Background: Professional burnout in the medical community has been present for a long time, also among mental health professionals. The aim of the study was to examine the links between loneliness, complaining and professional burnout among medical personnel in psychiatric care during a pandemic. Loneliness and complaining of the medical staff are not documented in the literature well enough. Methods: Oldenburg Burnout Questionnaire, the Loneliness Scale, the Complaint Questionnaire and author’s questionnaire. The respondents: 265 medical employees—doctors (19.2%), nurses (69.8%), paramedics (4.9%), medical caregivers (5.7%). Results: Loneliness and complaining are significant predictors of exhaustion. The model explains 18% of exhaustion variance. Loneliness, complaining and job seniority are also predictors of disengagement; the model allows to predict 10% of the variance of disengagement. Women are more prone to complain. Complaining significantly correlates with direct support from management. A high rate of loneliness correlates, in a statistically significant way, with worse work organization, less management support, worse atmosphere in the team and with more irresponsible attitudes of colleagues. Conclusions: Loneliness and complaining can be used to predict occupational burnout. Women and people without management support complain more often. Loneliness is connected with bad work organization and bad cooperation in a team.

Introduction. Direct coercion is a part of medical intervention in which the patient’s autonomy as a basic human right is limited. In clinical practice, there are situations in which the use of coercion is indeed necessary to protect the patient and his/her environment against the effects of growing aggression. A very important element of action in such cases is to ensure the safety of both the patient through professional care, and of the personel executing the coercive measure.Aim. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the legal scope and applicability of coercive measures in nursing practice.Method. The exegesis of a legal text was used, which allows to present the legal conditions and rules of conduct in case of using direct coercion in psychiatric institutions and non-psychiatric units.Conclusions. Regardless of the type of institution, the decision to use direct coercion should be carefully considered in terms of both the patient’s good and safety. This is a unique operation. It should be done in accordance with legal guidelines in this regard, what significantly determines the employees’ safety.