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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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Background: Informed consent is important in clinical practice, as a person’s written consent is required prior to many medical interventions. Many informed consent forms fail to communicate simply and clearly. The aim of our study was to create an easy-to-understand form. Methods: Our assessment of a Polish-language plastic surgery informed consent form used the Polish-language comprehension analysis program (jasnopis.pl, SWPS University) to assess the readability of texts written for people of various education levels; and this enabled us to modify the form by shortening sentences and simplifying words. The form was re-assessed with the same software and subsequently given to 160 adult volunteers to assess the revised form’s degree of difficulty or readability. Results: The first software analysis found the language was suitable for people with a university degree or higher education, and after revision and re-assessment became suitable for persons with 4–6 years of primary school education and above. Most study participants also assessed the form as completely comprehensible. Conclusions: There are significant benefits possible for patients and practitioners by improving the comprehensibility of written informed consent forms.

The objective of this article was to describe the effectiveness of a multifocus recruitment strategy to a pilot project allowing direct provision of emergency contraception (EC) in a community pharmacy through collaborative agreements between pharmacists and physicians. The project recruited pharmacies through direct appeals to pharmacists, pharmacy managers and/or owners, and corporate pharmacy chains. The evaluation project was successful in recruiting sufficient numbers of pharmacies to warrant proceeding with the project. The most successful component of the recruitment strategy was reference to the opportunities that participation offered to expand the pharmacist's role in patient-focused care. The importance of peer influence was also noted in terms of encouraging pharmacy involvement.