Nursing education : generic attributes vs. cultural traditions

The nursing culture is traditionallyembedded with rites of passage such as being able to demonstrate critical skills seen to be important to the profession and popularised by the media. These traditions have been translated into nursing education in universities where students learn - some educators still teach - specific nusrsing skills that symbolise the stereotypiycal nurse; this being done in isolation from other forms of scholarship. At times this confronts the core beliefs underpinning nursing culture where milestones in becoming a nurse are seen to be achieving skills such as 'giving your first injection', being able to"take blood' and most importantly being 'given the keys to the drug cupboard'! The national agenda being developed between employer bodies and higher education is driving the generic- attributes debate. There is a call for the development of generic attributes to be identified and embedded in curricula rather than the more traditional, narrow, skill-development training. This paper will discuss the tension between the two poles of educational ethos, the traditional skill-based program verses a model of workplace learning that embraces generic attributes. It will be agrued that in order to build appropriate learning communities for nurse education, nursing programs need to challenge the fundamental belief systems that underpinthe hegemony within curricula, and explore the means of moving forward without compromising the essence of nursing.