Exploration and Practice of the Talent Cultivation Model for Nursing and Health-related Vocational Undergraduate Programs in Line with Healthy China —— Take the Medical and Health-Related Majors of Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology as an Example

Abstract

The Healthy China strategy and the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port have created growing demand for highly skilled nursing and health professionals with clinical competence, technological proficiency, research literacy, and interdisciplinary service capabilities. This study examines the cultivation of vocational undergraduate students in nursing, health management, rehabilitation therapy, and smart health and elderly care management at Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology. Drawing on the type attributes of vocational education and human capital theory, the study employs field investigation, case analysis, and comparative analysis to examine program design and teaching practices across the four programs. The findings identify five major challenges: unclear differentiation between vocational undergraduate and junior-college training objectives, insufficient alignment of curricula with undergraduate-level competencies, limited integration of practical teaching with complex occupational tasks, inadequate development of dual-qualified and dual-capable faculty, and an internally dominated quality evaluation system. To address these challenges, a five-in-one talent cultivation model is proposed, integrating training objective positioning, curriculum system reconstruction, a progressive practical teaching system, faculty team development, and multi-stakeholder quality evaluation. Initial implementation shows that practical teaching accounts for 61.40%–66.10% of the curricula across the four programs, bedside teaching in the nursing program exceeds 30%, and external stakeholders contribute more than 30% of quality evaluation activities. The model provides a practice-based framework for connecting undergraduate-level competencies with occupational requirements and offers a reference for similar vocational institutions. Further longitudinal and comparative research is required to evaluate its effects on student competencies, graduate employment, and professional development.