A Polish nurse during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic – various aspects of following a nursing profession A nurse as well as a midwife belong to independent professions which inherently involve performing numerous tasks and functions in various areas and in various positions, which simultaneously requires from these professions respecting the rules of law. In health-threatening conditions, for example during a pandemic, especially when all social groups are exposed to danger and when danger arises unexpectedly, nurses become an im­portant link in the process of providing health security to everybody who needs it. In such situations nurses are obliged to perform their professional duties as well as possible and, at the same time, they have to tackle numerous family responsibilities. No matter if they take direct care of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus or those possibly suffering from COVID-19, work as university lecturers teaching prospective nurses or hold mana­gerial positions, they always face professional difficulties and dilemmas or even real dangers. Although the challenges which nurses face during the pandemic tend to change week by week, nurses, with time, learn to respond to them for the sake of other people’s welfare.

Introduction: Patients with burn injuries are particularly vulnerable to nosocomial infections due to the loss of the skin's protective barrier. Despite the improvement in the survival rates of burn patients in recent years, nosocomial infections are still a significant problem and are a significant threat to the treatment process. Material and methods: A retrospective comparative cohort study was conducted. A comparative analysis was made of the medical records of patients hospitalized at the burn unit, hospitalized in 2015 and 2022, who had a nosocomial infection. Results: In 2022, a statistically significant, higher percentage of patients with nosocomial infection was recorded compared to 2015 (chi-square (χ 2 ) = 11.635, p < 0.05). Both in 2015 and 2022, the dominant bacteria were Gram (-) Acinetobacter baumannii. In the case of bacteria (Klebsiella pueumoniae) a statistically significant decrease in infections caused by this pathogen was found in 2022 compared to 2015 (χ 2 = 4.3835, p < 0.05). In 2015, the dominant Gram (+) bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus MRSA, while in 2022 a statistically significant decrease in infections with this strain was noted (χ 2 = 78.729, p < 0.05). The dominant type of fungi in 2015 was Candida albicans, while in 2022 a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of this pathogen was recorded (χ 2 = 41.7053, p < 0.05). In 2015, Gram (-) had the largest share in isolated pathogens, and in 2022 there was a significant decrease in their proportion in relation to the total (χ 2 = 14.301, p < 0.05). In 2022 there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of Gram (+) compared to 2015 (χ 2 = 21.185, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Nosocomial infections are still a significant problem in the treatment of patients after burn injury, and they require constant supervision and close control. Over the period of 7 years, there was a significant change in the dominant pathogens responsible for the occurrence of nosocomial infections in the burn units.