Objectives: This cross-sectional, descriptive correlational research investigated the relationship between stress, academic motivation, and subjective vitality among nursing students. Methods: Participants were recruited through a non-probability purposive sampling approach. An anonymous online survey was conducted with 188 first- to fourth-year study nursing students, assessing their perceived academic stress using the Perceptions of Academic Stress Scale, academic motivation using the Student Academic Motivation Scale (SAMS-21), and subjective vitality using the Subjective Vitality Scale. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlational analysis, and multivariate analysis were employed in this study. Results: The results indicate that students experience moderate stress levels during exam sessions, with higher stress associated with workload and examinations. Academic motivation was characterized by high extrinsic motivation, which identified regulation and intrinsic motivation to know. A significant difference in a form of extrinsic motivation—introjected regulation—was found between student groups, with a tendency for this motivation to decrease over the years of study. No statistically significant relationship was found between students’ academic stress and subjective vitality. Conclusions: Academic stress related to workload and exams is determined by both demographic factors, such as age and year of study, and psychological factors, including academic self-perception and amotivation, which highlight the multifaceted nature of the stress experienced by nursing students. Students’ subjective vitality is related to intrinsic motivation—to know and achieve—and to all extrinsic motivation. External forms of regulation, especially introjected regulation, are significantly related to students’ subjective vitality.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has transgressed biomedical categories. According to Horton, it turned out to be a 'syndrome' that infected virtually all spheres of social life. The pandemic has created toxic social atmosphere highly unfavorable to clinical and clinic-ethical decision making. Constraints and pressures related to micro-, meso-, exo- and macro-environments framing doctors, nurses, and medical students in training were identified. These factors exacerbated moral distress (moral injury) amongst clinicians. In a joint Polish-Lithuanian project (IDUB 2020-2022) we examined predictors of moral distress in pandemic clinical contexts. A survey-based, real-time, correlational and comparative study was conducted in Poland and Lithuania after the first year of pandemic with N=227 participants. Unexpected differences on regular and pandemic-type moral distress levels were found between the two national samples. Polish participants showed significantly higher moral distress levels than their Lithuanian counterparts. The following article discusses these findings and recommends the reinforcement of resilient medical decision making.

Background: Dementia is one of the most common diseases of the elderly worldwide. Sharing experiences of caring for patients with dementia with other carers is essential to improve the quality of care, promote better outcomes, and learn from others. Aim: to explore nurses’ experiences of working with patients with dementia in Lithuanian supportive treatment and nursing hospitals. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed in this study, with data collected through semi-structured interviews. Nurses with direct experience caring for patients with dementia in supportive treatment and nursing hospitals were recruited through purposive sampling. This sampling strategy was chosen to ensure that participants could provide rich, contextual, and experience-based insights into the phenomenon under investigation. Open-ended questions were divided into three themes: 1. Identifying nursing needs. 2. Care for people with dementia. 3. Patient behavior management and situation management. To ensure methodological rigor and transparency, the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) were applied throughout the study’s planning, data collection, and analysis processes. Results: Nine nurses working in three different Lithuanian hospitals participated in the study. Theme 1: respondents reported that the needs of patients with dementia depend on their previous lifestyle and hobbies, as well as on essential physiological needs such as eating and drinking, bathing and personal hygiene, and the absence of pain. Theme 2: All participants emphasized that ensuring a safe environment is crucial for people with dementia. Theme 3: When faced with inappropriate patient behaviour, nurses attempt to calm the patient, speak gently, provide distraction, or, when necessary, temporarily separate the patient from others. Additional actions include administering medication and stabilizing the patient. Overall, these findings illustrate that dementia care requires continuous emotional presence, situational judgment, and adaptation to each patient’s individual needs. Conclusions: Patients with dementia require highly individualized care focused on nutrition, hygiene, pain control, and communication. Nurses’ daily activities centered on essential bodily care, medication management, and mobility support to maintain safety and prevent complications.

Background Older people face difficulties in managing various diseases that require the use of multiple medications. The most common challenges arise from adherence to medication regimens, polypharmacy, and insufficient knowledge about medications. To ensure safe medication use, assessing the problems associated with medication use in older people and the factors that contribute to them is necessary. Methodology The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was used. A total of 10 older people participated in the study. The search for study participants was conducted using the snowball method. The data collection method chosen was a semi-structured interview, which was conducted according to a pre-determined plan. Content data analysis was applied. Results The total duration of all interviews analyzed was 3.21 hours (201 minutes). Eight women and two men participated in the study. The following four main themes were identified from the interviews: (a) the medications used by respondents and their side effects; (b) adherence to medication regimens; (c) respondents’ attitudes toward sharing personal medications with others; and (d) sources of information about medication use sought by study participants. Conclusions The study provides information that helps better understand older people’s experiences, challenges, and problems when taking medication. The most common issues related to medication use are memory impairment, lack of knowledge, and barriers in the healthcare system. Medication use is ensured by established habits, organization, and adherence to rules. The study provides insights into how to improve healthcare for older people.

Anaesthetic and intensive care nurses are confronted with different patient needs, problems, pain, and death rate on a daily routine, which over time can lead to emotional exhaustion, fatigue, and burnout, leading not only to job dissatisfaction, but also to a loss of motivation for work. Job dissatisfaction is a key factor in considering job change. The aim of this study was to analyse the factors influencing nurses, job satisfaction in intensive care units166 ICU nurses took part in the study. The data was collected in 2020–2021. The method chosen was a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: (1) socio-demographic data; (2) an open-ended question to determine respondents’ views on the factors that increase their motivation for their job; and (3) the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). It was determined that the mean satisfaction level of nature of nurses’ work was at a medium-high level (M = 17.81, SD = 3.3), while relations with coworkers (M = 16.99, SD = 3.4), communication (M = 16.92, SD = 3.7) and supervision (M = 16.74, SD = 4.0) were less than moderate. Nurses’ overall job satisfaction was found to be average. Nurses’ job satisfaction depended on the nature of the work and their relationships with coworkers. Nurses, who were older, more highly educated, and had less than one full-time job had a higher perception of coworkers and communication.