St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Russia, within the framework of the congress “Healthy Children are the Future of the Country”, hosted a round table with representatives of press services of higher educational institutions and medical organizations.
The participants discussed the acute lack of professional journalists specializing in medical subjects who could inform the citizens of St. Petersburg and other Russian cities about the opportunities of the health care system in comprehensible and easy-to-understand forms.
The City Student Press Center at St. Petersburg State Univeristy of Industrial Technologies and Design came up with the initiative to start a pilot course in medical journalism in September, based on the annual theoretical course “Publishing. Journalism: with the practical involvement of the Pediatric University’s clinical information base.
The two universities decided to create a joint project called “Schools of Medical Journalism. The course is designed for 100 hours of theoretical and 120 hours of practical training.
The initiative was supported by representatives of North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov, N. P. Bechtereva Institute of the Human Brain, Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza.
Students and graduates of specialized medical universities, media-active students of St. Petersburg universities and colleges, and representatives of editorial boards of student and youth mass media will be invited to the training.
The training will be free of charge, and successful graduates will have an opportunity to get a job in the specialized media and press services of medical institutions.