21世紀是知識經濟時代，在資訊網路快速發展下，臺灣已步入自由化、國際化、多元化、資訊化、全球化之年代，競爭與改變將成為常態發展，全球化發展致使護理教育面臨極大衝擊。護理專業是以人為主導的服務業，隨著人口高齡化、多元文化、疾病結構、健康問題型態、健保政策之改變，均影響民眾需求與醫療照護型態的轉變，護理照顧方式與專業教育培育方向亦需因應以上改變而調整。本文由介紹臺灣護理教育之問題（如：學制複雜與學習環境差異性大、課程之僵化與欠缺特色、師資素質不臻理想、學生能力評量之問題、學生英文與數理通識能力欠佳、招生人數未加掌控、課程設計問題），預測未來將遭遇之困境（如：學校招生、學校經營與臨床未來護理人力素質問題），進而探討護理教育未來發展趨勢（如：學校改變經營方式邁向國際接軌與全球佈局、因應社會需求培養具備多元性專長之護理人力、更新教學方式、注重護理師資培育與成長、重視各學程的連結與培養學生終身學習的態度、全面推動護理教育評鑑、因應國際趨勢積極開拓教育版圖）。本文之論述可作為護理教育者之參考。

　　　　　The twenty-first century is the era of the knowledge-based economy. Its information networks developing rapidly, Taiwan has already entered an age of liberalization, diversity and globalization. Competition and change will be the norm. As globalization continues it will pose substantial problems for nursing education. Nursing is a service-oriented activity which has to develop constantly to meet the changing demands of the public as people start to live longer, society becomes more multi-cultural, the nature of diseases and other health problems changes and public policy, such as that on National Health Insurance, is modified. This article outlines the problems currently facing nursing education (i.e., the complexity of the educational system, shortcomings in the learning environment, curriculum design, the quality of faculty, evaluation methods, and the quality of students' English and Mathematics) to predict likely difficulties (i.e. student recruitment, the running of schools and the quality of clinical nurses) and trends in nursing education. (i.e. changes in the way schools are run in line with the impact of globalization, new teaching methods; faculty training and development, lifelong learning, and the internationalization of education.) The article should be of interest to nursing educators.