從民眾健康需要看台灣護理教育的挑戰與對策

Challenges and Strategies for Nursing Education in Taiwan from a Public Health Needs Perspective

由於臺灣人口老化及主要健康問題由急性轉變為慢性疾病的趨勢，挑戰著過去為治療急性疾病設計的健康照護體系，過去護理人員的教育訓練方式再也不足以滿足民眾的健康照護需求。本文第一部份探討人口健康照護需要改變的挑戰，包括人口老化、慢性疾病、及住院病人急性程度提高。因此，透過護理教育來培育新的技能、角色及較佳的臨床能力已經成為臺灣的重要課題。第二部份則針對護理教育現況的不足提出建議，包括提高基礎護理教育之入學資格至高中畢業，重新架構碩士教育以培育進階護理人員，改進課程及教學以符合民眾照護需要。如何提高護理教師之臨床能力與增加教師人數更是刻不容緩的議題。

An increasingly elderly population and prevalence of chronic health problems have transformed the healthcare landscape in Taiwan and necessitated a shift in the focus of healthcare toward chronic rather than acute illnesses. This is a challenge to the domestic healthcare system, which was initially designed to address and cure primarily acute illness. Traditional nursing education and training programs are no longer adequate to meet current population healthcare needs. The first part of this article highlights the challenges posed by changing healthcare needs, e.g., the rise in prevalence of agerelated chronic conditions and the increased acuity of hospitalized patients. Such developments are making new demands and expectations of nurses in terms of education, skills and roles. The second part of this article explores the weaknesses of current nursing education. Recommendations for the future include: making high school graduation a minimum requirement for entering nursing college and university programs, restructuring the nursing master's education program to prepare advanced nurse practitioners, redesigning curriculum content, and teaching approaches based on public healthcare needs. Upgrading clinical competencies and increasing nursing school faculty numbers are issues of the most immediate priority.