The Introduction of School of Nursing of Nanchang University

Established in 1999, the Nursing discipline at Nanchang University marks the university as the first institution of higher education in Jiangxi Province to offer a full-time undergraduate nursing program. In 2004, it was approved as the Brand Major of Jiangxi Province. In 2006, it received authorization to offer a master’s degree program in the secondary discipline of Nursing In the same year, it was renamed the Nursing Department of Nanchang University following the merger of universities. In 2011, it became one of China’s first institutions to gain authorization for a master’s degree program in the first-level discipline of Nursing. In September 2012, it was renamed the School of Nursing at Nanchang University. In 2014, it obtained professional degree authorization for the first-level discipline of Nursing. In 2018 and 2022, it ranked first in the comprehensive evaluation of undergraduate nursing programs in Jiangxi Province for two consecutive terms and was awarded the Five-Star Major of Jiangxi Province title. In 2019, it became the first institution in Jiangxi to pass the Ministry of Education’s Nursing Program Accreditation and it launched joint doctoral training programs with Murdoch University (Australia) and Chiang Mai University (Thailand). In 2020, its nursing program was selected as a National First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Site, and its course Fundamentals of Nursing was recognized as a National First-Class Undergraduate Course. In 2021, it was reaffirmed as a National First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Site and granted authorization to offer a doctoral degree program in the first-level discipline of Nursing. After more than 20 years of leapfrog development, the School of Nursing has established a complete "undergraduate-master-doctoral" talent training system.

The School serves as a Member Unit of the Teaching Guidance Committee for Nursing Majors under the Ministry of Education, a Standing Director Unit of the National Higher Nursing Education Association, a Vice-Chairman Unit of the East China Higher Nursing Education Association, a Member Unit of the "Huaxia Higher Nursing Education Alliance", the Chairman Unit of the Jiangxi Provincial Professional Guidance Committee for Nursing Education, the Chairman Unit of the Jiangxi Provincial Teaching Guidance Committee for Undergraduate Nursing Majors, and the Chairman Unit of the Nursing Education Professional Committee of the Jiangxi Provincial Nursing Association.

The School has 6 Teaching and Research Sections, 1 Nursing Experimental Center, 1 Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base, and practical teaching bases including 11 tertiary A-level general hospitals inside and outside Jiangxi Province, 1 psychiatric hospital, and 2 community service centers. The Experimental Center is an Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Jiangxi Higher Education institutions, a Laboratory for Characteristic and Advantageous Disciplines Co-constructed by the Central and Local Governments, a Provincial and University-level Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center Construction Project, one of the participating units of the National Medical Simulation Experimental Center, one of the participating institutions of the National Virtual Teaching and Research Office, and one of the participating units of the Provincial Key Laboratory of Aging and Disease.

The School has a “dual-qualification” faculty team integrating basic medical sciences with clinical practice, with 85% of its teachers being dual-qualification professionals and 86.7% of full-time faculty holding doctoral degrees (including those currently pursuing doctoral studies). It possesses a provincial high-level undergraduate teaching team, and its faculty members include recipients of the International Florence Nightingale Medal, members of the Teaching Guidance Committee for Nursing Majors under the Ministry of Education, winners of the National Baogang Teacher Award, Jiangxi Provincial Young and Middle-aged Backbone Teachers, recipients of the Jiangxi Provincial "May Fourth" Youth Medal, and Jiangxi Provincial Outstanding Nursing Workers, etc. 42.9% of the faculty have experience in overseas study, visiting scholar programs, or research fellowships. The doctoral supervisor team covers fields such as clinical nursing, nursing management, and nursing education. In recent years, the faculty has won 2 second prizes in the National University Teachers' Teaching Innovation Competition, 3 awards (1 first prize and 2 second prizes) in the National Young Nursing Teachers' Lecture Contest, as well as group second prize, group third prize, and individual first prize in the National Young Teachers' Skill Competition. The faculty has led 14 National Natural Science Foundation projects and 8 projects including the Ministry of Education's Industry-University Collaboration and Education Projects and provincial Natural Science Foundation projects, with total research funding exceeding 10 million yuan. The faculty have secured 89 national patents, 3 of which have been commercialized. Moreover, 42 papers have been published in SCI journals of JCR Zone 2 or higher. The School has 6 national and provincial first-class undergraduate courses, has edited or compiled 38 textbooks and monographs, and has received 4 provincial teaching achievement awards (first and second prizes), 2 provincial excellent textbook awards (first and second prizes), and 11 provincial and ministerial-level science and technology awards, etc.

The School has a National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center and a National First-Class Undergraduate Nursing Program Construction Site. With the development of great health and new medical sciences, it sets its goal as "cultivating compound nursing leading talents with international vision, humanistic care and innovative capabilities". By leveraging the comprehensive university platform of Nanchang University, it achieves deep integration of medicine, humanities and information technology and implements the "Three-dimensional" interdisciplinary training model. It has established joint doctoral training programs with Murdoch University (Australia) and Chiang Mai University (Thailand), and conducts regular international academic exchanges. Additionally, it has set up joint training programs with universities in Singapore, the United States and Malaysia. In recent year, students have won outstanding achievements in various national competitions: the Special Prize in the East China Division and Silver Award in the National Finals of the National College Students’ Medical Technology and Skills Competition; more than 30 person-times of awards in the China International College Students' Innovation Competition (formerly China "Internet Plus" College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition); and the Silver Award in the China Youth Volunteer Service Project Competition. The School has cultivated over 3,000 graduates. Currently, most of them have become backbone members in their workplaces, earning the School high social reputation.

Over the 25 years since its establishment, the School has currently formed four dominant disciplinary directions: Adult and Geriatric Nursing, Health and Chronic Disease Management, Acute and Critical Care & Disaster Nursing, and Interdisciplinary Nursing. Integrating the Jinggangshan Spirit with the Nightingale Spirit, relying on red education bases and the role model guidance of Florence Nightingale Medal recipients, it carries out diverse volunteer services, constructs a “three-in-one teaching model” integrating theoretical, practical, and online courses, and fosters a nursing culture that combines "red" (ideological) and "professional" (expertise) elements. It offers characteristic courses such as Nursing Informatics, AI literacy curriculum system, and smart health care-related innovation and entrepreneurship courses. It guides students to carry out research training programs related to AI and nursing, aiming to build a highland for cultivating innovative talents in smart nursing. By leveraging the collaborative efforts of faculty from two affiliated hospitals (ranked among China's top 100 hospitals) and the School's teachers, it jointly conducts course teaching, guides students' graduation theses, skill competitions, and research projects, and cultivates teaching competition participants, which forming a nursing-education collaborative education paradigm.

The School upholds its motto “Diligent Exploration, Care for Life” and takes “serving the Healthy China Strategy and cultivating outstanding nursing talents” as its mission. By the three-dimensional training system of “interdisciplinary + international vision + practical innovation”, it is committed to building a first-class in China and internationally renowned highland for nursing talent cultivation.

(Information and data as of July 2025)