BackgroundAlthough 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsSeveral 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’ 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.ConclusionThe 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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0765-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The findings revealed factors which influence the perception of the nursing profession in Poland, that is the system of education, professional experience and the current situation in which nurses perform their roles. Nurses' current perception of the job may have negative consequences both for nurses themselves (e.g. burnout) and for the whole profession (e.g. negative selection). Nurses should aim to fulfil leadership roles and participate in the management of health policy so as to have greater influence on healthcare planning.

Introduction and objective. Knowledge of the harmful influence of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has a positive impact on changing social behaviours worldwide. In many homes smoking is totally prohibited; in some others, partial limitations of tobacco consumption have been introduced. Objective. To study the correlation between the adopted rules of tobacco use in homes of 3-year-olds, and the kind and frequency of acute respiratory system infections within a 6-month period of attending pre-schools. Materials and methods. The study was performed among children attending municipal pre-schools in Białystok, Poland. The data was collected by anonymous questionnaires completed by the parents of 302 children aged 3 years chosen randomly from 1,200 children attending 51 pre-schools. The exposure of children to tobacco smoke was measured by determining cotinine to creatinine ratio (CCR) in urine. Results. In the 150 families of children who were surveyed, 210 were smokers. Every day, the smokers consisted of fathers (37.3%) and mothers (23.6%). The 3-year-old children were divided into 3 groups according to smoking habits in their homes: 28.5% of the children under examination came from homes where tobacco smoking was forbidden (mean CCR-15.21ng/ mg, SD=11.86), 26.2% came from homes where tobacco was smoked in separate rooms (mean CCR-65.75 ng/ml, SD=81.51), 45.4% lived in homes where no rules connected with smoking had been established (mean CCR-61.75 ng/ml, SD= 70.29). During the analyzed period of 6 months, 85% of the children had at least 1 respiratory tract infection (60%-upper, 16.9%-lower, 16.5%-upper and lower, 7.1%-otitis media). Conclusions. The majority of the 3-year-old children who had lower respiratory tract infections required antibiotics and hospitalization. Living in a home where no tobacco rules were established may cause an increase of respiratory tract infections.

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