Degree course in Nursing [L/SNT1] D. M. 270/2004
General information
Qualification awarded
Degree in Nursing
Level of qualification
First Cycle
Specific admission requirements and specific arrangements for recognition of prior learning
Students wishing to enroll in the nursing degree program must have a secondary school diploma or other equivalent diploma attained abroad and recognized as suitable. Access to the course is limited to a predetermined number in accordance with Law 264/99 and applicants must pass an entrance exam. Students must also have an adequate basic preparation as provided by current provisions regarding access to limited-access courses planned on the national level. The planned number of students who may enroll in the first year is determined in accordance with the national plan on the basis of availability of teaching staff, teaching facilities, and treatment facilities available for the clinical activities of the unit.
Profile of the programme
The degree program in Nursing is designed to train healthcare professionals responsible for general nursing care. Graduates will be capable of working as independent professionals in activities involving the prevention and treatment of illness and disease and the safeguarding of individual and public health. Acquisition of these professional skills will be achieved through theoretical and practical training which also includes the acquisition of behavioral skills and is carried out in the working environment of the specific profession.
Qualification requirements and regulations
The program lasts 3 years and is organized in 6 semesters. Students must acquire 180 credits (ECTS credits) of which at least 60 must be acquired in activities aimed at developing specific professional skills. Activities are divided into the following categories: basic, characteristic, related, complementary (electives), professional training, and final exam preparation. The study path provides for 20 integrated courses, divided into modules, and may consist of lectures, seminars, exercises, seminars and internships. Practical training and clinical internship activities, an integral part of the program, must be performed by the student according to the annual academic year calendar for the entire number of planned hours. Students are also required to attend 75% of all their lessons. All of the rules regarding the organization and management of the study path for the degree program are described in the University's Didactic regulations.
Key learning outcomes
Graduates must:
- have demonstrated knowledge and capacity for understanding sufficient to allow them carry out at a high level the main tasks of nursing. Graduates will have adequate training in the basic scientific disciplines that will provide them with a fundamental understanding of the most important elements of physiological and pathological processes constituting the object of their preventive, therapeutic or palliative activities and enable them to interact positively with other professions;
- be capable of applying and integrating their knowledge in the delivery of nursing care that is safe, effective, and evidence-based. Specifically, they must be able to integrate nursing theory and practice with the knowledge acquired in other disciplines, including the humanities, and to use them to identify the needs of the persons of all ages and stages of life under their care;
- possess a degree of professional and decision-making autonomy that will enable them to make treatment decisions and critically evaluate their results, assuming responsibility for their actions in accordance with the code of professional responsibility and ethical and legal requirements.
- know how to communicate clearly and appropriately with patients of all ages, with their families and other health-care professionals;
- have developed the capacity to learn that will allow them to continue to study on their own; have acquired the capacity of self-evaluation of their own skills and abilities, and the capacity to identify their own development and learning needs.
Occupational and Professional Opportunities
Employment in private and public health-care and social service agencies, both as dependent employees and self-employed professionals.Examination regulations, assessment and grading
Individual exams must be taken during designated exam periods. Exams are conducted before a commission of at least two teaching faculty, and normally chaired by the Coordinator of the course. The specific forms for each exam are described in the individual course descriptions. In order to take the exam students must present a signed certificate attesting their satisfaction of the attendance requirement for the course. Marks are expressed on a thirty point scale and where appropriate the attribution of honors. The final comprehensive exam, recognized as the public qualifying exam, consists of a clinical practice trial and the presentation and discussion of a written thesis. It is organized in 2 sessions in different periods determined at the national level. Calculation of the final mark is made on the basis of the average mark for all exams expressed on a 110 point scale and, where appropriate, by the attribution of honors.
Graduation requirements
The final degree is awarded upon completion of 180 credits and successful completion of the final exam.
Mode of study (full-time, part-time, e-learning, ...)
Full-time enrollment only and regular attendance is obligatory.
Occupational profiles of graduates with examples
Employment in private and public health-care and social service agencies, both as dependent employees and self-employed professionals.
Access to further studies
The 3-year degree meets the requirements for admission to advanced degree programs (first-level master’s programs, second cycle degree in Nursing and Midwifery).