Mutual Perception of Soldiers and Nurses at the Surgical Ward

Abstract

This bachelor thesis deals with mutual perception of soldiers and nurses an the surgical ward. In order to find out our mutual perceptions, we set two goals: To find out the nursing experience of soldiers at the surgical ward and To find out the soldiers' view of nursing care at the surgical ward. The set goals were achieved through semi-structured interviews conducted with the general nurses working in the surgical department and professional soldiers who experienced the nursing care at the surgical department. Seven nurses and eight soldiers were questioned by using the pencil-and-paper interviewing method. The thesis provides a complete view on the nursing of soldiers at the surgical ward. From the historical point of view, the nursing is closely connected with the soldiers. It describes the structure and organization of this department, including the most common surgical procedures and the nursing care associated with them. The care is specific due to the nature of the surgical procedure and the particular condition of the patient. The bachelor thesis explores the role of the nurse and the patient in connection with the nurse-patient relationship. It maps and explains the legal system of providing the health care to soldiers. The military health care providers must primarily take care of the members of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic and the employees of The Ministry of Defence, and to others only if they do not jeopardize the quality of the care provided to the above mentioned patients. Based on the results of the research, it has been found that the experience of general nursing staff depends on the particular surgical department where they work. The soldiers are more often treated by those employed in a military hospital, which also has a legislative background. Most soldiers met with an adequate and sympathetic attitude from the nurses, although there were also complaints about their unpleasant behaviour or neglected admissions of patients. Soldiers perceive nurses positively, they consider them necessary. According the answers, the soldiers seem to be satisfied with the provided care