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Background: Since 2012, education standards in medical faculties in Poland have allowed medical universities to introduce content related to multiculturalism. On the one hand, this creates a necessity to introduce new strategies, forms, and techniques of education aimed at the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in terms of multiculturalism. On the other hand, there is a need to evaluate their effects. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the cultural competence and cultural intelligence of master’s degree nursing students before the commencement of and two months after cultural education training in the form of the intercultural communication workshops included in the study program. Methods: The following questionnaires were used in the study: the Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory (CCCI) and the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). Two consecutive classes (2019 and 2020) of master’s nursing students were tested twice (pre-test, post-test). The study was conducted at a leading medical university that educates nurses at a master’s level in Poland. In total, 130 master’s nursing students took part in this evaluative study: 64 individuals in 2019 (study 1) and 66 individuals in 2020 (study 2). Results: In comparison to the pre-test, the post-test showed that the surveyed students in both study 1 and study 2 obtained significantly higher overall results in terms of cultural intelligence (p = 0.001; p = 0.004, respectively) as well as in the behavioral (p = 0.001; p = 0.002) and cognitive (p = 0.001; p = 0.008, respectively) subscales. The cultural competence results were also higher overall, but the difference was insignificant. Conclusions: The study shows the efficiency of training/workshops in the development of culturally specific knowledge and cultural intervention skills. At the same time, it postulates the need to plan and organize cultural education programs in a form that aims to improve the development of culturally sensitive attitudes.

Introduction: The medical profession is acknowledged as one of the most stressful. The time devoted to acquire knowledge and practical skills is a source of stress for students, but also an opportunity to learn how to deal with it. Aim of the research: To assess how medical students deal with stress during their first clinical practice. Material and methods: The study was conducted in a group of 526 students of: nursing, physiotherapy, medical rescue, and obstetrics at a university. The research tools included: an original questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Stress Management Inventory. The dependence between variables was established using the Spearman's rank correlation. A significance level of α = 0.05 was assumed in the tests. Results: Almost half of the students experienced high levels of stress, and more than half of them manifested high levels of self-efficacy. The participants dealt with difficult situations mainly by active coping, planning, and seeking instrumental support. The paramedics and the midwives more often turned to active coping than did the physiotherapists. Younger people were more inclined to choose strategies associated with seeking support (rho =-0.134, p = 0.001). It was shown that strategies of managing difficult situations based on helplessness were more often followed by older people (rho = 0.126, p = 0.002). The greater sense of self-efficacy in the participants, the more often they chose active stress coping strategies. Conclusions: Active stress management strategies should be developed in students also to strengthen their sense of selfefficacy. Streszczenie Wprowadzenie: Wykonywanie zawodów medycznych uznawane jest za jedno z najbardziej stresujących zajęć. Czas poświęcony na zdobywanie wiedzy i umiejętności praktycznych jest również źródłem stresu dla studentów kierunków medycznych, a także okazją do nauczenia się, jak sobie z nim radzić. Cel pracy: Ocena, w jaki sposób studenci kierunków medycznych radzą sobie ze stresem podczas pierwszej praktyki klinicznej. Materiał i metody: Badanie przeprowadzono w grupie 526 studentów: pielęgniarstwa, fizjoterapii, ratownictwa medycznego i położnictwa. Narzędzia badawcze obejmowały: autorski kwestionariusz ankiety, Skalę odczuwanego stresu i Inwentarz radzenia sobie ze stresem. Zależność między zmiennymi ustalono za pomocą korelacji rang Spearmana. W testach przyjęto poziom istotności α = 0,05. Wyniki: Prawie połowa studentów doświadczyła wysokiego poziomu stresu, ponad połowa z nich miała wysoki poziom poczucia własnej skuteczności. Studenci radzili sobie ze stresem poprzez aktywne zarządzanie, planowanie i poszukiwanie instrumentalnego wsparcia. Ratownicy medyczni i położne częściej podejmowali aktywne formy radzenia sobie niż fizjoterapeuci. Osoby młodsze były bardziej skłonne wybierać strategie związane z poszukiwaniem wsparcia (rho =-0,134, p = 0,001). Wykazano, że osoby starsze częściej stosowały strategie radzenia sobie z trudnymi sytuacjami oparte na bezradności (rho = 0,126, p = 0,002). Im większe było poczucie włas...

Background: The ageing process causes a number of changes in the human immune and endocrine systems. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between cognitive, emotional and functional skills as well lifestyle, versus selected biochemical indicators of the ageing process. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in a group of 121 people aged 60–90 residing in the Lesser Poland voivodship. The study used standardized research tools including the Barthel scale, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) and inventory of health behaviors (IHB). In addition, the concentration of IL-6 and melatonin in the blood plasma was determined. Results: We determined the correlation between the level of IL-6 in a group of people over 75 years of age (requiring medical care), and results of the IADL scale. There was also a correlation between melatonin levels and the MMSE results in a group of people aged 60–75 who did not require constant medical care. Conclusions: IL-6 can be treated as a predictor of functional skills of people over 75 years of age, and melatonin can be perceived as a factor for recognizing cognitive impairment in elderly people who do not require constant medical assistance.

Introduction: Contemporary healthcare faces new challenges and expectations from society. The profession of a nurse, as well as a paramedic, is essential for the efficient functioning of healthcare. It has its importance not only in promoting and preserving health but also in prevention. With the increasing importance of providing medical care at the highest level, it is expected of these two professional groups to have more knowledge and skills than a few years earlier. The daily contact with patients and their families, the low level of control of the environment, the hierarchical system of professional dependence, and the dissatisfaction with remuneration are becoming extremely burdensome aspects of the nursing and paramedic professions. Long-term exposure to stressors associated with these medical professions may, in the long term, lead to the emergence of occupational burnout syndrome. The aim of this study is an attempt to answer the question of whether and how stress factors affect the occurrence of occupational burnout in the work of nurses and paramedics working in various medical entities. Material and Methods: The study covered a group of 434 respondents, including 220 nurses and 214 paramedics, working professionally in hospital departments and care and treatment facilities as well as in hospital emergency departments and ambulance services. The study was carried out using a diagnostic survey based on the questionnaire technique using the authors’ questionnaire and the standardized MBI Ch. Maslach. Two statistical values were used to statistically analyze the research results and verify the adopted hypotheses: the chi-square test and the Student’s t-test. Results and Conclusions: The current study showed that the phenomenon of occupational burnout among the studied group affects only nurses, while this problem does not apply to the studied paramedics. The main stressor among the nurses and paramedics is, above all, a very high level of responsibility. Nurses are overburdened by excessive demands and shift work, while paramedics are mostly burdened by an excess of duties. Both nurses and paramedics claim that their work is often stressful, which leads to physical and mental exhaustion.