Bringing nursing to the public

For the past 5 years, an unusual program has been evolving in the University of Basel's Institute of Nursing Science master's program in Basel, Switzerland. A special course designed to help nurses master public communication skills requires students to play the roles of journalist, exhibition curator, conference organizer, radio reporter, and news producer. Two faculty members, an experienced radio and newspaper journalist and a nurse scientist, teach and support the students. By developing their competence in media relations, participants prepare themselves to tackle the course's long-term goal of bringing the nursing profession into the public eye.