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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to gain an understanding of the role of international collaboration on the development of nursing education in China.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to develop a different perspective on international collaboration and globalization across cultures of nursing education.
Method: Secondary literature review.
Findings: Nursing education in China can be divided into three phrases. The first period was from mid-19th century to 1949 and was characterized by “foreign leadership,” during which ideas and practices of modern nursing education were introduced to China by missionaries and foreign educators, such as from the Rockefeller Foundation. These efforts were successful, by 1949 there were approximately 200 nursing schools graduating over 30,000 nurses. In the second phase: “isolation” from 1949 to1978, nursing education was inhibited by isolation, which exacerbated the dramatic nurse and faculty shortages. In 1950s, China cut all connections to the outside world including the Rockefeller Foundation. Influenced by the Soviet Union education model, the Chinese government eliminated university-level nursing education in 1954, and Chinese nursing education was eliminated entirely for approximately 10 years during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Nursing education in China entered a new phase in late 1970s characterized by “China directed foreign collaboration”. The Chinese nursing community revived international communications, including the partnership with the Chinese Medical Board (formerly of the Rockefeller Foundation). With domestic support and international collaboration, a multi-level nursing education system has been established in China. Yet with approximately 1.85 million registered nurses in China with diverse educational backgrounds, the nursing education system still relies heavily on international cooperation for advanced nursing education.
Conclusion: Adapting is not transplanting; and international theories and experience in nursing education should be tailored to serve the specific Chinese needs in a culturally appropriate way.
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