On March 21, ANQA held a meeting with representatives from five medical VET institutions in the programme accreditation process. The discussions focused on the AP "Nursing". This is the first experience of programme accreditation for VET institutions.
Ruben Topchyan, ANQA’s director, highlighted that medical professions require a special approach, noting that nurses should have the same professional knowledge and skills to ensure comprehensive patient care, regardless of their country of practice.
The meeting aimed to share the best teaching practices of the AP "Nursing," explore the nuances of programme accreditation, and discuss the importance and mechanisms for data collection. The participants also addressed the professional standards applied in the educational process and the necessity of unified requirements for medical professions, considering their direct impact on human health. Additionally, a reference was made to the alumni’s professional fields and the extent to which elective subjects are integrated into the APs, enabling students to specialise in various fields based on the specific requirements of the profession.
The meeting covered the following issues:
- the requirements and interpretation of seven programme accreditation criteria;
- the AP structure, the alignment of curricula with the labour market and state requirements;
- the methods of evaluating student preparedness, the role of professional standards and the educational environment.
- the pathways for nurses’ professional development, quality assurance mechanisms.
During the discussions, participants raised several key issues, including the use of international standards in nursing, the employer expectations and the reliability of assessing student skills.
Meetings dedicated to programme accreditation will continue, with the participation of employers and other stakeholders to enhance the academic programmes and ensure their alignment with sectoral requirements.
It should be highlighted that institutional accreditation of VET institutions is a mandatory prerequisite for programme accreditation. All five VET institutions involved in this process have undergone institutional accreditation.
Let us note that institutional and programme accreditation for VET institutions is supported by state funding.