AWARENESS OF THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF PROFESSIONAL DUTY OF STUDENTS IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH CARE
Keywords:
healthcare students, professional responsibility, legislation, administrative liabilityAbstract
Healthcare professionals practice their profession in modern healthcare systems where, in addition to the
needs of patient care, they also comply with the legal framework and the advancement of medical technology.
During their training, nurses and other health care professionals, in addition to practical and technical skills in the
discipline "Health legislation", are introduced to basic normative acts of the Bulgarian legislation, regulating their
professional rights and obligations.
Aim and methodology
The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge of healthcare students in Medical University-Sofia about legal
aspects of professional duty.
Sociological (documentary method and direct individual questionnaire) and statistical methods were used for the
purpose of the research. The study was conducted through an online survey among students from the Faculty of
Public Health "Prof. Dr. Tsekomir Vodenicharov, DSc", Medical College "Yordanka Filaretova" and Branch "Prof.
Dr. Ivan Mitev" – Vratsa.
Results
In our survey took part 310 students from various medical specialties. Over half of the participants (51%) are
studying to become nurses. Women predominate in the sample (88%), which we explain by the nature of the
profession. 68% report that they are aware of which violations they are professionally responsible for and 26% are
partially aware. To a lesser extent (51%) they are familiar with the specific punishments that may be imposed on
them. They are least aware of other types of responsibility, except administrative.
Conclusions
This study confirms that future healthcare professionals have basic knowledge about legal aspects of their
professional responsibilities. Knowledge of the legal framework guarantees greater security in practicing the
profession and is a criterion for providing a quality medical service.
Funding: This publication is a part of the project “Ethical and legal dimensions of the professional duty of health
care professionals” funded by the Council of Medical Science of the Medical University - Sofia, GRANT 2022,
Contract No. 163/14.06.2022 and Project No. 7366/18.11.2021
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