FROM APPRENTICESHIP TO ACADEMIA - AN ADULT BRANCH PROGRAM

This paper describes aspects of the introduction an adult branch progr amme of a Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing course in a Scottish college of nursing and midwifery, It is argued that the Diploma of Hig her Education in Nursing course represents a move from a so-called app renticeship approach, that is the Scottish 1982 Modular Scheme of Gene ral Training, to a so-called academic approach under the auspices of t he Project 2000 proposals which have been described as the most major development in the preparation of nurses in the UK for many years (UKC C 1986). This paper will discuss the challenges and difficulties encou ntered when designing the theoretical aspects of the course with respe ct to the nursing component, The implications of some of the major cha nges within the scheme of preparation for the clinical areas where the students gain experience will also be discussed, It will be suggested that practice supervision, a development of apprenticeship, is the wa y ahead.