Medical school students' attitudes towards volunteering

Škola je odgojno-obrazovna ustanova koja pojedincu omogućava usvajanje znanja, vještina i stavova za obavljanje nekoga svrsishodnog rada. Stavovi usmjeravaju naše ponašanje. Izborom zanimanja medicinske sestre/medicinskog tehničara sebi osiguravamo egzistenciju i pokazujemo humanost i spremnost za pomaganje ljudima u najtežim životnim situacijama. Volontiranjem sudjelujemo u nekoj aktivnosti u svoje slobodno vrijeme bez očekivanja ikakve novčane naknade ili druge vrste koristi. Sestrinstvu i volonterstvu zajednička su obilježja humanost i nesebičnost. Ovo istraživanje trebalo bi odgovoriti postoji li povezanost između stavova srednjoškolske populacije o volontiranju i izbora zanimanja medicinske sestre/tehničara. Istraživanje je provedeno u Školi za medicinske sestre Vrapče u razdoblju od 3. do 14. ožujka 2014. godine. Sudjelovali su svi učenici prvog i četvrtog razreda (ukupno 161 učenik), a ispitivanje je provedeno ispunjavanjem anonimnog upitnika. U interpretaciji rezultata korištene su metode deskriptivne statistike za procjenu učestalosti i postotaka pojedinih skupina odgovora. Za testiranje neovisnosti varijable korišten je hi-kvadrat, a za dio upitnika kojim ispitujemo stavove na skali procjene primijenjen je t-test. Rezulati ispitivanja pokazuju da je većina ispitanika prije polaska u srednju školu dobila prve informacije o volontiranju, da razumiju značenje termina, da je volonterski rad koristan, ali i djelomično cijenjen u zajednici. Statistički značajne razlike pokazale su se u stavovima djevojčica i dječaka. Djevojčice su spremnije uključiti se u ponuđene volonterske aktivnosti zato što žele pomoći onima kojima je to potrebno, kroz pomaganje se osjećaju korisnima, misle da je volontiranje dobar način za provođenje slobodnog vremena te da može pomoći u rješavanju nekih osobnih problema. Dječaci su skloniji volontiranju u okviru političkih stranaka i u cilju dobivanja zaposlenja. Učenici prvog razreda skloniji su volontiranju u domu za starije i nemoćne osobe, dok učenici četvrtog razreda drže da je za volontiranje potrebno mnogo slobodnog vremena.School is an institution designed for education and breeding. It enables acquirement of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for performing of a specific work. Attitudes govern our behaviour. Choosing to work as a nurse or a medical technician we demonstrate humaneness and willingness to help people in the most difficult situations, while at the same time we provide the means of existence to ourselves. Volunteering means engageing in an activity during our own free time without financial amends or any other benefits. The common features of nursing and volunteering are humaneness and unselfishness. This research is aimed at questioning the connection between the choice of profession and the attitudes of high school students on the topic of volunteering. The research is conducted in The Nursing School Vrapče in 2014 between March 3 and 14. It was carried out in the form of an anonymous survey aimed at students of first and fourth grade, with 161 students in total participating in the poll. The results were interpreted by means of descriptive and inferencial statistics. Hi-square was used to test the indipendence of the variables, while t-test was applied to the part of the survey that examines attitudes on the assessment scale. The results show that most of examinees got the first information about volunteering before entering high school. They also showed that they understand the meaning of the term, they know about the benefits it brings in the community and are aware that it is only partially appreciated. The attitudes of male and female students showed some significant statistic differences. Female students were more willing to join the available volunteering opportunities because they want to help those in need. By helping others they feel useful, they regard it as a good way to spend their free time and a mean to solve some personal issues. Male students are more inclinded to volunteer in a political activities/parties, or as a means that would eventually lead to employment. First grade students show more tendencies to volunteer in nursing homes, while seniors regard volunteering as an occupation that requires a considerable amount of free time