Survey of opinion on nursing and nurses among other healthcare employees in University Hospital no 1 in Bydgoszcz

Introductions. Modern nursing puts emphasis on its scientific aspect as well as its professional reinforcement. A nurse as a member of
interdisciplinary therapeutic team is developing from a simple assistant to a qualified specialist in the field of healthcare and begins to
independently provide services. She is an equivalent partner of a doctor, physiotherapist, paramedic or a dietician.

Aim of the study. The main objective of the study has been enlisting the opinion of health workers on the nursing and nurses — its position
professional, autonomy, functions, mentioning in an assembly of therapeutic and guidelines for development.

Material and methods. Survey started in January and lasted till June 2011. It was performed on a sample of 100 employees of University
Hospital no. 1 in Bydgoszcz. Within the sample there were 50 doctors, 25 paramedics and 25 physiotherapists.
Survey was based on a self designed questionnaire containing 29 enquiries. Participants were anonymous.

Results and conclusions. Research shows a correlation between an opinion on nurses, job title, professional seniority and educational
level of the participants of conducted survey. Results indicate that nurses are seen as irreplaceable members of a therapeutic team that act
as assistants. Even though nursing is a specialized and independent profession the knowledge and awareness about its functions and duties
among members of interdisciplinary therapeutic team is limited. Healthcare employees although declare to respect the independent duties of a nurse are not fully aware about her autonomy thus they treat
her profession as secondary and view nurses as assistants.