Nursing and public health in Europe -- a new continuous education programme.

The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a new education programme in public health for nurses in the European Union (EU). The project, 'Development of a Continuous Professional Education Programme for Nurses in Public Health', is described together with its background and aim, which is to contribute to the development of new competencies of nurses in nursing and public health. For the development of these competencies, the framework for the programme's guidelines is organized around core modules common for all EU countries and elective modules, based on national health needs and policies proposed by each country. An example of the implementation of the programme from Sweden, where the programme has already been offered, is also presented. In addition to the educational programme itself, the opportunities for networking for nurses and teachers from different countries resulting from this effort are discussed. Finally, the evolving nature of public health in nursing is presented in relation to the roles that nurses/midwives already perform in various countries and situations, in order to point out the potential of this programme's contribution to the promotion of health of all European citizens.