How do Journalism Students Perceive the Nursing Profession?

Introduction. The media play a significant role in the perception of nursing profession in the public. Journalists report on nurses according to their observations and personal perceptions, as well as their knowledge of the field they cover and thus generate information. Insufficient information and knowledge of the work of nurses may affect attitudes which can reflect on the dynamics and manner of reporting on nurses.Aim. To evaluate the attitudes of journalism students towards the profession of nurses, their competencies and work, the status of nurses in society, the need for the nursing profession to be represented in the media, and personal experience in the work of nurses.Methods. The research was carried out by an anonymous survey which included 68 undergraduate students of journalism (60 female and 8 male) at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Zagreb.Results. The results of the research showed that a significant number of journalism students believe that nurses are assistants to doctors and that they are not independent in performing healthcare activities. However, the attitudes of journalism students towards the representation of nurses in the media showed that the majority (80.88%) were open in terms of the importance of the media appearance of nurses. However, at the same time, journalism students do not see a reason or are undecided regarding the claim that the experiences of nurses could be interesting content for the media (82.82%). When it comes to the work of nurses, which is related to the personal experience of journalism students, it is shown that about one half of the students have positive experiences (45.52%), while a significant number have opposing views.Conclusion. The research indicated that there is a significant lack of understanding of the nursing profession and its scope of work among students of future journalism careers.