AN EXPLORATION OF PATIENT SAFETY TRAINING WITHIN PRE-REGISTRATION NURSE TRAINING PROGRAMME IN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY IN WARSAW IN POLAND

Introduction: The present analysis of patient safety training within pre-registration nurse training programme in Medical University in Warsaw (MUW), Poland was carried out within the Rancare Project: Rationing - Missed Nursing Care: an International and Multidimensional Problem (Cost Action CA 15208). It is widely recognised that patient safety is a priority for all healthcare workers, managers and planners, and that nurses play a central role in this process. The environment in which nurses work, how they carry out work, and the decisions they make in relation to care provision, are all contributing factors to maintaining patient safety. We tried to find out how undergraduate or preregistration student nurses are prepared by examining explicit patient safety training included in nursing curricula, and other less explicit training where patient safety is not a stand-alone subject within the curriculum but rather is included across subject areas as part of a hidden curriculum. Nursing programme at the Faculty of Health Sciences, MUW is organised in a two-cycle system: firstcycle degree programme (3 years, Bachelor's Degree) and second-cycle degree programme (2 years, Master's Degree). Graduation from the first-cycle degree programme give the right to exercise the profession in Poland and other European Union countries. The aim of the study: A detailed analysis of the size and way of implementation of issues associated with a broadly defined patient safety in the curriculum for first-cycle degree students of Nursing at the Faculty of Health Sciences, MUW. Material: Documentation of the course of the first-cycle degree programme in Nursing at the MUW: programme of study, syllabus of the courses, and specific educational content. Methods: The documentation of the course of the first-cycle degree programme in Nursing at the Faculty of Health Sciences, MUW: programme of study, syllabus of the courses, and specific educational content was analysed with the use of a standardised questionnaire used for analyses of curricula carried out within the Rancare Project. Survey/questionnaire was made available in electronic version only. The World Health Organisation provides guidance on the inclusion of patient safety training in the curriculum of students of healthcare. Provided within this curriculum guide are 11 patient safety topics which can be incorporated into any curriculum. We have listed these topics in the questionnaire and try to identify to what extent each topic is covered within the Nursing curriculum in MUW. Results: The duration of the first-cycle degree programme in nursing at the muw is three years and the number of hours is not less than: 810 hours of basic content, 3795 hours of field-specific content, including: 1495 hours of theoretical classes, 1100 hours of practical classes, 1200 hours of practice. the issue of patient safety is discussed during all clinical courses at the first cycle programme and during the basics of nursing and rehabilitation courses. the issue of patient safety is also addressed during non-clinical courses, such as psychology, law, and public health. the issue of patient safety is primarily discussed in the context of the safety of healthcare/ nursing personnel and not that of patients themselves. Conclusion: The curriculum for nursing education at the Faculty of Health Sciences, MUW, does not sufficiently address the issue of patient safety.