Reforms in nursing education were initiated in the 1990s. The essential feature of the reforms was a departure from standardvocational training to learning a profession at a higher education institution. When comparing the educational system of Polish nurses with that of nurses in other countries, it should be stressed above all that the current educational structure is to a very large extent shaped by the common regulations of the European Union. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the nursing education systems in selected European countries and the United States. An analysis of the literature on the subjectis used in the study. The research shows that owing to the common regulations of the European Union, in most of the countries a nurse’s diploma obtained in a particular country authorizes the holder to practice the profession in another country. This is not, however, to say that the level and course of nursing education are identical in each of these countries. Itsfoundations and generaloutlineare uniform.

Nursing Topics 2015; 23 (1): 117–122