Project description The aging of the population and the increasing need for care services is not a specific country problem, but characterizes all industrialized countries in a similar way. Long-term care is a general risk to life, which will affect the majority of the population not only in the partner countries in the course of their lives. This development is reflected in a cross-border increasing need for care, which in Europe can no longer be met from the pool of existing specialists and the available potential of the countries. The nursing labor market must find answers and solutions to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the nursing process and its secondary processes, without losing sight of the person to be nursed as a human being. This applies to both inpatient and outpatient care. This means Nursing 4.0 with all innovative facets such as digitization and robotics, whereby aspects of a "Green Nursing Home", i.e. environmental protection in the care process should not be forgotten. Digitization and robotics certainly will be implemented at different speeds in the countries of the project partners. But they will come to bring relief to the caregivers in the nursing process. The vocational training in these fields must be able to cope with these practical requirements and prepare the learners for the development on the job market towards "Nursing 4.0". Another aspect is to interest young people in the nursing profession, to win them over and what is also very important to keep them in the job later, to cope with the stress and strain, and not to follow any demotivation or even leave the job. The present project wants to make a contribution to this by developing the competence profile of a 4.0 nurse (IO 1) and comparing it with the current standard profile (HCEU matrix). The new competency requirements received in comparison will be developed as selected learning content on the topics of digitization, robotics, environmental protection and prevention of demotivation at the workplace and implemented in modern learning formats (IO 2). The vocational training content will be performed as guided case-related and problem-oriented learning by means of a webinar, self-learning modules, role-playing games or as gamified versions in a class set or digital output. In order to convey these new teaching contents and formats, curricula for the education and training of trainers are developed (IO 3), implemented as part of the LTTA and feedback for optimization loops is obtained. Any existing or revised curricula and the new role of practical guides in training in Germany are taken into account and included, and considered by the partners in terms of application in their country. The project develops anticipatory, modular training content that reflects the development process in nursing and enables learners to make a smooth transition into the labor market. The project also sees itself as an integral part of the EU's senior policy in the sense of finding solutions for the care of elderly people in need of nursing services by developing and implementing learning content on telecare / telenursing as well as ambient assisted living systems. Another important aspect for the project team is to raise awareness of one's own contribution to environmental protection during the various phases of the care process. At the same time the described examples of Good Practice and patterns of action should serve as concrete guidance and motivation. An important aspect related to dissemination activities is the dissemination of information about changes in the job profile. In particular, digitization in the fields of electronic nursing documentation, technical assistance systems and telecare / telenursing as well as robotics is setting new standards in the attractiveness of the profession and can help attract young people to a vocational training in this field.
Through this project, the project partners wanted to tailor the training of professionals to meet the demands of practical healthcare settings and prepare learners for the developments of the labour market towards "Care 4.0". This encompasses integrating innovative technologies and digital solutions into nursing practice to enhance the quality of care. An additional vital aspect involves engaging, attracting, and retaining young individuals in the nursing profession, enabling them to deal with stress and strain without becoming demotivated or giving up the profession. The present project contributed to these goals by developing the competency profile of a nursing professional 4.0. The resulting new competency requirements have been crafted into selected learning content covering digitalization, robotics, environmental protection, and prevention of workplace demotivation. These contents have been adapted to modern learning formats and made accessible to educational institutions offering initial and continuous training. Overall, the project's aspiration was to render nursing education future-proof and equip nursing professionals to meet the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation.
The healthcare sector faces distinctive challenges due to its current working conditions in relation to digitalization. The significance of digitalization, whether in telemedicine, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), or digital documentation, is prominently highlighted in all nations within this partnership. The need for new educational content to address the digital transformation is indisputable. For this reason, the project partners have dedicated themselves to the development and implementation of educational products (intellectual outputs). These products aim to identify educational gaps in addressing the changes in the healthcare work environment brought about by digital transformation and fill them with appropriately developed educational content - intellectual outputs. This approach enables the acquisition of new competencies based on innovative and interdisciplinary teaching and learning methodologies. Moreover, it places a particular emphasis on competencies concerning the implementation of social innovations alongside digital skills.