Nursing curricula in Indonesia and Scandinavia: What can we learn from each other to strengthen nursing education

Background: Highly qualified nurses are fostered by high quality educational institutions. Nurses are trained all over the world. Both the duration and the content vary globally. Nursing may differ across national borders and continents, but will also have some common characteristics. The nursing profession is grounded in nursing education. It is important for nursing education to meet future challenges due to global changes, to create more sustainable nursing programs. The aim of this study was to shed light on differences and similarities in learning outcomes in selected Nordic and Indonesian nursing educations. Methods: The study design was qualitative using a qualitative inductive content analysis as described by Elo and Kyngäs. The data used were the leaning outcomes from curricula for nursing education from two institutions in higher education in Norway, one in Sweden, one in Denmark, and three institutions in Aceh, Indonesia. Results: The results showed that “Professional approach and practice” was the main category of the nursing curricula and included three generic categories; Theory, Skills and Nursing Practice. There were both similarities and differences. Some differences between the Scandinavian institutions and the institutions from Aceh Indonesia were the focus on ethical and moral aspects. In Aceh Indonesia, learning outcomes for entrepreneurship are included, whereas some of the Scandinavian institutions use the term innovation. Conclusion: International collaboration in nursing can yield shared knowledge. A transcultural perspective can lead to the enhancement of quality of nursing education as different countries learn from each other.