Social reception of nursing in selected countries of the European Union

Introduction: The research aimed to identify and compare the opinions of residents of selected European countries (Poland, Portugal, France, Slovakia) on the image of a nurse. Material and methods: The research was carried out using the diagnostic survey method by applying the survey technique. The research tool was the author’s original questionnaire form. The research was conducted in 2016 in 4 European countries: Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and France. Questionnaires were sent via the Internet. In Poland, the research was conducted in Polish, while in other countries in English. The questionnaire contained 21 questions. Results: The diversity of the nurses’ social image was observed: nurses in France and Portugal enjoyed a better image than those in Poland and Slovakia. Higher scores were associated with broader knowledge about this profession and greater trust in nurses. In all the countries surveyed, the respondents pointed out that remuneration of nurses was too low. The desirable personality traits of nurses differed in all countries. In general, however, attention was paid to responsibility, attentiveness, and patience in all the countries studied. Conclusions: There is a poorer social image among post-communist countries (Poland, Slovakia) in comparison to Western European countries (France, Portugal). In both post-communist and Western European countries, the prevailing opinion is that nursing is not a well-paid profession.