A Comparative Study of Emergency Nursing MSc Curriculum in Iran and the USA

Conducting comparative studies is one of the research methods for revising and modernizing educational programs. The aim of this study was to compare the emergency nursing MSc curriculum in Iran and the USA.

This descriptive-comparative study was conducted in 2018 at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Vanderbilt University was selected through internet searches due to the relative similarity between the fields of study offered by the given universities and then two curricula were compared using Bereday’s four-stage model: description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison.

The program offered by both universities had certain mission, vision and goals. The goal of Vanderbilt University was to train professional clinical nurses while the goal of Iran's program was to provide the graduates with the proficiency in the clinical, educational, research and managerial fields. The admission requirements in both universities included holding a bachelor`s degree in nursing and having at least two years of clinical nursing experience. In Iran, the graduate students in Emergency Medicine can also take the examination. Some of the requirements for the admission to Vanderbilt University were a confirmation letter of clinical competence, a confirmation letter of at least three faculty members and a good GPA and students can study at a university whether full-time or part-time.

The Emergency Nursing MSc curriculum in Iran was designed as a general program, whereas Vanderbilt University curriculum was more specialized and operational with an emphasis on clinical practice. Differences in course credits offered by Emergency Medicine and Nursing bachelor's programs and their different fields of service make it necessary to revise the relevant curricula or develop separate educational paths for these two fields.