Hof University of Applied Sciences is strengthening its profile in the healthcare sector with the new Bachelor’s degree course “Nursing for Experienced Professionals”. Prof. Dr. Julia Nagel is taking over the management at the Bamberg location and brings extensive experience from science and practice with her. In an interview with “campuls-digital”, she talks about her career, her motivation and the aims of the course.
Prof. Dr. Nagel, welcome to Hof University of Applied Sciences! Can you tell us something about your professional and academic career to date?
“Thank you very much, it is a great honor for me to be a professor at Hof University of Applied Sciences. My professional career began with training as a healthcare and nursing assistant. in 2009, I began a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Nursing Sciences at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and worked in patient care at the same time, including in the emergency room and on a stroke unit. This was followed by a Master’s degree in Management of Health and Social Institutions at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and the University of Witten-Herdecke. During this time, I continued to work in nursing practice, particularly in intensive care units.
In the further course of my professional career, I moved to Würzburg, where I was initially employed by the Bavarian Medical Service in individual case assessment before moving to the Saxony-Anhalt Medical Service in 2016 to work in quality assessment. There, I gained extensive practical experience and deep insights into the criteria for high-quality care. At the same time, I completed my doctorate on the topic of care quality in long-term inpatient care. This topic arose from a personal concern: In my work in quality inspection, I repeatedly came across deficits in nursing care and I wanted to use my research to help identify the underlying determinants of this and develop solutions.”
What motivated you personally to specialize in the field of nursing with a focus on long-term care?
“Long-term care is not just a professional field for me, but a subject close to my heart. In my professional career to date, I have worked in very different long-term care settings over many years: outpatient, day-care and inpatient. Not only have I gained a wide range of insights, but I have also experienced very intensively how complex, challenging and at the same time meaningful caring for older and vulnerable people is. These experiences in particular have sharpened my focus and strengthened my motivation to focus specifically on long-term care.
The care and support of older people is particularly important to me. I have experienced in direct contact how much quality of life and dignity depend on whether care is provided empathetically, competently and reliably.”
Prof. Dr. Julia Nagel
In view of demographic change, I am convinced that the demands on long-term care will continue to increase and that we still face major challenges. This makes it all the more important for me to strengthen and actively shape care in this area.
My motivation is to use all my energy and experience to optimally prepare future nursing professionals for these tasks. I want to enable my students to work not only with professional excellence, but also with empathy, a sense of responsibility and humanity. Because at the end of the day, it’s about ensuring that people in need of care receive the support and attention they really need and deserve.”
How did you come to Hof University of Applied Sciences and what appeals to you most about your job here in Bamberg?
“I had wanted to pass on my expertise as part of a professorship for a long time. This opportunity opened up when I discovered the job advertisement at Hof University of Applied Sciences for a professorship in the field of nursing with a focus on inpatient and outpatient long-term care. What particularly appeals to me about Bamberg as a place of learning is working with young, inquisitive and motivated people and the modern working environment. I would particularly like to highlight the skills lab, which enables students to be introduced to complex care situations without pressure. I also appreciate the close proximity to the hospital and the close, very committed exchange with the Director of Nursing, Ms Baumann, who is driving forward the academization of nursing with great commitment. The regular meetings with nursing staff who have already graduated are also always enriching for me.
Last but not least, I received a very warm welcome from my new team, Prof. Dr. Drossel, Ms. Tamar Gerholz and Ann-Sophie von Castell. The collaboration was trusting and constructive right from the start.”
What makes the new degree course special?
“The special thing about the Nursing for Experienced Professionals (B. Sc.) course, which I am responsible for as course director, is the targeted further qualification of nursing professionals who already have professional experience. The aim is to strengthen the nursing profession in the long term through in-depth knowledge and to improve the quality of care in the respective working environment.
Students learn to deal with complex issues with the help of current scientific literature and to make evidence-based decisions on this basis. In addition, they are enabled to critically analyze everyday processes and develop them further in a reflective manner.”
Prof. Dr. Julia Nagel
For me personally, the course is particularly exciting because communication and discussions with experienced nurses are certainly different to those with people who are just starting out in nursing. I’m really looking forward to this exchange, because I’m convinced that we can learn from each other and grow together.”
What skills would you like to give students so that they are optimally prepared for their future professional practice?
“The students on the Nursing for Experienced Professionals course already have extensive professional experience and bring numerous specialist skills with them. I want to systematically build on this. My aim is to broaden their perspective and support them in assessing care situations based on research and developing the best possible strategy for action.
As part of my teaching, I would like to promote the ability to critically evaluate nursing science findings and transfer them into practice. This also includes confidence in dealing with research data and study results in order to continuously develop nursing care. It is also about taking on (extended) responsibility in interprofessional teams and for demanding nursing tasks.
I also attach great importance to students learning to question critically, discuss constructively and always strive for the best possible outcome for care recipients. In addition, preventative advice is important to me so that the need for care and illnesses can be avoided wherever possible. Ultimately, I want to enable students to actively contribute to the further development of nursing as an independent profession with high social relevance.
What role does the close integration of theory and practice play in this degree course?
“The close connection between theory and practice is of central importance for the Nursing for Experienced Professionals course. That’s why the lectures don’t take place every day and are combined with supervised self-study. In this way, direct contact with those in need of care is maintained and students do not lose touch with practice. Ideally, they put their newly acquired knowledge directly into practice in their day-to-day work and develop their own empirical knowledge. At the same time, the course offers students the opportunity to maintain their current standard of living while continuing their academic development.
Furthermore, the close connection between theory and practice helps students to question and constantly improve their own actions. As part of Reflected Practitioning, they consciously reflect on their experiences, consider the impact of their actions and develop practical improvements.
At the same time, they learn to act in an evidence-based manner in nursing practice and to implement new nursing concepts. This strengthens their ability to solve problems and prepares them to confidently and confidently take on tasks in management, design or research contexts in the future.”
Where do you see the biggest challenges and opportunities in the care sector in the coming years?
“One of the biggest challenges is certainly demographic change. People are getting older and older and increasingly in need of care. They often have highly complex and challenging medical conditions that require professional care. Added to this is the increasing shortage of skilled workers, which is placing an enormous burden on the care sector. This requires the deployment of foreign nursing staff, whose successful integration is of central importance. Not to be forgotten are the outdated structures of SGB XI, in which, for example, innovative roles such as Advanced Practice Nurses, Community Health Nurses, Nurse Practitioners or Clinical Nurse Specialists, or community-based models are not yet provided for.
I therefore hope that the increasing academization of nursing will help to increase the pressure on political decision-makers and that the healthcare system will become more modern and sustainable in the future.”
Prof. Dr. Julia Nagel
For this reason, I see academization as a great opportunity. Another significant opportunity lies in advancing digitalization. Telecare, digital documentation and electronic patient files can significantly reduce the burden on everyday care, while assistance systems, robots and smart home technologies can take over routine tasks.
I also hope that the nursing profession will finally receive the social recognition and appreciation it deserves. That professional carers carry out their demanding work with pride and self-confidence, that their expertise is respected and that this profession, as in other countries, becomes a respected role model that young people look up to and aspire to.”
What long-term goals are you pursuing with the establishment and further development of the course?
“I assume that the part-time Bachelor’s degree course will continue to be very popular in the future. It is particularly desirable to continuously increase the number of participants. I am looking forward to hopefully receiving active support from another colleague next year, as another professorship will soon be advertised.
Another key long-term goal is to further develop the range of courses on offer. In addition to the Bachelor’s degree course, I would also like to establish a postgraduate Master’s degree course, such as Advanced Nursing Practice.
Furthermore, I aim to raise the profile of Bamberg as a center of excellence for nursing science and practice. This includes close networking with regional healthcare and long-term care facilities in order to create synergies between teaching, practice and research. Another focus is on attracting and retaining qualified specialists for the Upper Franconia region.
On a personal level, it is important to me to establish a research-strong, practice-oriented degree course culture that motivates students to take responsibility for the further development of the healthcare system. At the same time, I see the sustainable development of a teaching and research infrastructure as crucial in order to enable long-term innovation in the field of nursing.”
