2.6. The aim and profile of study program (description of study program)
Universities in Kosovo are adopting curricula based on the Bologna Declaration rules, and this is to achieve a better comparability of degrees in Europe (MASHT 2009). Re-structuring bachelor and master degrees requires a strong orientation in the theory-practice transfer and needs to serve the didactic methods, which for university professors in Kosovo are often an innovation. Many examples have shown that required didactic approaches have remained as statements and have prevented an authentic reform (GAP, Report 2008). Lack of model curricula and science literature in Albanian language worsens significantly the situation. Therefore, the whole health system is lacking professional pedagogy as part of education.
This indicates that teaching skills and knowledge are missing in the health care system in Kosovo. The partner of Ministry of Education, Sciences and Technology and the Ministry of Health confirmed the need of teacher competencies. In a stakeholder workshop of the project, INSTEAP the opinion has been affirmed as well.
2. Specialisation: Education (Teacher) in Health Care.
(Cf. figure 6):
Figure 6: Study program with two students’ specialisations
There were some reasons to over think this first idea and to reorganize it in the following manner (cf. Figure 6, right side):
There are different demands on study programs for management in health care and study programmes for education of teachers in health care.
The education of teachers in health care should follows the regulations of teachers in Kosovo (cf. Administration instruction, 14/2013, Teacher performance evaluation, 2013)
Responsible for the education of all teachers, also teachers in health care is MEST (with the commitment of MoH)
Performing uniform regulation of study programs for teacher education in health care is easier, if you do not have simultaneously to consider requirements for management education.
A manageable entry in the education of teachers in health care is possible by starting with developing the general framework for a study program for education of teachers in health care with only the specialisation in one profession e.g. nursing/midwifery. There is BA-absolvent in Kosovo for nursing and midwifery! May be that a needs-oriented distribution of students in the field Nursing and Midwifery (e.g. 70% to 30%) has to be determined.
Possible extensions of the study program for other fields (teacher for physiotherapy, teacher for speech therapy but also other kinds of subjects like teacher for nutritionists, teacher for doctor's assistants, or even teacher of child care workers (kindergarten teachers) can be done by using he same general framework (common modules) and developing some specific modules for the profession related modules (profession specific modules).
One benefit is the joint instruction of students of several (not necessarily all) professions in the common modules (synergetic effects; reducing costs).
Another benefit: beginning with one example e.g. nursing and spreading out with other professions related to the necessity in Kosovo.
Flexibility: For small professions it is not necessary to offer the profession specific modules every year; maybe that all be offer every two or every three years is enough.
In the small country Kosovo, the needs for teacher education in some professions are small and it is not useful to develop own study programs for all professions. This innovative kind of framework for a study program for Education in Health Care is a very flexible one and can be suited to the needs in Kosovo. This framework will guarantee sustainability in the education of health care workers.
The innovation of the new study program is characterize that there was created an allocation between the “Master Management in Health Services and Health Institutions” and “Master Educationin Health Care”. The students in both study programs need same contents. Regarding to this the curriculum development group decided to offer some common modules to the students.
Figure 8, Common modules of MSc Management in Health care institutions and Health care services and Education in Health Care.
This approach not only provides better services for people of Kosovo, but also ensures the mobility of nurses of Kosovo within the European Community, opening the prospect of nurses of Kosovo for employment in Europe countries.
Therefore, the aim is to achieve two objectives: to provide quality services for people of Kosovo and at the same time to facilitate the mobility of nurses of Kosovo within the European community, opening the prospect of nurses of Kosovo for employment in European countries.
Through its programmes that are oriented towards the structure of programmes in EU countries and meet the standards of the EU Convention Directive 2005/36/EC Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l b (new). The World Health Organization describes the requirements of the education of nurses and midwifery. “Additional factors of relevance to preparation at graduate level include, for example, the necessity to practise from an evidence base (and for some to conduct research), the increasing complexity of health care, advances in science and technology, rising expectations of those who use the health services, the ability as well as the commitment to participate in continuing professional development and multidisciplinary team working, the need to improve the status of nursing and midwifery in many countries so as to recruit able school leavers, and the need to prepare teachers, mentors and leaders in nursing and midwifery in order to enable an informed voice from the nursing and midwifery professions to be heard in policy discussions about the health of the people of the nations. Similar factors are also cited in the recently issued Guidelines on nursing education from WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO 1998), so are not unique to WHO’s European Region but rather are of global relevance” (cf. World Health Organization, 2006, p. 6).
Zabalegui et al (2006) described a project between the University of Deusto and the University of Groningen to identify nursing skills and to transfer these results into higher education programmes. “The master’s graduate will be qualified for employment on the basis of the academic discipline (i.e., nursing science) and for further study in a doctoral program. The master’s graduate will develop knowledge and independence in applying scientific theory and methods. The candidate studying the practice of nursing will be able to perform advanced and specialized nursing competencies (cf. Zabalegui et al, 2006, p. 117). The new master programme Management in Health Care will meet these requirements.
Information system for Universities (IS4U) is based in the most modern technologies of Web 2.0 and it serves to help organize the learning process. Through IS4U will be enabled to accomplish lecturing, tests, publication of test results, course registering, application for tests, communication to all the participants in the lecture sending the information from the docent to all participants of a lecture etc. The modules included e-learning elements. In the study programme, a rate of e-learning elements is targeted with 30%. Docent, students, administrative staff and other administrators can work together in various countries. Accreditation of the study programme is an external monitoring. In responding to this philosophy, the project will establish a learning platform to be used by HEIs in Kosovo in facilitating their teaching and administration work.