Comparative study of nursing undergraduate education program in Universities of Iran and Widener University of USA

Introduction: To achieve successful nursing education system, solving health problems and promoting health, each country is committed to improving nursing education system. The comparison of different educational systems leads to content promotion and educational program. The purpose of this study was to compare the nursing undergraduate education program in Iran and university of Widener of USA. Methods: This descriptive-comparative study was carried out in 2019, the required data were collected to receive the latest syllabus for undergraduate nursing from the website of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, university of Widener of USA and various related articles on the internet using the keywords of nursing curriculum, nursing undergraduate, nursing education, Iran, Widener. The analysis was carried out using Bereday’s four-stage model: description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison. Results: According to the Beredy pattern, at the stage of description, undergraduate nursing curriculum was received through site from two universities and its elements were taken into consideration. At the interpretation stage, these elements were studied separately in two universities by the researchers. At the juxtaposition stage, the information was put together to create a comparative framework that each element with details in the tables, can be viewed separately and Pairwise. In the fourth stage, a main review and comparison of the similarities and differences between each element in the two universities and the answers to the research questions were carried out based on the available articles. The results of the comparison of the fourth stage showed that Iran seems weaker than Widener to be in the training of skills such as clinical reasoning, critical thinking, evidence-based performance, management and leadership, high amount of clinical hours, lack of elderly Science education, paying attention to the lesson of the research method, introducing prerequisite courses, strengthening the knowledge of pharmacology. But having a clinical course in the fieldwork, starting an earlier clinical course with simpler concepts, presence of basic nursing skills lesson, special nursing, and crisis nursing and incident are a strong point for Iran. Conclusion: The use of the strengths and educational experiences of the university of Widener of USA and the emphasis on strengths in Iran will improve and promotion the quality of nursing education in Iran. Meanwhile, special attention is paid to the training and strengthening of essential nursing skills such as clinical reasoning, critical thinking and evidence-based practice, as well as reviewing the theoretical and clinical course and hours by educational planners.