[Nursing education in Taiwan: the current situation and prospects for the future]

Two factors which have a close bearing on nursing education are social and technological change. How nursing education meets social needs and how nursing students are best equipped with professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills in a rapidly changing society have become important issues. The purposes of this paper are to describe the current state of nursing education and to identify problems that need to be solved, including the complexity of the educational system, the quality and quantity of nursing manpower, the degree of compatibility between the aims of education and future social needs, the quality of nursing educators, courses and course delivery, and the clinical competence of nursing graduates. Based on the paradigm shifts of International Medical Care and higher education described by McBride, several suggestions for future educational reform are proposed, including simplifying the educational system, improving the development of both the quality and quantity of nursing manpower, matching educational aims with future social needs, bridging the gap between theory and clinical practice, promoting both instructional and clinical skills among nursing educators and enhancing the ability of graduates to deal with a contingency strain. It is expected that in order to meet the challenges presented by a rapidly changing society, nursing educators will have to develop a mixed role including clinical proficiency, outstanding research skills, and excellent leadership skills.