Introduction Nurses play a significant role in ensuring the safety and quality of drugs. Our aim was to assess significant factors in nurses’ participation in ensuring pharmacotherapy safety by reporting adverse drug reactions (ADR) and detecting substandard drugs (SD). Materials and methods The study was a cross-sectional, comparative survey, using original questionnaires. Survey questions were grouped to probe the opinions, attitudes and practices of nurses reporting ADRs and SDs. Data were obtained from nurses working in teaching hospitals in Poland (group A) and, for comparison, in the USA (group B). 1200 questionnaires were distributed in Poland (return rate: 55.7%) and 200 questionnaires in the USA (return rate: 73%). Both groups were surveyed during the same period. There were no exclusion criteria. The questionnaires were self-administered. Distribution and collection were anonymous. Participation was voluntary. The Spearman correlation test was used. Both groups’ responses were cross-tabulated and compared using Fisher’s Exact Test for Count Data. Results The study group comprised 669 Polish and 146 American professionally active nurses working in general care and surgical departments. Age range: 18 to 72 years. Median job seniority: 18.3 years (group A) and 20.6 years (group B). Education levels varied. ADR reporting conditions in Poland are unfavorable: shortage of time—83.9% vs 22.6% in the US (p = 0.01); no incentive—58.2% vs 6.1% in the US (p = 0.01); and no equipment—44.7% vs 2.8% in the US (p < 0.01). Both Polish and American nurses indicate they rarely report SDs, with rates of 0.4% and 11% (p < 0.0001) respectively, during the study period. Conclusions Nurses in Poland are insufficiently prepared to ensure drug safety conscientiously and responsibly. Training is required for Polish nurses. Nurses’ employers need to improve conditions to enable reporting of ADRs and SDs.

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ielęgnowanie chorego z obturacyjnym bezdechem sennym z wykorzystaniem międzynarodowej terminologii ICNP ® Nursing care of a patient with obstructive sleep apnea using international terminology ICNP ® STRESZCZENIE Wstęp. Istotą obturacyjnego bezdechu sennego (OBS) są epizody bezdechów lub spłycenie oddychania, połączone ze spadkiem wysycenia krwi tętniczej tlenem. OBS zwiększa ryzyko incydentów sercowo-naczyniowych, wtórnego nadciśnie-nia tętniczego, chorób metabolicznych, wypadków komunikacyjnych, depresji oraz nagłego zgonu. Skutkami społecznymi OBS są zaburzenia relacji interpersonalnych, izolacja społeczna, obniżenie jakości życia chorego. W terapii OBS stosuje się metody utrzymujące stałe dodatnie ciśnienie w drogach oddechowych, a także modyfikację stylu życia. Cel pracy. Celem pracy jest przedstawienie wybranych aspektów procesu pielęgnowania chorych z OBS z zastosowaniem międzynarodowej terminologii ICNP ® . Wyniki. W procesie pielęgnowania chorego wykorzystano diagnozy ICNP ® : bezdech/ ryzyko bezdechu, ryzyko choroby, brak wiedzy o chorobie, gotowość do otrzymania wiedzy, strach/niepokój oraz odpowiadające im interwencje pielęgniarskie. Wnioski. Katalog ICNP ® umożliwia pełne opisanie diagnoz oraz planu opieki nad pacjentem z OBS.Problemy Pielęgniarstwa 2016; 24 (2): 142-147 Słowa kluczowe: diagnoza pielęgniarska; klasyfikacja; opieka pielęgniarska; obturacyjny bezdech senny ABSTRACT Introduction. The essence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are the episodes of paused or shallow breathing, associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation. OSA increases the risk of cardiovascular incidents, secondary hypertension, metabolic diseases, traffic accidents, depression or sudden death. The social consequences of OSA are: impaired interpersonal relationships, social isolation, and decreased quality of life of the patient. The treatment of OSA involves using methods to maintain continuous positive airway pressure, as well as lifestyle modification. The aim of the work. The aim of this work is to present selected aspects of the nursing process in patients with OSA, using the ICNP terminology. Results. In the process of nursing a patient, the ICNP ® diagnoses and the corresponding nursing interventions were used: apnoea/risk for apnoea, risk for disease, lack of knowledge of disease, ready to learn, fear/anxiety. Conclusions. The ICNP ® catalogue allows to fully describe diagnoses and a plan of care for patients with OSA.

In January 2016 Polish nurses and midwives were granted new powers to prescribe medications and food of special purposes, as well as to issue referrals for several diagnostic tests and prescriptions for reimbursed medical products. The aim of this paper is to present the possibility to describe the process of prescribing medications using the international language of nursing practice ICNP®. International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP®) is a unified glossary of referential terms for nursing practice that is recommended by the most important medical and professional organisations in Poland and all over the world. Numerous ICNP® terms, which do not only meet international criteria but can-and should-become the primary communication tool for everyday nursing practice of Polish nurses and midwives are an alternative to often random, traditional and intuitive expressions describing nursing and midwifery activities related to widely understood process of prescribing medications.

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