Comparison of Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum in Iran and UBC Canada: A Comparative Study

The importance of education in the development of nursing as a profession and as a science has been mentioned a lot. To be as successful as possible in the field of nursing expertise in Iran and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of its curriculum, it is necessary to conduct comparative studies and exploit the experiences and strategies in successful universities. The present study aimed to compare the Iranian undergraduate nursing curriculum with British Columbia University (UBC) in Canada.

The present study is a descriptive-comparative study that was conducted in 2020 by Beredy’s method in four stages of description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison; compares the content, and details of the undergraduate nursing curriculum in Iran and the University of British Columbia in Canada.

The findings showed that at UBC, people interested in nursing enter the university based on ability and without exams, and after graduation can work if they obtain RN or LPN degrees, while in Iran Students enter the university after passing the national exam and after graduation, they work in hospitals to pass the nursing plan. At UBC, special attention has been paid to nursing research in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as geriatrics and communication therapy, and students are taught nursing skills over several courses before entering the clinic. But in Iran, students enter a hospital for an internship after passing one nursing skills training course in a skills laboratory.

The results showed that the main difference between Iran and the University of British Columbia in Canada in undergraduate nursing; is in terms of how to admit a student and also to obtain the necessary conditions for employment in the nursing profession. Despite the many similarities, there are also differences in goals, mission, vision, and curriculum; which can be used in the planning of Iranian nursing undergraduate courses. Considering that the undergraduate nursing program in Iran was reviewed in 2014, descriptive studies on the acquired capabilities and the content of the program can help to improve it by eliminating possible weaknesses.