Care concept in medical and nursing students' descriptions: philosophical approach and implications for medical education

Introduction. Care is seen as something that is peculiar to the medical sciences but its meaning and status for physicians and nurses differs. Objectives. The aim of this research was to learn how nursing and medical students understand and define care, and how their definition and views on their practice of caring change as they advance through their studies. Material and methods. The study was conducted among two groups of students: before and after their first practicum (n=102). Analysis of the students' answers was carried out using Colaizzi's phenomenological descriptive methodology, which means that a qualitative approach was used. Results. The qualitative analysis shows that the medical and nursing students define care in the same way, using 9 main categories: compassion, commitment, competence, confidence, conscience, communication, patience, courage and support. The nursing students viewed their caring to be within both practical and emotional dimensions and this was a core feature of their identity as nurses. Medical students, on the other hand, viewed the practical dimension of care as an additional activity. All the students in the study underlined the importance of having time to care and showed that, for them, 'time' in this context has a moral meaning. What was interesting to the research team centered on the initial attitudes to 'caring' from both medical and nursing students. Conclusions. We found that students of both nursing and medicine do not begin their studies with different attitudes and concepts of care. However, after their initial exposure to practical placements a process begins which forges different identities around the concept of care. This implies trends in the division of professional roles during their initial education

Choice and perception of the nursing profession from the perspective of Polish nursing students: a focus group study.

BACKGROUND: Although previous quantitative studies provide important information on the factors which influence the choice of nursing as a career, qualitative analysis makes it possible to study the subject more thoroughly. The purpose of this study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of the reasons why Polish students choose nursing as a profession and their later perception of the job based on experiences acquired during the nursing course. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was designed. We organized 8 focus group discussions with third-year nursing students. A total of 76 students participated in the study. RESULTS: Several reasons why students had chosen the nursing profession were identified: desire to help others, family tradition, desire to work abroad, failure to get into another course, pure chance, and low admission requirements (relative to medical studies). The participants\u27 views of the nursing profession were based on their own personal experiences or observations of nurses at work. Often these observations were superficial, concerning only selected fragments of nursing work. The participants also identified reasons for there being low regard for the nursing profession. CONCLUSION: The decision about choosing nursing is mainly determined by practical aspects, e.g., the opportunity for employment. Although young people are aware of the low prestige of the nursing profession in Poland, they believe it is possible to improve its image and enhance its prestige

Additional file 1: of Choice and perception of the nursing profession from the perspective of Polish nursing students: a focus group study

The focus group guide. (DOC 42 kb