Abstract:

In Poland, curricula in the major of medical rescue are still being modified due to continuous improvement and quality assurance of education.
The study aimed to present the evolution of education system and curricula of medical rescue workers in Poland on the example of the organisation of teaching in this major at Warsaw Medical University.

Education in the profession of medical rescue worker in Poland was first introduced at post secondary vocational schools. The first admission to a medical vocational school intended for medical rescue workers took place on the 1st of September, 1992 in the Polish Red Cross Medical Vocational School in Poznań. Vocational curriculum for medical rescue workers in post-secondary schools was based on the curriculum included in Appendix no. 7 to the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Sport of January 21st, 2005 and the Regulation of May 8th, 2004 on the classification of vocational education occupations. The number of class hours of a 2-year training programme amounted to 2100, with a minimum of 580 hours of practical classes. The training lasted at least 4 semesters. First medical rescue workers graduated from medical vocational schools in 1994.

By the time the State Medical Rescue Act was implemented in Poland, this had been the only way to become a medical rescue worker. The State Medical Rescue Act, implemented in 2006, forced the creation of a new profession, i.e. a medical rescue worker. In accordance with the implemented Anglo-Saxon standards, the training that allows for gaining qualifications and the right to practice the profession of a medical rescue worker should be conducted in the form of a 3-year vocational degree course run at university-level schools.

In Poland, education in the major of medical rescue started in the academic year 2000/2001 in the form of a full-time Bachelor's degree programme.
Higher Education Act of July 27th, 2005 and the Regulation of the Minister of Research and Higher Education of July 12th, 2007 on educational standards for particular programmes of study and levels of study as well as the procedures for creating new study programmes and conditions to be met by the university in order to run interdisciplinary studies and combination majors regulate the issue of general education programmes conducted by university-level schools. The minimum number of class hours was established at 3800, including at least 320 practical classes.

A major in medical rescue was introduced at Warsaw Medical University, for the first time in its history, at the Faculty of Health Science in the academic year 2001/2002. This was a 3-year Bachelor's degree course (vocational programme). A 12-year experience with teaching students in this major allowed for introduction of a number of quality-oriented changes. However, due to new guidelines associated with an outcome-based approach in the areas such as knowledge, skills, and social competence, in their strive to ensure the best quality of teaching, universities educating medical rescue workers are about to face further changes in organisation of teaching of this particular group of specialists in health protection.

Keywords:

Medical rescue, higher education, secondary education, improvement of curricula.