A shortage of language skills is preventing European nurses from being able to work in all member states. Maureen Johnston Brown reports on a project which aims to address this problem.

NURSES FORM the largest single workforce in Europe. With demographic changes and a Europe-wide shortage of trained nurses, the ability to move within the EU is a vital prerequisite for nurses, employers, training institutions, national organisations and businesses. Nurses already enjoy transparency and recognition of their qualifications in Europe, and a key objective of the EU is to make the opportunity to work and study in all the EU member states a reality. One hurdle to this is the identified need for nurses to improve their language skills.