Have you completed your nursing training and would like to continue your education in this field? Whether you are a nursing assistant, care assistant or qualified healthcare and nursing professional – there are numerous interesting training and further education programmes in the care sector. Depending on your nursing training, professional experience and German language skills, you can choose from a wide range of training programmes to acquire the specialist knowledge you need, expand your skills and increase your career opportunities.

Continuing education and training in nursing: ensuring quality and improving career opportunities

In Austria and Germany, there is a statutory obligation for nursing professions to undergo continuing education and training, which ensures that professionals are always up to date and that quality standards are maintained. Although there is no legal obligation for further training for nursing professions in Switzerland, the professional association recommends regular further training. Many employers require regular further training for their employees, particularly in specialised areas. In addition, many nursing staff take the opportunity to expand their specialist knowledge and improve their career prospects by gaining additional qualifications. Further training in nursing also offers other benefits such as the prospect of a higher salary, more responsibility, greater job satisfaction and greater job security.

What further training opportunities are there and where can they be completed?

If you are interested in further education or training, you should obtain comprehensive information about the training programmes on offer, the requirements, the training costs and possible funding. Besides the appropriate qualification, professional experience is often necessary to start further training in nursing. Interested nursing staff can undertake further training in a wide variety of areas, be it in the form of a specialisation such as intensive care, advanced training to become a ward or nursing service manager, a degree course, a seminar or a certificate course such as wound care.

Many hospitals have their own training centres where internal further and advanced training is offered in the form of seminars and workshops for employees. Other providers of further education and training include professional associations, educational institutions and specialised schools. There are also many academic study and training programmes at Bachelor’s and Master’s level offered by universities, universities of applied sciences and other higher education institutions.

Study programmes currently in demand include:

• Nursing (B.Sc.) / Health and Nursing Care (B.Sc.)
• Advanced Nursing Practice (M.Sc.)
• Nursing Management (B.Sc. / M.Sc.)
• Nursing Education (B.Sc. / M.Sc.)
• Community Health Nursing (B.Sc. / M.Sc.)

Further training in nursing – what language skills do you need?

Depending on which further education or training programme you would like to do, different levels of German are required. While language levels B1 or B2 of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) are required for basic training in the nursing sector, you must demonstrate knowledge of the German language at level B2 or C1 for admission to a degree programme, with language level C1 being the main requirement for admission to a Master’s degree programme. This knowledge must be proven by means of a language certificate when applying for a place on a degree programme.

With an ÖSD exam, you can have your German language skills certified and thus prove that you have the necessary language skills to start your further education or training programme. An ÖSD certificate is therefore the key to your further or continuing education in nursing.

Self-study to prepare for the language requirements in the care sector

Are you a carer and want to prepare yourself linguistically for your everyday working life or further training in the care sector? With the two-volume ÖSD German language course Pflege und medizinische Berufe B1–B2, you can optimally prepare yourself for the language requirements in the field of nursing and medical professions in German-speaking countries. Each volume contains four modules based on everyday situations in care and hospital settings in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol). Along with the solutions for all tasks, the course book contains a glossary with example sentences. Additionally audio files and transcripts are available for download. Furthermore the language course is a good preparation for the ÖSD-Zertifikat B2 / Pflege und medizinische Berufe exam.