EUEF highlights the value of the San Juan de Dios nursing model

In this sense, and with the aim of highlighting the importance of the legacy of Saint John of God in the current model of nursing education, our EUEF lecturers, Calixto Plumed Moreno OH, Rosa M.ª Rodríguez Perales and Juan M. Arribas together with Francisco Ventosa Esquinaldo OH, have published the article "La formación enfermera en la Orden Hospitalaria de San Juan de Dios (Fatabenefratelli)", which has been published in the Italian journal Annali di storia dell'educazione e delle istituzioni scolastiche.

The study underlines that, since their origins, the Brothers of St John of God have based their work on practical, personalised and profoundly humanistic teaching. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the hospital functioned as a real training workshop, where the novices learned by observing, imitating and practising alongside the nurses. This methodology integrated not only technical knowledge, but also spiritual and ethical values. In this context, the role of the Hospital de Antón Martín in Madrid stands out, which became one of the centres of reference for the training of health professionals, and whose teaching work was complemented by the publication of manuals and didactic texts written by the Brothers themselves.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, technical training was consolidated by promoting university training and, in the second half of the 20th century, with the creation of specific schools. The article also points out how, in the 19th century, the restoration of the Order in Spain gave a new impetus to health training, consolidating centres such as the one in Ciempozuelos, from where regulated teaching programmes were articulated, with their own materials and a pedagogical approach that combined science with service.

Today, this legacy continues. The San Juan de Dios University School of Nursing and Physiotherapy, based in Ciempozuelos, Madrid and Bormujos, has been able to integrate the Jandedian tradition with the demands of the modern university, offering a rigorous academic training that does not lose sight of its humanist dimension. The current model continues to be based on the humanisation of care, patient accompaniment and ethical commitment to the most vulnerable people, faithful to the founding spirit of the Order.