Dynamics of the functional state of students of the profession “secretary-referent” during the internship

Abstract

Introduction. During the apprenticeship, students training as secretaries are exposed to a complex of professional and industrial factors that cause functional changes in the body. 
 Materials and methods. Thirty 18-19 years girls were divided according to the Eysenck’s psychological types of personality and to Strelau theory into more adapted and less adapted groups, Heart rhythm variability, mental and physical capabilities, the lability of the visual analyzer, and the psycho-emotional state were evaluated at the beginning and the end of apprenticeship.
 Results. Trend in heart rate variability in the group of less and more adapted cases differed: the total power of the TR spectrum (ms2) decreased by 50.4% in the group of more adapted, by 54.48% in the group of less adapted. The stress index was 126.9% in the group of more adapted, and 131.9% in the group of the less adapted students. After the apprenticeship work, efficiency decreased by 31.3%, the degree of workability increased by 25.0%, mental stability fell by 16.9%. 
 After the apprenticeship, students’ well-being according to the Scores of Well-being, Activity, Mood (WAM) decreased by 24.5% (p<0.001), activity decreased by 21.6% (p<0.001); mood worsened by 7.4%. Before work practice, critical flicker fusion frequency (CFFF) was 43.4±0.3 Hz, and after it 39.6 ± 0.4 Hz (p<0.001).
 Limitations. The study was limited to a sample of students learning as secretaries, by age, gender and apprenticeship duration.
 Conclusion. Heart rate variability indicators reflect the tension of regulatory systems in the process of learning practical skills, caused by the occurrence of situations in apprenticeship conditions, which indicates the need of improving methodological approaches to its management, purposeful development of the first key professionally significant functions from the beginning of training, the implementation of physical exercises during the physical education classes, taking into account the specifics of the future profession. A more discernible degree of tension in the regulation processes in the group of less adapted students (a decrease in the total power of the TR spectrum (ms2) by 54.48% and an increase in IN by 31.9% in this group), and the psycho-emotional state of secretaries-referents, requires a personalized approach to apprenticeship managing.