The study program was accredited on March 14, 2006.

A student can enroll to the 2nd year if she/he collects at least 40 ECTS credits by completing the obligations of the 1st year(advancement criteria are valid for all study options).

The program does not contain parts that can be completed individually.

Postgraduate study programs at the 3rd level at universities in Slovenia and abroad are an option for continuing education.

Information about the study programs offered by UM FZV is available on the website of UM FZV at the link: https://www.fzv.um.si/zdravstvena-nega-2-st.

There are no other obligations.

Verification and evaluation of the student's learning outcomes is carried out in accordance with the criteria and methods defined in the Rules on the Verification and Evaluation of Knowledge at the UM https://www.um.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Pravilnik-o-ververjanju-in-ocenjevanju-znanja-na-Universiti-v-Mariboru-stev.-A4-2009-41-AG -official-precise-text-UPB1.pdf For each study unit, the type and method of taking the exam and the conditions for taking the exam are determined by the curriculum, which is an integral part of the study program. In the curriculum, the share of each method of checking and evaluating knowledge, which it contributes to the final grade, is determined. Ways of on-the-spot verification and assessment of knowledge are encouraged, thereby enabling students to monitor their own progress in their studies.

The fundamental goal of the 2nd degree study program Nursing Care comprehensively encompasses knowledge, skills and abilities for autonomous functioning in the field of nursing and healthcare development. Learning outcomes: • qualification for research in the clinical practice of nursing and healthcare; knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodology, • the ability to study modern nursing theories and their application in clinical practice, • the ability to know the philosophical and ethical principles in health care while treating the patient holistically; studying the ethical dimension of human actions and the application of moral theory in the theoretical and practical field of nursing, • mastering the tasks and roles of health workers in health promotion and the applied connection between theory and practice, • the ability to perceive the role and dynamics of social and socio-cultural changes and their consequences on individual and family life, on the attitude to illness and health and to institutions dealing with health maintenance and prevention or by treating the disease, • the ability to study concepts related to the theory and practice of management and treatment, the ability to use management theories in nursing and in health and social care, • competence in the application of principles and humanistic theories of learning and acquired knowledge for educational activities in the field of nursing for various target groups, • the ability to identify and analyze public health problems to improve and maintain health and prevent and eliminate disease, as well as to integrate measures into the comprehensive health care system, • competence in the use and design of elements of gerontological nursing, outpatient nursing and perioperative nursing, • the ability to recognize one's role in improving quality in healthcare and nursing, • knowledge of the importance and usefulness of information, information systems and information technology in healthcare and nursing, • the ability to use simulations, distance learning and virtual reality in health and nursing • the ability to deal with and critically assess emergency situations in healthcare and independently resolve only those in complex and unpredictable circumstances • competence in the implementation of emergency diagnostic procedures and participation in therapeutic measures in the field and in the emergency center • competence for high-quality and reliable early triage of patients and injured in the field and emergency centers with knowledge of rating scales • the ability to work in teams and partially make independent decisions with the critically ill and seriously injured in the pre-hospital (family medicine clinics, pre-hospital units, motor ambulance, helicopter emergency medical aid unit) and hospital environment (admission emergency department, intensive medicine and intensive care departments) • the ability to develop knowledge and skills in nutritional science, dietetics and clinical nutrition, as well as in the field of behavioral sciences, which form the basis for the certification of dietitians and for work in healthcare, • the ability to assess the state of nutrition and the patient's diet and methods for prescribing diets, and to learn about the patient's diet or the differences between the diet of a healthy and a sick person, • the ability to recognize, critically analyze and improve eating habits (nutritional therapy for various diseases and also in the context of preventive health care, based on research and proven experience), • the ability to use advanced knowledge and skills from the narrower professional field of integrated prevention, holistic treatment and management of a patient with a chronic non-communicable disease, and critical awareness of ongoing issues relevant to this practice • competence in planning holistic and individual nursing care of a chronic patient • the ability to perform diagnostic procedures and participate in therapeutic measures in the context of treating a chronic patient with knowledge and use of chronic patient management protocols • the ability to apply advanced knowledge and critical thinking to provide holistic gerontological health care at the primary level • the ability to independently carry out a holistic health assessment and use clinical reasoning to identify nursing care needs in the elderly • the ability to plan comprehensive gerontological health care, long-term care and end-of-life care • ability to use advanced clinical knowledge and critical thinking to provide a holistic assessment of mental health and health psychology for the individual, family and community • the ability to carry out a holistic assessment of the health status and the use of clinical reasoning in mental health and the importance of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of mental disorders • ability to treat addiction, suicides and suicidal behaviors and psychiatric emergency treatment • ability to participate in therapeutic measures with knowledge of the importance of psychopharmacology in the context of therapy and prevention of mental disorders the ability to understand the importance of a rational system of health care for the health of the individual and the population and the use of advanced knowledge in the field of public health work, organization and methods of work, and knowledge of health systems, their characteristics and determinants that influence their design • knowledge of dangerous physical effects on humans and their health and their deterministic physiological effects • knowledge of basic ecological concepts: ecosystems, communities, populations, habitat, ecological niches, biodiversity, interspecies relations, evolutionary changes • competence in the use of epidemiological methods in studying the health and diseases of the population The student acquires the ability to develop the qualities of independent and responsible leadership and to coordinate teamwork. Acquires responsibility towards the profession, towards the patient and towards colleagues in the healthcare team, and develops co-responsibility for the balanced development of nursing care in Slovenia and Europe.

Among the general competences of the 2nd degree study program Nursing Care, the following competences are particularly pointed out: - the ability to use and design elements of modern nursing care, - the ability to use research methods and procedures and processes in nursing, - the ability to make critical judgments, apply theoretical findings in practice and integrate theoretical models into the nursing process, - the ability to use knowledge in the field of health promotion and the organization of primary health care and preventive measures at this level. In accordance with the acquired competences, the graduate will be qualified to: - to design qualitative and quantitative research in nursing care with particular emphasis on topics such as sample collection and determination, accessibility, ethics and accuracy. He will master the use of various techniques and methods of collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data; - to get to know the fundamental characteristics, problems and open questions of health care as an important element of integrated humanistic studies, in which philosophical views are explained with an additional emphasis on ethical dimensions; - for the presentation of theoretical content and evidence-based nursing care, for empirical analyzes in health care and nursing care, for organizing, managing and supervising nursing care activities and services, monitoring the outcomes and effects of nursing care and documentation, interdisciplinary integration to ensure high-quality, comprehensive treatment of the patient ; - to acquire targeted basic knowledge in the field of the course; the graduate deepens his knowledge in the course, where he acquires desirable competencies in the chosen field of health sciences.

Candidates who completed the following may apply for the 2nd-cycle (master's) study programme: 1. A 1st-cycle (bachelor’s) study programme in the field of health (091). 2. An undergraduate professional study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in the field of health (091). 3. An undergraduate academic study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in the field of health (091). Candidates are typically awarded 60 ECTS credits and may enrol in the second year of study provided they satisfy the transfer criteria laid down in the accredited study programme. 4. A specialisation following an undergraduate professional study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 in the field of health (091). Candidates are typically awarded 60 ECTS credits and may enrol in the second year of study provided they satisfy the transfer criteria laid down in the accredited study programme. In order to be admitted to the Emergency Situations in Health Care option, candidates shall have three years of work experience in the field of nursing care demonstrated by a certificate of employment issued by the employer.

If the number of applications exceeds the number of available enrolment places, candidates shall be ranked according to grade point average including the final work (100%). If the final work is not required for completion of the study programme, only the grade point average shall be considered (100%). In accordance with the transfer criteria, candidates may transfer to the 2nd-cycle (master’s) study programme in Nursing Care from study programmes in the field of health (091) provided they lead to the acquisition of comparable competences and that at least half of the study obligations under the previous study programme relating to compulsory courses of the new study programme are recognised. Under the recognition procedure, fulfilled study obligations that may be recognised fully or partially are identified, and study obligations required for completion of the new study programme are laid down.

In accordance with the transfer criteria, candidates may transfer to the 2nd-cycle (master’s) study programme in Nursing Care from study programmes in the field of health (091) provided they lead to the acquisition of comparable competences and that at least half of the study obligations under the previous study programme relating to compulsory courses of the new study programme are recognised. Under the recognition procedure, fulfilled study obligations that may be recognised fully or partially are identified, and study obligations required for completion of the new study programme are laid down.

Recognition is governed by the procedures and criteria prescribed by the Rulebook on recognition of knowledge and skills in study programs of the University of Maribor no. 012/2019/2. The procedures for determining, verifying and recognizing knowledge and the criteria for recognizing knowledge and skills are used for candidates who are enrolling and for already enrolled students who want their previously acquired knowledge and skills to be taken into account as part of the completed study obligations in the existing program. UM FZV can recognize candidates' knowledge and skills if, in terms of scope, content and complexity, they correspond in whole or in part to the general or subject-specific competencies determined by the study program in which the candidates wish to enroll or are enrolled. A candidate who has previously studied in another accredited study program may be awarded credit points already obtained from study programs of the same level of difficulty. The basis for recognition is a public document or a certificate of completed learning units and individual curricula, which must show the number of credit points, the number and structure of hours, contents, goals and competences. The process of identifying, verifying and recognizing knowledge and skills begins on the basis of the candidate's application: Application for recognition of knowledge and skills.

In order to complete the studies, the student has to complete all the obligations in the study program, write and successfully defend the master's thesis, and collect at least 120 ECTS.