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INOVACIJE I IZAZOVI U OBRAZOVANJU I SESTRINSKOJ SKRBI - KNJIGA SAŽETAKA

Nurses and Teaching Assistants in Theoretical and

Practical Education in Medical Schools

Ten years ago, the term teaching assistant was associated with schools that only educate
students with disabilities. A few years ago, teaching assistants became a systematic part of
primary school education for the purpose of integrating students with disabilities into the
regular education system. Today, teaching assistants also work in secondary schools, especially
vocational ones, where every year there are more and more children with individualized and
adapted programs. This is something new for professional teachers, professional associates,
students and parents, and it is the right time to start talking about it more and exchanging
experiences, as well as critically reflecting on all the advantages and disadvantages that arise.
Inclusion and integration have been something we strive for for some time in all spheres of life,
however, they are not enough by themselves to change society and adapt it to people with
disabilities. Law is one thing, practice is another, and words on paper can be interpreted
differently by everyone. How to harmonize the educational process, which is closely related to
the mastery of specific skills and competencies, with the difficulties that students have, and how
and how much to include teaching assistants are questions that vocational teachers ask
themselves in many schools throughout Croatia. How to prepare a student for the labor market
where he will have to work completely independently and be responsible for what he has done?
Are the teaching assistants ready and prepared for the professional part of the curriculum and
how did they manage themselves in schools where the emphasis is not on general education
subjects but on narrowly specific ones consisting of a theoretical and practical part? We will try
to answer these and many other questions through experiences from the Pula Medical School,
where there are currently three teaching assistants in two areas (nurse/general care technician
and physiotherapist technician/technician). We will show their experiences, as well as that of
the teachers, but also the success of the students and the challenges they all go through together.
It will also be interesting to present what clinical teaching looks like in healthcare institutions,
where the patient is accompanied by a professional teacher, a student and a teaching assistant.
It remains to be seen how the status of teaching assistants will be defined and developed, and
whether there will be more of them in the future.

Key words: teaching assistants, students with disabilities, vocational education, integration,
inclusion

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