LEVEL OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENT NURSES AT MEDICAL UNIVERSITY - PLEVEN FOR WORKING IN CRÈCHES

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the level of professional competence of students in the specialty "Nurse" at the Medical University - Pleven for working in a crèche. Material and Methods: The study was conducted between March 2015 and February 2018. A total of 143 persons have enrolled: 60 students from the specialty "Nurse" at the Medical University of Pleven and 83 nurses working in crèches and crèche groups at integrated nurseries located on the territory of Pleven municipality. Documentary and questionnaire methods were used. Two types of original questionnaires were developed to examine respondents' views. The survey data were processed with STATGRAPHICS statistical software packages; SPSS 19 and EXCEL for Windows. Results: According to the students, the main professional qualities for working in a day crèche are: communicative skills for working with children - 96.67% (58); observational skills- 78.33% (47); good knowledge of the educational process - 50.0% (30). Nearly half of the surveyed graduates - 46.67% (28) believe that it is mandatory for healthcare professionals to have psychological and pedagogical training to work with young children. What is of particular note is the high proportion of students - 78.10% (n = 32) who claim that their pedagogical and psychological training is insufficient to perform their duties effectively. Conclusion: The students defined the level of their pedagogical and psychological training as not good enough to pursue their profession in this health sphere.