political imperative of nurse education

Health and social care systems are inherently political (Jardin, 2001). From the allocation of limited resources to the directions related to patients' access to care and professional scope of practice of the workforce, the health environment is shaped not by clinical facts alone, but by political decisions. Yet, for too long, nursing education has perpetuated the practice of equipping graduates with clinical skills while leaving them politically limited, often mute. This omission is no longer tenable. For nursing to meet the demands of 21st-century healthcare, nurse education must critically integrate the politics of nursing into educational programmes. Determining the optimal level of delivery and identifying the appropriate experts to lead this integration are two challenges which require attention.