The Professional Master’s in “Family Nursing,” established with the support of the Swiss government through the Health for All (HAP) project, was highlighted on the Klinika 24 Podcast. Guests included former Dean of the Faculty of Technical Medical Sciences (FTMS), Ms. Ilirjana Zekja, nurse Klodiana Dalipaj, a graduate of this master’s program, and Family Nursing Specialist with the HAP project, Ms. Sajmira Adëraj.
Launched in 2021, this master’s program aims to train qualified nursing personnel to provide high-quality healthcare. It focuses on developing nurses’ skills in patient and family counseling, education on disease prevention, rehabilitation, and nursing care, both in health centres and at home.
Ms. Zekja explained that the “Family Nursing” master’s is “the only program that prepares professionals in line with the current and societal needs identified in the 2016-2017 population demand study conducted by the faculty in collaboration with HAP. This study highlighted the growing need for nurses closer to residential areas, families, and addressing specific home-based patient needs, particularly those with non-communicable diseases”.
The curriculum was developed with expertise from technical medical sciences educational institutions in Basel, Switzerland. According to Ms. Adëraj, it is based “on 28 core competencies of family nursing as per WHO guidelines and the ESCO classification of these competencies”. The curriculum integrates theory and practice, with a focus on practical skills that students develop through sessions in the Clinical Simulation Laboratory at FTMS and professional practices in Primary Care Health Centers.
Ms. Zekja added that unlike other professional master’s programs at this faculty, “this is the only program that concludes with a project. Students learn to work independently on a project addressing issues in family nursing services”.
When asked about the impact of the “Family Nursing” master’s on her professional preparation, nurse Dalipaj emphasized its importance in “profiling the nurse as a professional, through both theoretical and practical knowledge, enabling nurses to independently assess patients and establish therapeutic relationships with both patients and their families.”
The Swiss government’s investment in this master’s program has been crucial. Ms. Adëraj, representing the HAP project on the podcast, spoke extensively about improvements in educational infrastructure through the construction of the Clinical Simulation Laboratory, providing international technical expertise for the multidisciplinary team drafting the curriculum, enhancing lecturer capacities through literature provision, training by local and international experts, study visits to international institutions, offering free teaching materials to students, and improving health centre infrastructures where student practices are conducted and training their supervisors.
In closing, Ms. Zekja noted that the Ministry of Health and Social Protection has prioritised this master’s program by awarding its graduates five extra points on the “Nurses for Albania” portal, which she said “is significant in their ranking for job selection”.
The Professional Master’s in “Family Nursing” is open to everyone who holds a Bachelor’s degree, a second-cycle study degree, or an old system diploma in “General Nursing” or “Midwifery.”
Upon completion of the one-year program, students receive a diploma in Professional Master’s “Family Nursing” and the specialised qualification of Family Nurse, valued with 60 credits.