LETTER TO THE EDITOR

 

Education at Work: contribution at the formation of values ​​of Nursing Students

 

Educación en el Trabajo: contribución a la formación de valores de los estudiantes de Enfermería

 

 

Yaisemys Batista Reyes 1 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9640-6341

Jurek Guirola Fuentes 1   https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2441-4913

 

Maydelin Pulido Almeida 1 https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5905-3072

 

1 Dr. Mario Muñoz Monroy Military Hospital “Carlos Juan Finlay Order”. Matanzas. Cuba. 

  

 * Corresponding author: yaisemysb80@gmail.com

 

 

Received: 27/09/2024

 

Accepted: 21/12/2024

 

How to cite this article: Batista-Reyes Y, Guirola-Fuentes J, Pulido-Almeida M. Education at Work: contribution at the formation of values of Nursing Students. MedEst. [Internet]. 2025 [cited access date]; 5(1):e274. Available in:  https://revmedest.sld.cu/index.php/medest/article/view/274

 

 

Dear Director:

It is well known that in recent years, especially since the early nineties, the country has been and is going through economic difficulties. This situation has had a negative impact on Cuban society and as a consequence, behaviors outside the customs and traditions of Cubanness have been incorporated. Likewise, there has been an increase in antisocial and dehumanizing behaviors, which is why it is common to hear that “values ​​have been lost” or “young people are lost.” These adolescents, upon completing their pre-university studies, enter Cuban universities to study different careers.

For this reason, one of the work objectives of the Ministry of Higher Education and Higher Medical Education is the search for and implementation of alternatives to strengthen values ​​in students with the aim of achieving a comprehensive education of students in university careers, especially those in the Medical Sciences. Educating in values ​​is creating convictions, shaping attitudes and behaviors, for which it is essential to reach the feelings, influence, exalt, see the practical performance of the individual; so that they have a social behavior in accordance with the ideology of the Cuban Revolution.

Therefore, in updating the new trends that have emerged in Higher Education and in Medical Sciences, it is necessary to contribute from Education at Work to the formation of values ​​in students. (1)

It is no less true that education in Medical Sciences has been transformed over time, and from a process located in the classroom and centered on the teacher as the main protagonist, it has passed the walls of educational institutions to reach the medical services themselves with the participation of students, hence the importance of the personal example of the teacher. Over the years it has been considered that the quality of the Nursing professional is determined by values ​​that they must possess. These allow them to act competently, based on the principles of Medical Ethics in Cuba and its relationship with the Hippocratic Oath, which serve as a guide for the good work of the Nursing staff and their way of acting in each of the care they provide to the individual, both healthy and sick, as highlighted by several scholars of the subject such as Ruiz Reyes et al. (2)

In Higher Medical Education, and specifically in the Nursing career, the use of creative methods is required where the student reflects in an environment of dialogue with an active and decisive participation in his/her development. Likewise, a formation of values ​​that responds to the model of training of the Nursing professional is important. Along the same lines, this professional must be characterized by being dedicated and competent, in such a way that allows him/her to communicate with the healthy and sick individual. In such a way that, through professional performance, he/she transmits with his/her attitude values ​​such as: responsibility, professionalism, honesty, a high degree of humanism and work for quality and excellence in services. This is nothing more than the contribution of Education at Work in the formation of values ​​of the students of this career.

The educational teaching process is a unique whole made up of well-defined parts that organize it as an integrated and integrating system in which objectives, learning needs, content, methods, means, forms of teaching, control, evaluation, among other constituent components are summarized. In today's university, this process is an irreplaceable space for the formation of values ​​in students from the profession.

All forms of teaching contribute to the formation of values, but "Education at Work" is an ideal space, which favors a comprehensive formation of the student thanks to its use. (3,4,5)

The process of forming values ​​is not determined at a specific age, but rather begins at home and there are some that are incorporated through education and in the course of life they become principles and convictions. In the Nursing career there are strategies where the intradisciplinarity of the different subjects and the interdisciplinarity of all specialties are decisive for the training of the future professional who will act at the different levels of medical care.

Furthermore, it is not only a process of Cuban universities, but its application extends to the training of health professionals in Mexico, Brazil and Chile. (6,7)

Many authors have defined what values ​​are, but we agree with the definition given in the Master Program for the reinforcement of fundamental values ​​in current Cuban society “values ​​constitute spiritual wills that distinguish the positive significance of things, facts, phenomena, relationships and individuals, for people, a team or social class, or society as a whole.” (3,4,5)

Therefore, the following questions are proposed:

1. How does Education at Work contribute to the formation of values ​​of Nursing students?

2. What is the importance of Workplace Education in the formation of val

The contribution of Workplace Education to the formation of values ​​is an essential element within the training process of the Nursing professional. Fundamental elements such as rounds of visits, handover and reception of the guard, quality case presentations, assertive communication with the patient and family members, carrying out appropriate therapeutic procedures, friendly treatment, as well as care for the principle of confidentiality, are part of the contributions to this training.

It is important for Nursing students because, in addition to forming values ​​and developing practical skills, Workplace Education allows the consolidation of the nurse-patient relationship and improves the professional performance of the students.

That is, it is necessary that the student, upon completing his studies, be a professional who not only has knowledge, but is also competent, modest, supportive and committed. Students must demonstrate through their example how Education at Work promotes values ​​as part of the training process, so that society recognizes the advances that nursing staff make within the Health System. It is the responsibility of the current Medical University, with the hospital as a key teaching setting, to promote values ​​in the training of these professionals. For this reason, young people will be trained to contribute to the development of a fair, humane and sustainable society.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

 

1. Lazo Hernández JE, Nicado García M. La formación político ideológica de los estudiantes universitarios en el contexto cubano actual. Revista Cubana de Educación Superior. [Internet]. 2020 [cited 10/9/2024]; 42(1). Available in: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0257-43142023000100022&lng=es&tlng=es

 

2. Ruiz Reyes D, Navarro Bustamante K, Sarmiento Rivero HK. Breve análisis tendencial del desarrollo de la Docencia de la Enfermería en Cuba. Rev haban cienc méd. [Internet]. 2020 [cited 10/9/2024]; 19 (2). Available in: https://revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/3315

 

3. Martínez Asanza D. Acerca de la educación en el trabajo, principio rector de la educación médica cubana. FEM (Ed. impresa) [Internet]. 2021 [cited 10/9/2024]; 24(6): 325-325. Available in: http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2014-98322021000600325&lng=es

 

4. Pérez-Rolo-Acebo M, Acebo Rivera M, León Acebo M. "Una mirada histórica a la formación del valor identidad institucional en el estudiante de la carrera Comunicación Social. Revista Innovación Tecnológica. [Internet]. 2021 [cited 10/9/2024]; 27(1): 1-9. Available in: https://portal.amelica.org/ameli/journal/442/4422091001/4422091001.pdf

 

5. Osorio Díaz D, Alba Tejeda A, Ortiz Sánchez I, García Vega L. Estrategia educativa para fortalecer el valor profesionalismo en estudiantes de la carrera ciclo corto enfermería. INDES [Internet]. 7 de diciembre de 2023 [cited 10/9/2024];8(2):282-94. Available in: https://revista.ismm.edu.cu/index.php/indes/article/view/2445

 

6. Hernández Suárez D, Rodríguez Acosta Y, Hernández Suárez D, Tápanes Acosta M. Las estrategias curriculares en función de la formación integral del egresado de las ciencias médicas. EDUMECENTRO [Internet]. 2022 [cited 10/9/2024]; 14. Available in: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-28742022000100023&lng=es

 

7. Alonso Trujillo J, Cuevas Guajardo L, Alonso Ricardez A. Diagnóstico sobre competencias en investigación de estudiantes de Enfermería. Revista CuidArte. [Internet] 2020 [cited 10/9/2024]; 9(17).  Available in: https://doi.org/10.22201/fesi.23958979e.2020.9.17.72755

 

 

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

 

YBR: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing.

 

JGF: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing.

 

MPA: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing.

 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

 

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.