1977L0453 — EN — 31.07.2001 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of27June1977
concerningthecoordinationofprovisionslaiddownbylaw,regulationoradministrativeactionin
respect oftheactivities ofnursesresponsibleforgeneral care
(77/453/EEC)
(OJ L 176, 15.7.1977, p. 8)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 89/595/EEC of 10 October 1989 L 341 30 23.11.1989
►M2Directive 2001/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
14 May 2001L 206 1 31.7.2001
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of27June1977
concerningthecoordinationofprovisionslaiddownbylaw,regula-
tion or administrative action in respect of the activities of nurses
responsibleforgeneral care
(77/453/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles49,57, 66 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(1)
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2)
Whereas, with a view to achieving the mutual recognition of diplomas,
certificatesand other evidence of formal qualificationsof nurs esresponsible for general care laid down in Council Directive 77/452/EEC(
3), the comparable nature of training courses in the Member
Statesenablescoordination in thisfield to be confined to the require-
ment that minimum standards be observed, which then leaves theMember Statesfreedom of organization asregardsteaching;
Whereasthe coordination envis aged by thisDirective doesnot exclude
any subsequent coordination;
Whereasthe coordination envis aged by thisDirective coversthe
professional training of nurses responsible for general care; whereas,
as far as training is concerned, most Member States do not at present
distinguish between nurses who pursue their activities as employed,persons and those who are self-employed; whereas for this reason andin order to encourage as far as possible the free movement of profes-sional persons within the Community, it appears necessary to extendthe application of this Directive to employed nurses,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. Member States shall make the award of diplomas, certificates and
other evidence of the formal qualifications of nurses responsible forgeneral care ►
M2ass pecified in the Annex to Directive 77/452/
EEC◄subject to passing an examination which guarantees that
during histraining period the pers on concerned hasacquired:
(a) adequate knowledge of the sciences on which general nursing is
based, including sufficient understanding of the structure, physiolo-gical functions and behaviour of healthy and sick persons, and of
the relationship between the state of health and the physical and
social environment of the human being;
(b) sufficient knowledge of the nature and ethics of the profession and
of the general principlesof health and nurs ing;
(c) adequate clinical experience; such experience, which should be
selected for its training value, should be gained under the supervi-sion of qualified nursing staff and in places where the number ofqualified staff and equipment are appropriate for the nursing careof the patients;
(d) the ability to participate in the practical training of health personnel
and experience of working with such personnel;1977L0453 — EN — 31.07.2001 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 65, 5. 6. 1970, p. 12.
(2) OJ No C 108, 26. 8. 1970, p. 23.
(3) See page 1 of thisOfficial Journal.
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(e) experience of working with members of other professions in the
health sector.
2. The training referred to in paragraph I shall include at least:
(a) a general school education of 10 years' duration attested by a
diploma, certificate or other formal qualification awarded by thecompetent authoritiesor bodiesin a Member State, or a certificateresulting from a qualifying examination of an equivalent standardfor entrance to a nurses' training school;
(b) full-time training, of a specifically vocational nature, which must
cover the subjects of the programme set out in the Annex to this
Directive and comprise a three-year course or 4 600 hours of theo-
retical and clinical instruction.
3. Member States shall ensure that the institution training nurses is
responsible for the coordination of theoretical and clinical instructionthroughout the training.
(a) ‘Theoretical instruction’ shall be defined as:
that part of nursing training whereby student nurses acquire the knowl-
edge, understanding and professional skills needed to plan, provide and
assess total nursing care. This teaching is provided in nursing schools
and other teaching environments chosen by the training institution, andis given by a staff of nursing teachers and other competent persons.
(b) ‘Clinical instruction’ shall be defined as:
that part of nursing training whereby student nurses as part of a team
and indirect contact with a healthy or sick individual and/or a commu-
nity learn to plan, provide and assess the required total nursing care onthe basis of their acquired knowledge and skills. The student nurselearnsnot only to be a member of the team, but to be a team leaderorganizing total nursing care, including health education for individualsand small groups in the health institutions or the community.
This instruction takes place in hospitals and other health institutions
and in the community, under the responsibility of teachers who arenurses and with the cooperation and assistance of other qualified
nurses. Other qualified personnel may be involved in this teaching
process.
Student nurses shall participate in the activities of the departments
concerned in so far as those activities contribute to their training,
enabling them to learn to undertake the responsibilities inherent innursing care.
4. The theoretical instruction referred to in part A of the Annex shall
be balanced and coordinated with the clinical instruction referred to inpart B of the Annex in such a way that the knowledge and experiencelisted in paragraph 1 of this Article may be acquired in an adequatemanner.The length of the theoretical instruction shall amount to no
less than one-third and that of the clinical instruction to no less than
one-half of the minimum length of training referred to in paragraph 2(b).
5. Member Statesmay grant partial exemption to pers onswho have
undergone part of the training referred to in paragraph 2 (b) in the form
of other training which is of at least equivalent standard.
Article 2
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, Member States may permit
part-time training under conditionsapproved by the competent nationalauthorities.
The total period of part-time training may not be shorter than that of
full-time training. The standard of the training may not be impairedby: itspart-time nature.1977L0453 — EN — 31.07.2001 — 002.001 — 3
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Article 3
This Directive shall also apply to nationals of Member States who, in
accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 15 October
1968 on freedom of movement for workerswithin the Community(1),
are pursuing or will pursue, as employed persons, one of the activitiesreferred to in Article 1 of Directive 77/452/EEC.
Article 4
1. Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to
comply with thisDirective within two yearsof itsnotification and s hallforthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the fieldcovered by thisDirective.
Article 5
Where a Member State encountersmajor difficultiesin certain fields
when applying this Directive, the Commission shall examine these
difficulties in conjunction with that State and shall request the opinionof the Committee of Senior Officialson Public Health s et up by Deci-sion 75/365/EEC(
2), asamended by Decis ion 77/455/EEC(3).
Where necessary, the Commission shall submit appropriate proposals to
the Council.
Article 6
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1977L0453 — EN — 31.07.2001 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 257, 19. 10. 1965, p. 2.
(2) OJ No L 167, 30. 6. 1975, p. 19.
(3) See page 13 of thisOfficial Journal.
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ANNEX
TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR NURSES RESPONSIBLE FOR
GENERALCARE
The training programme leading to the award of a diploma, certificate or
other evidence of formal qualifications as nurse responsible for general care
shall consist of the two parts and at least the subjects listed below. Instruc-
tion in one or more of these subjects may be given as part of, or in
association with, other courses.
A.Theoretical instruction:
(a)nursing:
nature and ethics of the profession,
general principlesof health and nurs ing,
nursing principles in relation to:
— general and specialist medicine,
— general and specialist surgery,— child care and peadiatrics,— maternity care,— mental health and psychiatry,— care of the old and geriatrics
(b)basic sciences:
anatomy and physiology,pathology,bacteriology, virology and parasitology,
biophysics, biochemistry and radiology,
dietetics,hygiene
— preventive medicine,
— health education,
pharmacology;
(c)social sciences:
sociology,psychology,
principlesof adminis tration,
principlesof teaching,social and health legislation,
legal aspects of nursing,
B.Clinicalinstruction:
Nursing in relation to:
— general and specialist medicine,
— general and specialist surgery,— child care and peadiatrics,— maternity care,— mental health and psychiatry,
— care of the old and geriatrics,
— home nursing.1977L0453 — EN — 31.07.2001 — 002.001 — 5
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