BACKGROUND: Modern education in the field of healthcare is faced with the challenge of coping with one of the most important tasks – to develop in students a set of competencies which serve as a sound basis for mastering a series of job-specific knowledge, skills and abilities, and which constitute a guarantee for coping successfully with all everyday tasks. The attention of the mentor is focused on finding the most reasonable solution to the various situations that the trainee may find him/herself in, and ensuring emotional comfort. AIM: To identify the grounds and criteria for selecting mentors for the pre-graduation traineeships of the future registered nurses. METHODS: To determine the opinion of the mentors, we surveyed 106 mentors in several university hospitals: ‘St. Georgi’ University Hospital – Plovdiv, MPHAT AD – Haskovo, ‘Dr. At. Dafovski’ University Hospital – Kardzhali, University Hospital – Stara Zagora. RESULTS: During the pre-graduation traineeship in a real-life environment, students have the opportunity to develop and consolidate a series of skills, competences and qualities which are an integral part of the modern image of the registered nurse. Logically, the mentor should be the leading factor in the pre-graduation traineeship, yet the tutor has organisational and control functions. CONCLUSION: Mentors are expected to ensure patient safety, as well to create suitable working conditions for students.

Abstract:The training nursing students in the Republic of Bulgaria confirms with the contemporary European requirements. The training is theoretical and practical, with the practical training accounting for at least 50% of the total number of hours in the specialty. The practical training includes clinical practice and pre-graduation traineeship, which complies with the Ordinance on the Unified state requirements regarding the training of nurses. The clinical practice and the pre-graduation traineeship involve a total duration of 2740 hours for students majoring in Nursing (Ordinance on the Unified state requirements). The level of satisfaction of these nursing students is an important indicator of the quality of the practical training. The study involved a sociological method of direct group survey involving an original set of questions with one developed specifically for this survey and others adapted from the questionnaire on job satisfaction of the Institute of Psychology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. This questionnaire on satisfaction comprises 36 statements with three subscales: 1) work organization or organization of the practical training; 2) social-psychological conditions; and 3) material. The approach uses a Likert-type scale from 1 to 4 (1 = "no", 2 = "to a certain extent", 3= "very much", and 4 = "extremely") to score responses. The opinion of 280 fourth-year nursing students from three universities: the Medical University of Plovdiv, Trakia University of Stara Zagora, and 'Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov' University of Burgas, is surveyed. The analysis of the results from the conducted empirical survey shows that in their professional activity the surveyed students are primarily motivated by love and care for people (78.8%) followed by the desire to perform an activity that is beneficial to society (63.3%). Then follows the respect on behalf of patients, the team, and society as a whole (52.5%) and subsequently, the emotional attractiveness of the work reflected in the desire to do work that brings pleasure and joy (job satisfaction; 42.4%). The level of student satisfaction with their practical training depends on the organizational-educational, social-psychological, and material and technical conditions of the hospital environment. The analysis of the survey data confirms the significant role of practical training for the professional qualification of these nursing students. However, certain negative trends are also identified. These trends are connected with the satisfaction of the students concerning the procedures they have the opportunity to perform, their relationships with their mentors and medical teams, and that at times they are required to perform inappropriate activities. This calls for increased control on behalf of the tutors.

The training of nurses is a key issue on which the provision of access to and quality of medical care depends. The shortage of nurses and the unfavorable ratio between nurses and doctors create problems in the proper organization of the provision of medical care. As health care providers working under stressful conditions, future nurses need a safe working environment for themselves and their patients. Aim: The aim of this study is to establish the level of satisfaction of future registered nurses with the working conditions in healthcare establishments during their pre-graduation traineeship. Material and methods: The study presents the result of a survey of the opinion of 283 fourth-year students majoring in Nursing at the Medical University of Plovdiv, Faculty of Public Health; Trakia University, Stara Zagora, Faculty of Medicine and Haskovo Branch; 'Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov’ University, Burgas. Results and Discussion: The students' level of satisfaction with the facilities where they do their pre-graduation traineeship is an important factor in the professional development of future registered nurses. A lower level of satisfaction of the students with the equipment and facilities where they do their pre-graduation traineeship is usually associated with a lack of sufficient personal protective equipment and other consumables in the healthcare establishments. Conclusion: Probably due to difficulties in performing nursing tasks in a real-life environment ensuing from organizational problems connected with the provision of consumables and materials, risks of accidents, the existing outdated facilities are the main reasons for the lower levels of satisfaction of students with the facilities during their pre-graduation traineeship.

BACKGROUND: Self-management is an active approach to coping and assuming responsibility on the part of a person, independently or in collaboration with medical specialists, to manage his/her health status. In cases of chronic diseases, the stigma of an uncertain future is a norm; it dominates and often suppresses the everyday routine. In this context, the need of training in self-management appears to be a pressing one in socially significant diseases, and is aimed at helping patients, especially elderly and old ones, cope with the clinical symptoms, with the psycho-social consequences in the way of life and with the changes in risky behavior. AIM: Researching the level of informity of people aged 65 or more, considering activities for self-observation and self-control and resources of health information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An anonymous survey of randomly selected 340 people aged 60 and over was conducted in the period from April 2020 to February 2021. Methods applied: Descriptive statistics with amount-measured quantities. To analyses the data there have been used: Dispersive analysis (one-way ANOVA), alternative analysis, non-parametric analysis-Pearson’s criterion of agreement (χ2 –ksi-square) at the testing of hypotheses for statistically significant correlation between factorial and resultative indices; and correlational analysis according to Spearman and graphic analysis. For standard of significance of the zero hypothesis, there has been perceived p < 0.05. RESULTS: The obtained data serve as sufficient grounds to claim that the level of awareness of the use of simple diagnostic activities for self-management and self-control is inadequate in view of the predominant chronic conditions. The information requested by the respondents reflects significant educational needs connected mainly with their condition–77.9%, drug therapy–54.4%, behavioral risk factors and prophylactic measures and recommendations. CONCLUSION: The respondents showed clearly expressed preferences, willingness, and desire to be informed by medical specialists–doctors and nurses. Their contribution in the sphere of health education so far has been insufficient, humble, and yet to develop its full potential.

The choice of an occupation is an important step in everyone's life. The greatest risk that a wrong choice entails is for the person to be forced to do a job he/she does not enjoy. So careers advice is a vital prerequisite for a successful career. Experience shows that an effective career is directly dependent on the successful choice of an occupation. The performance of various tasks during the pre-graduation traineeship of future nurses will make them feel satisfied with the profession they have chosen and will act as a stimulus for them to practice the said profession. Aim: This study aims to verify the formation and improvement of professional skills and qualities of the nurses-to-be during their pre-graduation traineeship. Material and methods: We have surveyed the opinions of trainee nurses, students majoring in 'Nursing', as well as those of their mentors in the university hospitals and clinics. Results and discussion: It is a positive fact that for the surveyed students, the most important is the moral qualities that correspond to the moral values in the nursing profession. The fact that the respondents' rate as most significant moral qualities, such as honesty, integrity, responsibility, responsiveness and empathy, can serve as grounds for positive forecasts concerning the future development of the students, provided their further development is organized correctly. Conclusion: We have established that professional skills and qualities are developed and improved during the pre-graduation traineeship of the future nurses.