Background: Since 2012, education standards in medical faculties in Poland have allowed medical universities to introduce content related to multiculturalism. On the one hand, this creates a necessity to introduce new strategies, forms, and techniques of education aimed at the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in terms of multiculturalism. On the other hand, there is a need to evaluate their effects. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the cultural competence and cultural intelligence of master’s degree nursing students before the commencement of and two months after cultural education training in the form of the intercultural communication workshops included in the study program. Methods: The following questionnaires were used in the study: the Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory (CCCI) and the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). Two consecutive classes (2019 and 2020) of master’s nursing students were tested twice (pre-test, post-test). The study was conducted at a leading medical university that educates nurses at a master’s level in Poland. In total, 130 master’s nursing students took part in this evaluative study: 64 individuals in 2019 (study 1) and 66 individuals in 2020 (study 2). Results: In comparison to the pre-test, the post-test showed that the surveyed students in both study 1 and study 2 obtained significantly higher overall results in terms of cultural intelligence (p = 0.001; p = 0.004, respectively) as well as in the behavioral (p = 0.001; p = 0.002) and cognitive (p = 0.001; p = 0.008, respectively) subscales. The cultural competence results were also higher overall, but the difference was insignificant. Conclusions: The study shows the efficiency of training/workshops in the development of culturally specific knowledge and cultural intervention skills. At the same time, it postulates the need to plan and organize cultural education programs in a form that aims to improve the development of culturally sensitive attitudes.

Background: There are more and more foreigners in Poland who become clients of the Polish healthcare system. They use, among others, emergency medical services provided by healthcare professionals: doctors, nurses, and paramedics. Skillful care for culturally different patients requires cultural competencies and cultural intelligence to ensure good quality of care and cultural safety. The study aimed to measure and assess the cultural competencies and cultural intelligence of medical professionals working in hospital emergency departments (HEDs) and hospital emergency rooms (HERs) in Małopolska, a region in southern Poland. Methods: The following questionnaires were used in the study: the Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory (CCCI), the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), and Questionnaire on Attitudes Towards Culturally Divergent People. In total, 709 medical professionals participated in the study, including 363 nurses, 223 paramedics, and 123 doctors. Results: Cultural intelligence—the overall score and the scores on the metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral subscales were significantly higher among HED and HER doctors. Cultural competencies—the overall score and the score on the cultural adaptation subscale were also significantly higher among HED and HER doctors. The CCCI and CQS scores were influenced by selected variables: taking care of and close interactions with representatives of other cultural circles; staying outside Poland for more than a month. Doctors were the group of medical professionals that were most tolerant and most positive towards people from other cultures. Conclusions: The research results confirm the positive impact of contact of medical professionals with people from other cultures on their cultural competencies and cultural intelligence. They indicate the need for training in acquiring cultural competencies and developing cultural intelligence, especially among nurses. They demonstrate the need to raise awareness among HED and HER medical professionals about issues in intercultural care and to increase diversity efforts, especially among nurses.

Introduction: Contemporary healthcare faces new challenges and expectations from society. The profession of a nurse, as well as a paramedic, is essential for the efficient functioning of healthcare. It has its importance not only in promoting and preserving health but also in prevention. With the increasing importance of providing medical care at the highest level, it is expected of these two professional groups to have more knowledge and skills than a few years earlier. The daily contact with patients and their families, the low level of control of the environment, the hierarchical system of professional dependence, and the dissatisfaction with remuneration are becoming extremely burdensome aspects of the nursing and paramedic professions. Long-term exposure to stressors associated with these medical professions may, in the long term, lead to the emergence of occupational burnout syndrome. The aim of this study is an attempt to answer the question of whether and how stress factors affect the occurrence of occupational burnout in the work of nurses and paramedics working in various medical entities. Material and Methods: The study covered a group of 434 respondents, including 220 nurses and 214 paramedics, working professionally in hospital departments and care and treatment facilities as well as in hospital emergency departments and ambulance services. The study was carried out using a diagnostic survey based on the questionnaire technique using the authors’ questionnaire and the standardized MBI Ch. Maslach. Two statistical values were used to statistically analyze the research results and verify the adopted hypotheses: the chi-square test and the Student’s t-test. Results and Conclusions: The current study showed that the phenomenon of occupational burnout among the studied group affects only nurses, while this problem does not apply to the studied paramedics. The main stressor among the nurses and paramedics is, above all, a very high level of responsibility. Nurses are overburdened by excessive demands and shift work, while paramedics are mostly burdened by an excess of duties. Both nurses and paramedics claim that their work is often stressful, which leads to physical and mental exhaustion.

Background: In order for the nursing students to fully benefit from the clinical experience, it is necessary for them to be able to handle education-related stress. It is important to establish the importance of personal resources and social determinants, that influence coping strategies in stressful situations. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among 307 nursing students. The study research tools: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R), Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI – 19), Brief COPE and the original questionnaire were used. Results: Active strategies of coping with stress were used significantly more often by the respondents with a greater sense of self-efficacy, a greater sense of life satisfaction and disposable optimism. Avoidance strategies of coping with stress were used significantly more often by the respondents with low self-efficacy, low level of disposable optimism, low sense of life satisfaction, and not a lot of teacher support. The higher was the intensity of stress experienced by students, the more often they coped by avoidance behaviour or showing helplessness. Conclusions: All the variables had a significant impact on coping with stress: the level of perceived stress, disposable optimism, sense of self-efficacy, sense of life satisfaction, as well as satisfaction with the stay in a hospital ward, support received from the teacher and the year of the study. The results of the research have allowed the identification of the needs in the field of strengthening the personal resources of nursing students. In the future, they may be useful for the development of educational programs.

Background: Nursing students’ education process is related to the occurrence of difficult and stressful situations, especially during clinical placement. The purpose of the education is to develop critical thinking, clinical decision making and teamwork skills in students. This process should allow the students to integrate into the clinical environment and develop their professional identity. The goal of this research was to assess the relationship between perceived stress and psychosocial factors. Methods: The research was conducted in 2019 among 307 nursing students in Poland. Research questionnaires used in the study were: Perceived Stress Scale, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale, Life Orientation Test-R and Clinical Learning Environment Inventory. Results: There was a significant correlation between stress perceived by the surveyed nursing students and psychosocial components as well as teacher support and student’s satisfaction with clinical education. Satisfaction with the clinical education during the implementation of clinical activities was the highest in people experiencing a low level of stress. The highest level of teacher support was reported by people experiencing a higher level of stress. Conclusion: A higher level of perceived stress corresponded to a lower level of self-efficacy, lower life satisfaction, lower life orientation and lower self-esteem of students.