New ways to care? Gladly, but not at the expense of quality!

27.02.2023 17:16

The state government in North Rhine-Westphalia wants to expand training paths in the field of nursing. Graduates of social assistance training can now have this credited if they have an appropriate focus.

If you then complete training to become a nursing specialist, this is shortened from three to two years. The same should apply to the new practice-integrated training (PIA) for social assistance with a focus on nursing, which will be offered at some vocational colleges from the 2023/24 school year.
“It is undisputed that we need creative and pragmatic solutions and approaches to inspire and qualify more people for the nursing profession,” says Martin Töpfer, Chairman of the DBfK Nordwest. “Not only we in the professional group, but also many in the population experience how tense the staff situation is everywhere in the event of a hospital stay or the need for care. Basically, social assistance training is a good way to get to know fields of work in the social care sector and to acquire a prerequisite for further educational and career paths. But it is a wrong path to shorten the basic nursing training that qualifies for demanding and responsible work with people.”

Different goals and contents of the respective training courses

The DBfK points out the completely different goals and content of the respective training courses. The social assistance training provides orientation about employment opportunities in the social and health care sectors, including a review of personal suitability for this through practical and personal experience. Training to become a nursing specialist, on the other hand, qualifies you for independent, comprehensive and process-oriented planning and implementation of nursing activities.

Equality between unskilled professions and professional nursing training

According to the DBfK, the planned crediting is likely to run contrary to Sections 11 and 12 of the Nursing Professions Act and EU law. The latter does provide for the possibility of exemptions for trainees if part of the training is acquired as part of other training courses. However, this must be done at at least an equivalent level, which is clearly not the case with social assistance. The NRW state government has already reduced the requirement by crediting the one-year nursing assistant training towards the three-year nursing training. With the creditability of social assistance training, it cements the equality between unskilled professions and professional nursing training at nursing schools and universities.

“This is irresponsible, both towards those who are inadequately trained and those in need of care,” emphasizes Martin Töpfer. “We reject this and invite the Health Minister Laumann, who is responsible for North Rhine-Westphalia, to work with us to develop truly effective new ways of providing care without deprofessionalizing it.”