Maria is just starting her fourth semester and is currently completing another university semester at the Berliner Tor campus. In her second semester, she completed a practical semester in different nursing fields - in part at the Helios Endo-Clinic, with whom she has a training contract. The start of her second semester was an introduction to patient care. Over time, she took on more responsibility and supported patients in post-operative care following hip operations. She describes what she has taken away from this period: “I not only developed my professional nursing skills in orthopaedics but also expanded my communication skills and strengthened my sense of responsibility.”
The theoretical and practical phases of dual degree programmes build on one another. In the seven-semester dual degree programme in nursing, students complete four theoretical semesters, two practical semesters and a final semester to write their bachelor thesis and take vocational qualifying examinations. As part of her training contract with the Endo-Klinik, Maria receives a monthly stipend of 1,300 Euros during her dual nursing studies.
For Maria, who did not want to pursue a vocational nursing training, the move towards academic qualifications in the nursing profession was a key factor in her decision to study: “I believe that, in the long term, this can help to develop the profession further, improve the quality of care and also boost social and political interest in nursing. At the same time, it opens up more opportunities later to work in fields such as research, management or teaching.”
