[Career paths and professional education in the former German Democratic Republic 1949-1989]

With the unification of Germany the career structure and the places where nurses were educated and trained were pushed aside, as legislation of the Federal Republic was adopted. Thus they have acquired historical interest. Nevertheless they represent a quasi governmental experiment, the outcome of which should be recognised as a historical experience and should be preserved scientifically, because of the impact on the development of nursing-education, professionalization of nursing and most of all on the preparation of nurse-teachers. The authors of this paper are former nurses and educators in medical subject who were actively involved in developments, as teachers in hospitals and lecturers in teacher training colleges, since 1957 in the former DDR. The paper describes the organisation of nursing-education, the educational institutions in which this took place and the concurrent development of qualification for nurse teaching. What probably has most significance for the future is the experience gained between 1961 and 1974 in attaching nurses' professional training directly, without any time interval, to the 10th year of schooling. The outcome of this should be evaluated.