Academic nursing education in Germany: Similarities and differences in formal structure

Background: The German Nursing Professions Act establishes a primary qualifying course of studies at universities, which is completed with a bachelor's degree and a vocational qualification as a nurse. The Nursing Professions Act and the Nursing Training and Examination Ordinance open up some possibilities with regard to the study program concept. The present paper examines the question of how the degree programs are formally structured. Methodology: A document analysis of the curricula or module manuals of the degree programs existing in December 2022 was conducted, which ultimately included 26 degree programs in the analysis. The module handbooks were analyzed and compared in terms of content using an inductively developed analysis grid. Results: There are considerable differences between the programs in terms of total duration/total workload, length and rhythm of practical study phase, composition of workload of practical study phase, as well as the extent of university study and the ratio of classroom to self -study. Discussion: Due to the high number of validations (20 from 26), the results are meaningful. The findings suggest that it is often less content-related than pragmatic reasons or external constraints that guide the design of the degree programs. From a vocational education and training perspective, too few alternations between practical and academic study phases or very extensive self-study phases could be disadvantageous for the students' acquisition of competencies.