Comparison of challenges of the nursing educational system in Iran and Turkey

This study compares the challenges of the nursing educational system in Iran and Turkey at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. levels.

A narrative review.

A comprehensive computer-based search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, ISI web of knowledge, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Science direct databases, without time limit, until May 2022. Finally, 31 article were finally included in the study. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines were used.

Some challenges of the nursing educational system were common to the two countries such as: problems in the student enrollment system, the need to add courses to improve critical thinking skills and problem solving and creativity, lack of part-time courses for postgraduate and doctoral students, lack of attention to training community health students, employment of students in hospitals without assessment of clinical skills, lack of job opportunities for PhD students in hospitals. In Turkey, compared to Iran, there are strengths in the nursing educational system, including: have an accreditation program, giving importance to the discussion of research and evidence-based care in undergraduate and strengthening the clinical skills of doctoral students.

Iranian policymakers can use the strengths of the Turkish nursing education system, which is close to Iran in terms of context, to help improve this education system. Given the many challenges the two countries face in this regard, we suggest that by comparing and modeling the nursing education system of leading countries in this field such, both Iran and Turkey take effective steps to grow and improve the nursing education system.