- The symposium was organized for paramedics, doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers as well as medical and psychology students. Traditionally, it is divided into a section on symptoms of occupational stress and psychological assistance for employees, as well as a section addressing the psychological competencies necessary for work in the National Emergency Medical Service system - says Professor Robert Gałązkowski, Chairman of the Scientific Committee, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, head of the Department of Emergency Medical Services, director of the Department of Emergency Medicine. They also discussed the effects and impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the new challenges of the war in Ukraine. Among the speakers were four employees of our university: Dr. Antonina Doroszewska and Joanna Zawanowska from the Medical Communication Study, Piotr Zawadzki from the Center for Medical Simulation, and Dr. Michal Skalski from the Department of Psychiatry.
- The conference assumes importance in view of the circumstances we are currently facing - said at the opening Prof. Agnieszka Cudnoch-Jędrzejewska, Vice Rector for Human Resources MUW. - I am referring to the war in Ukraine. It is important for us because at the same time we are hosting representatives of the medical university in Kiev, which is very much looking forward to cooperation with our university also in the field of medical rescue. Recent events in Ukraine have shown how important the work of psychologists and your work is on a daily basis.
Prof. Mariusz Gujski, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, also gave a few words of welcome.
Difficult situations in communication with patients. Proposal of good practices
Communication in the practice of any medical professional involves many challenges, including organizational issues or clinical situations. Also difficult is the need to build a relationship based on knowledge and skills from many different disciplines, which additionally need to use under time pressure. But proper communication matters. - Studies show that the higher the communication skills, the higher the job satisfaction of medical personnel and the lower the risk of professional burnout - said Dr. Antonina Doroszewska.
To show the audience examples of good practices in communication with patients, she and Piotr Zawadzki described three fact-based situations from a hospital ward. - It is the medical staff who are at work and the communication responsibility rests with them. It is worth looking for solutions, not escalation. In my classes, when we are looking with students for the most colloquially worded tip, they ask me, "So sometimes it's best to bite your tongue?" Yes, sometimes it's best to do just that, mine doesn't always have to be on top, the most important thing is the solution and effective communication - concluded Dr. Doroszewska.
Coronasomia - the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic
The pandemic has significantly increased the number of people struggling with this disorder. A new term coronasomia was even coined, and its symptoms are observed in almost half of the patients who underwent COVID-19. And these are such patients who have never suffered from insomnia. And also people who are significantly younger. - The prevalence of insomnia is related to age. It's kind of an upward curve. An interesting epidemiological fact is that insomnia appears earlier in coronavirus patients - these are people around the age of 40 - Dr. Michal Skalski explained.
During the lecture, he also spoke about the factors that cause coronasomia. Biological, such as inflammation and embolic conditions, as well as psychosocial, including isolation, fear, lack of regular exercise. Finally, he outlined possible treatments for insomnia, stressing the need to remove fixing agents, such as anxiety and extended time in bed: -These have a key role and form a vicious cycle of insomnia (...) The main danger is the very fear of not getting enough sleep. From this fear that I won't fall asleep, I don't fall asleep. The worse I sleep, the more I worry about it, and the more I worry about it, the worse I sleep (...) The key to treatment is not a sleeping pill, but getting rid of the fear of insomnia - Dr. Skalski concluded.
Other speakers at the conference included: Martyna Tworkowska from the Polish Medical Air Rescue, Katarzyna Moch and Anna Świderska, Dr. Paweł Rasmus, Dr. Grzegorz Michalak, Dr. Ewa Woydyłło, WO Tomasz Paprocki, Sgt. Łukasz Omernik, Igor Jakubowski.
The event was held under the honorary patronage of Dr. Adam Niedzielski, Minister of Health, Prof. Jerzy Ładny, National Consultant for Emergency Medicine, and Prof. Zbigniew Gaciong, Rector of the Medical University of Warsaw.
