Krzysztof Sobczak

• dr hab. (D. Sc.)
• Head of Department at Medical University of Gdansk

This study aimed to analyse the experience of ringxiety among medical students and explore the relationships between ringxiety and Internet addiction in the context of phone usage behaviours among students, academic teachers, and patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a quantitative method with the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CA...

This study investigates the interplay between stress, fatigue, and empathy among university students in medical and social disciplines, focusing on the mediating role of cognitive flexibility. University students, particularly those in medical fields, experience significant stress and fatigue, which adversely affect their well-being and academic pe...

Aim Empathic competencies are not developed sufficiently during studies. Among the reasons for this, there are deficiencies and barriers which occur in the course of education. The purpose of research was to analyse internal barriers whose elimination could increase efficiency and quality of education and development of soft skills. Material and m...

INTRODUCTION: Patients’ spiritual needs are often marginalized by medical staff, who identify them with religious practice, faith, and God. Illness and related human suffering are not just physical ailments alone. The loss of health entails several changes in a patient’s life and requires reorganization of the family, professional, social, and spir...

Purpose The aim of our study was to analyze students’ emotional experiences and coping mechanisms regarding the situation of delivering bad news (DBN). Patients and Methods 291 fifth- and sixth-year students from 14 medical universities took part in our study. Their responses were analyzed from the perspective of their experience – whether the ind...

Public Health Ethics Teachings are an important part of a professional’s education, as they go beyond expert knowledge. A valuable skill is - linking public health issue’s subject’s with ethical concepts. Such an approach allows us to draw attention to the fact that actions in the field of public health are not suspended in a moral vacuum. Furtherm...

Książka została przygotowana wspólnie przez pracowników, absolwentów i studentów Gdańskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego. Zawiera przegląd wybranych narzędzi komunikacyjnych, których celem jest wsparcie pracowników ochrony zdrowia w realizacji zadań związanych z notyfikacją tego rodzaju wiadomości. Przedstawia rozwiązania, jakie pojawiły się w literatur...

Introduction and Objective. The COVID-19 pandemic caused necessary changes to the health care system in terms of the organization and treatment of patients. Remote forms of medical consultations were widely introduced to minimize the risk of viral transmission. The aim of the study was to assess patients’ opinions about teleconsultations during the...

Background: Depression is a common problem in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Identifying a risk factor model of depression has been postulated. A model of the risk of depression would provide a better understanding of this disorder in this population. We sought to construct a model of the risk factors of depression in patients following ca...

Introduction: Proper diagnosis of obesity and effective treatment requires an interdisciplinary healthcare approach. Nevertheless, obesity remains under-identified and under-treated. Academic knowledge concerning obesity pathology, diagnosis, and treatment is advancing, it is not clear whether this translates into clinical practice. The goal of the...

Abstract: medical communication is a science that deals with different aspects of communication to ensure health and well-being (for patients and healthcare workers). In this sense, communicational processes can relate to oneself (intrapersonal communication), another person (interpersonal communication) and a group of people (extrapersonal communi...

Empathy is significant in professions that require establishing proper contact as a condition for providing help. Identifying factors related to empathy is important for understanding how to teach empathic behavior. The main goal of this study was to find variables related to empathy in a group of students from two universities: medical and social...

Background: We aimed to identify which attitudes and emotions accompany latter-year medical students as they experience situations where bad news is communicated. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) methodology in a group of 321 fifth- and sixth-year medical students from 14 medical uni...

The aim of this study was to compare medical and social sciences students’ outcomes in terms of self-perceived stress, quality of life, and personality traits. We put particular emphasis on external and internal differences in students of specific fields–medicine, nursing, psychology, and pedagogy. In a survey, 1,783 students from Medical Universit...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the principles of communication within the health-care setting. Communication skills as developed for use in the context of a direct and personal encounter have become insufficient. As a result, numerous health professionals came to believe they were not sufficiently prepared to deliver bad news in relation to medi...

Background: Numerous reports indicate the educational deficiencies of medical students in delivering bad-news-related skills. Evaluation of the performance of training programs in this area should be one of the key components of the educational process. The purpose of this study was to analyze medical students' preferences and educational needs re...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of infections and a need for medical consultations forced the society to implement remote forms of contact with patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the experiences and preferences of patients regarding the doctor-patient relationship. A quantitative study was conducted using the CAWI tec...

Purpose: Many studies show that discriminatory practices are common in healthcare institutions, also in the form of medical staff's inappropriate behaviour. Weight stigma may not only become a source of unpleasant experience for the patients but also cause them to withdraw from the treatment, which may further exacerbate their condition. Patients...

Background Empathy is an important competence in the professional development of medical students. The purpose of our study was to compare the levels and scales of empathy in people studying in different educational strategies. Methods The study was conducted between April 2019 and March 2020. Medicine, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, psycholog...

The study aims at analyzing the experiences of Polish patients who received an unfavorable medical diagnosis. In order to reach a random group of patients with an unfavorable diagnosis, we started cooperating with 19 independent patient organizations and associations. A nationwide study, based on a self-constructed e-survey questionnaire, was carri...

Background. Knowledge is one of the key individual measures for prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. Objectives. We wanted to find out what the attitudes of obese patients towards their own disease were. It was also our goal to identify the sources of knowledge on obesity and learn about their significance in the perception of the di...

This article discusses narrative medicine, i.e. drawing knowledge from the narratives of both patients and medical staff. Information obtained in this way can be used in the diagnosis and treatment process and it also has an educational value. This article aims to present the importance of using narrative medicine for palliative care, as well as bu...

Introduction The purpose of our research was to find out patients’ preferences concerning their doctors’ attitudes and behaviour as they deliver bad news to them. Material and methods In national research conducted from February to October 2017 using the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) technique, we studied the statements of 314 adult patie...

Aim An increase in the number of obesity cases is a complex challenge for the local health care systems and the specialists who work there. Nurse's tasks understood as preparing a patient for starting his or her treatment and providing support during therapy require developing proper competences which take into account the needs of patients. Mater...

Purpose Discrimination and stigmatization of patients with obesity are a commonly occurring social problem. The purpose of our research was to analyze the scale of the experience including medical staff’s improper behaviours towards patients with obesity in Poland. Patients and Methods In a completed national study, we studied the statements of 62...

Introduction : The necessity to deliver bad news to patients is one of the classic challenges of medical communication. The applicable patient rights oblige doctors to communicate full information concerning adverse condition tactfully and cautiously. The purpose of the study was to determine the level of knowledge of the rights and responsibilitie...

A b s t r a c t Delivering bad news (DBN) to a patient is an enormous challenge and a great mental burden for a doctor. Medical staff members often do not have sufficient skills in this field, or they develop their own techniques. At the same time, proper delivery of information minimises fear in patients and increases their therapeutic engagement...

Introduction: Many research projects identify empathy as one of the most important factors necessary for efficient cooperation with patients. For that reason, nowadays, students of medical schools are more often offered access to training, which helps them to develop empathic communication. Aim: The aim of our research was to compare empathy scores...

Purpose The aim of our research was to gain knowledge about patients’ opinions, experiences, and preferences with regard to the way the news is being delivered to them. Materials and methods Detailed research was carried out on a group of 314 patients using the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) technique. Adult responders who had earlier rece...

Introduction. Ability to gather and process medical data serves as a basic tool of doctor’s work, which can be improved by applying communication protocols. In most cases, however, instructions presented by such models are too general and do not take into account patients’ preferences. Material and Methods. The study was carried out in the form of...

The multidimensional assessment of the physician-patient communication should contain the comparison of opinions of all sides taking part in information exchange. The main aim of the research is the comparative analysis of opinions from patients and clinical physicians in the field of providing information concerning diagnostic processes and therap...

Wielopłaszczyznowa ocena jakości komunikacji w relacji lekarz – pacjent powinna zawierać porównanie opinii wszystkich stron uczestniczących w wymianie informacji. Celem pracy jest analiza porównawcza ocen pacjentów i lekarzy klinicznych w zakresie przekazywania informacji o procesach diagnostycznych i zaleceniach terapeutycznych. Badaniem objęto 10...

Introduction. Appropriate communication is a fundamental tool for obtaining clinical information. We wanted to examine how experienced clinicians would actually behave in this field, taking into consideration the fact that besides treatment, they are also responsible for practical teaching and socialisation of medical students and young doctors. Ma...

Introduction. Disclosing unfavorable information is a very important moment in both diagnostic and therapeutic processes. It is also a highly stress-inducing factor, both among patients and physicians. During our research we tried to establish how exactly bad news is communicated to patients and the amount of stress that Polish physicians are under...

Numerous guidelines for students and medical professionals provide the instructions of proper behavior during encounters with patients in a doctor's office. However, they quite often do not consider cultural differences that may affect the doctor-patient relationship. In our study we analyzed Polish patients' expectations (N = 976) for their physic...

Introduction: The main aim of the research was to assess medical communication from the point of view of clinicians and their patients. Materials and methods: 100 doctors and 378 patients were included in the study. Original tools prepared by the interdisciplinary team were used during the research. The research tools consisted of closed questio...

Wstęp: Celem badań była ocena komunikacji medycznej z punktu widzenia lekarzy klinicznych i ich pacjentów.Materiały i metody: Badaniem objęto 100 lekarzy i 378 pacjentów klinicznych. Zastosowano autorskie narzędzie przygotowane przez interdyscyplinarny zespół specjalistów. Narzędzia badawcze składały się z analogicznych dla obu grup pytań zamknięty...

Introduction. Appropriate communication is a fundamental tool for obtaining clinical information. We wanted to examine how experienced clinicians would actually behave in this field, taking into consideration the fact that besides treatment, they are also responsible for practical teaching and socialisation of medical students and young doctors. Ma...

Does a medical practitioner have a moral obligation to mislead a patient about his condition, if he has subjective certainty, that revealing the truth to the patient may harm him even more? Or, perhaps the practioner is always bound to fully inform the patient about true state of his health? Idea that pertains to those questions is, in its nature,...

Informing of a patient's death is difficult for physicians as well as patient's families. Breaking bad news is part of clinical experience of physicians and existential experience of patient's close relatives. The professional manner of death notification may effectively reduce the level of stress and other negative emotions in both parties involve...

Człowiek - jak pisał L.V. Thomas - jest zwierzęciem, które grzebie swoich zmarłych. To z pozoru oczywiste twierdzenie implikuje niezwykle ważkie problemy, stanowiące istotę badań szeroko rozumianej antropologii. Po pierwsze, fakt „grzebania zmarłych” warunkuje samoświadomość człowieka jako istoty zdającej sobie sprawę z własnej śmiertelności. Po dr...

The following article presents communication patterns as well as the rules concerning the notification of information about unfavorable diagnosis and prognosis. In the cultural aspect which gives the basis for medical axiology, what is shown are exemplary communication protocols that function in Anglo-Saxon and European space of values. Patterns of...

Przemoc domowa jest przykładem problemu interdyscyplinarnego, angażującego specjalistów z zakresu nauk społecznych, nauk prawnych oraz nauk medycznych. Owa interdyscyplinarność dotyczy zarówno refleksji teoretycznej, jak i działań praktycznych mających na celu przeciwdziałanie zjawisku przemocy w rodzinie. Powszechne jest przekonanie o konieczności...

Problem prawa do śmierci stanowi swoisty punkt odniesienia dla oddziaływań z zakresu medycyny, zwłaszczaw kontekście jej postępu, a więc i opieki nad jednostką odczuwającą ból, cierpienie, doświadczającą termi-nalnego stanu. Zwykło się wyróżniać trzy podstawowe optyki podejmujące kwestię prawa do śmierci, którekształtują relację lekarz–chory mogącą...

Jednym z najistotniejszych momentów, jaki dokonał się w przestrzeni współczesnejmedykalizacji, czyli zagospodarowania przez medycynę przestrzeni życia, które pier-wotnie do niej nie należały, było przyjęcie neurologicznego kryterium śmierci. Utożsa-mienie śmierci mózgu ze śmiercią całego człowieka z jednej strony otworzyło drogę dowewnętrznego rozw...

The beginning of the second half of the 20th century brought a dynamic transformation of cultural values in social axiology. Democratisation and secularisation of social life resulted in increased significance of individual autonomy. This connection also found its expression in medical ethics, which began to distance itself from medical paternalism...