Candidates are required to spend half a year performing practical training in a hospital setting, before beginning the academic portion of their studies. All undergraduate nursing courses are laid out consistent with EU regulations, with programs that span three years in duration and include roughly 3300 hours of theoretical study and an additional 2500 hours of practical training during a sort of hospital settings. Once students meet these requirements they become eligible to take a seat for the national nursing exam, on which a passing score will earn them their nursing certification.
After nurses complete their undergraduate training they are then eligible to study towards a particular specialty, or as it is called in Abroad, a Fachweiterbildung. Naturally, salaries tend to increase for nurses who have earned a Fachweiterbildung—a two-year, 800-hour program through which nurses can earn a specialty certificate in areas such as ICU, anesthesia, oncology, home care, psychiatry, palliative care, hygiene, or ward management. Shorter specialty courses are also available, typically in areas such as wound care and quality control management.