EDUCATION. On August 30, University West is starting its new Postgraduate Program in Specialist Nursing within Diabetes Care, 60 HE credits. The program is being offered in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg, University West, and the University Skövde.
All of the universities has seen a large number of applicants and ten students per university have been accepted to the program. To meet the demand for diabetes expertise within health and medical care, open seats (West University) and contracted seats (University of Gothenburg) are being offered during the first module of the program. Many health and medical services already offer specialist care but they may lack diabetes expertise.
“An enthusiastic group of nurses participated in the program’s introduction and the first course,” says Associate Professor Carina Sparud Lundin, who is responsible for this new specialist nursing program at the University of Gothenburg. “Some of the participants have previously taken the first course, so they had applied for credit.” Students admitted to independent courses and contracted seats were very grateful that they too have the opportunity to also attend the full program. This seems to spark interest in being able to later apply to the entire program.”
Expertise in Demand
The program will address the demand for this type of expertise in the region. Since there are no similar programs other than in Uppsala, some of the students even come from the provinces of Småland and Halland.
“Some students are already working as diabetes nurses today without formal training in the speciality and will now start leading this work in their clinics. Many come from primary care where specialist knowledge of diabetes is in great demand. A formal specialist program in diabetes care is important for helping nurses take an evidence-based approach and actively participate in the development and quality assurance of diabetes care,” says Carina Sparud Lundin.
Teacher representatives from each university (from left):
Susanne Andersson, University of Skövde
Carina Sparud Lundin, Institute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg
Pia Hanås, West University
Ulla Fredriksson-Larsson, West University
