to individuals (healthy, sick, disabled, and dying), families and communities by the natural and social environment in which they live.
• to evaluate the current state of health, biopsychosocial, and spiritual needs of people at different ages and life situations based on acquired knowledge (from nursing, medical and human sciences) and skills.
• to provide and ensure, based on the acquired knowledge and skills, nursing care for the individual needs of a person.
• provide care to promote, strengthen, and maintain health, prevent disease, prevent complications, in the case of terminally ill and dying to dignified dying.
• make decisions in the areas of nursing related to health care, disease prevention, first aid, nursing care for people with disabilities and the dying people.
• justify, defend, and bear personal responsibility for decisions in the nursing field when caring for individuals, families, and community.
• contribute to the professionalization of the nursing science on the basis of their knowledge, skills, social maturity and access to individuals, families, and communities;
• know the current state of development of nursing science and nursing clinical practice in the Czech Republic and abroad, be able to critically assess the stages of the historical, current and expected growth of nursing science and practice.
• participate in research activities in nursing, present results, and apply them in clinical practice.
• understand the legal order of the Czech Republic, which regulates the provision of health and social services and the competence of state administration in the area of organization of health and social services.
• respect the European Union legislation and recommendations on health and social policy in the Member States, follow international documents on nursing, perceive the role of the WHO in the world and in Europe.

Graduates of the bachelor study program General Nursing at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University are adequately prepared to practice as a nurse (professional nursing carer) in the Czech Republic and the European Union. Graduates acquire professional qualifications to practice the profession of general nurse; they can work in health and social care facilities providing primary, secondary, and tertiary care.

The job application of graduates is diverse - it can be in various types of health facilities (state and private). They could provide outpatient health care, in the form of inpatient care (standard acute bed care, follow-up bed care, long-term bed care), home care, spa rehabilitation care, etc.).

Graduates can offer extensive theoretical and practical skills to future employers. Some students have already decided to start their professional career based on the specializations they would like to pursue during their professional training. Mostly at the departments and clinics where they wanted their work experience or expressed interest in them.

• Nurse

The minimum scope of practice is regulating by Section 4 of Decree No. 39/2005 Coll. (as amended) Minimum requirements for study programs to acquire professional qualifications to pursue the non-medical (health-care) profession. Full-time study, according to the Decree includes at least 4600 hours of theoretical and practical instruction in 3 years of research, of which practical guidance must consist of at least 2300 hours and in maximum 3000 hours. An obligatory part of the General Nursing program is professional nursing practice, which is conceiving as a practical course in the form of block teaching with a total of 2,300 hours. The practical training integrates knowledge from the theory and practice of nursing, basic scientific disciplines, natural, social and behavioral sciences, under the stringent law. Professional nursing practice enables students to apply the theoretical knowledge and practical skills acquired by studying theoretical-practical disciplines in the conditions of a health service provider. The goals of the training are identifying at the cognitive, psychomotor, and attitude levels. The practice is spread over five semesters, starting in the second semester of study and continuing until the sixth semester. The range of training in individual semesters is at 200, 440, 440, 500 and 360 hours and also includes personal, professional nursing practice taking place in the summer months of the second and fourth semesters of study (160 and 200 hours). The training takes place under the leadership of teachers or mentors and is carried out in university hospitals in Brno or at contractual providers of healthcare services (with a framework contract for the practice of students of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University). Workplaces of health service providers in which professional nursing practice is carried out must meet the requirements laid down by the relevant legal regulations. The completed clinical internships, activities, procedures, and other activities are recording in the Logbook of Nursing Practice (Logbook). The Logbook provides summary information about the course of practice and training of the student. Professional nursing practice enables students to strengthen their theoretical knowledge and apply practical skills. It provides scope for improving nursing care skills, skills, and habits, according to Evidence-Based Nursing principles, and teaches students communication skills, responsibilities, autonomy, and teamwork. Practical training is evaluating in the course of credit or exam after meeting all requirements for completion. Requirements for end of practice are clearly defining in syllabuses in specific semesters of study.

The objectives of the qualification work are in line with the objectives of the study programme. Students choose particular topics they have encountered during their studies and during their professional practice or issues related to nursing and the profession of general nurses. By preparing the final thesis, students demonstrate the ability to work with professional sources, the ability to formulate research objectives and research questions, to choose appropriate research methods, to interpret and analyse the obtained data, to formulate research conclusions and recommendations for clinical practice. The recommended ways of elaborating the empirical part of the final thesis include literature review, creation of educational and informational materials, case study, quantitative and qualitative research.

The structure of the final thesis has to follow clearly defined rules, and ethical and legal aspects must be respected in the preparation of the text, for which the author is fully responsible. Masaryk University (MU) uses a unified Thesis Template1, an integral part of which is the Template Guide2. Both documents are available in electronic form in the Masaryk University Information System and also on the Faculty of Medicine website under Students - Completion of studies - State examinations. The specification of the rules for the preparation and submission of the final thesis at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University is regulated by the Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine Directive No. 2/2020 (Guidelines on the formal requirements of final bachelor and diploma theses prepared at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University). Furthermore, the Methodology for the preparation of the final thesis for selected non-medical medical disciplines is available to students, and it provides specific criteria and recommendations for the preparation of the final thesis.

The final version of the final thesis is uploaded by students to the Masaryk University Information System, where it remains stored in the archive. The evaluation of final theses by the thesis supervisor and the opponent is carried out using templates in the Information System

Graduates of the Bachelor's degree programme in General Nursing have the opportunity to continue on to further Master's degree programmes after successful completion of the admission requirements. At the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, it is possible to further study in the Intensive Care and Public Health programmes. At other universities, it is possible to continue in specialisation study programmes in internal medicine, surgery and other disciplines, in health care management, pedagogy and other fields. The General Nursing professional qualification also allows candidates to obtain specialisations within the framework of lifelong learning.