Student attitudes to participate in volunteer programs

Abstract

Students education in medical colleges has its own traditions and follows the principles of pedagogy and psychology, applying good practices in medical science. With the selection of students accepted for teaching, the foundation is laid, on which further empathic and professional training is built. Nowadays, during a pandemic and a shortage of medical staff in healthcare we talk about volunteering practices by young professionals and students to get out of the crisis situation. Medical university students were given the opportunity to volunteer to serve patients with COVID-19. The purpose of this report is to present students 'attitudes to participate in volunteer programs and analyze opportunities to increase learners' motivation for such activities. There were used documentary and sociological methods. Internet sources related to volunteering as a concept are reviewed and analyzed. The sociological survey made through its own anonymous survey, covers 90.3% of the students majoring in " X-ray technician" at the Medical College in Sofia. The results of the survey showed that half of the respondents were involved in various volunteer activities; the biggest percentage of respondents have information about volunteer activities from social networks and friends; 86.3% want to get involved in volunteer programs, but 59.8% of respondents have free time to spend on it. 70.6% believe that volunteering can help their professional careers. In conclusion, it can be said that most of the respondents positively accept the idea of volunteering, but the commitment of the university, respectively the college and its teachers is to guide and stimulate its students to such activities that develop feelings such as empathy and satisfaction in helping others. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to innovations in education, and volunteering practices would contribute to a positive change in the attitude of medical staff towards patients and their own profession.