Perceptions of professional duty among healthcare students and practitioners

Information for nursing staff, 2022, 55(3), 40-46.

R. Goranova-Spasova, N. Gradinarova, N. Shtereva-Nikolova

Department of Bioethics, Faculty of Public Health “Prof. Dr. Tsekomir Vodenicharov, D.Sc.”, Medical University ‒ Sofia

Abstract. Introduction. The professional performance of health care professionals requires addressing a wide range of personal, interpersonal, institutional and sociocultural challenges. This is due to the place they occupy in relation to patients, their relatives, doctors and other members of the medical team. Aim and methodology. The purpose of this article is to analyze in a comparative aspect the perceptions of students ‒ future health care specialists, and already practicing professionals regarding professional duty. To achieve the goal, sociological (documentary and survey method) and a wide range of statistical methods for descriptive and analytical statistics were used. Results. 310 healthcare students and 252 practicing healthcare professionals were surveyed. Their attitudes towards basic statements from the Code of Professional Ethics of Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals and the Rules of Good Practice in Health Care were investigated. Both the students (69.5%) and practicing professionals (76.6%) report that they are familiar with the Code. Almost all respondents answered that they agree with the statement “I have the same attitude towards patients with different public, social and financial status”. However, it is noteworthy that practicing specialists to a greater extent indicate the answer “Neutral” ‒ 6.0%. Regarding the statement “I show tolerance to the religious beliefs, ethnic traditions, political beliefs and political affiliation of my patients” the proportion of medical practitioners who prefer to remain “neutral” is also significantly higher than that of the student sample (11.1%). Conclusion. Additional training on ethical and legal issues in the medical profession is a prerequisite for expanding the knowledge of practicing specialists and acquiring skills for dealing with conflict situations of a different nature, which invariably accompany the daily medical practice.

Key words: health care professionals, students, professional duty, ethical rules, tolerance, discrimination

Address for correspondence: Radka Goranova-Spasova, e-mail: r.goranova@foz.mu-sofia.bg