Palliative Medicine in Practice · Published 2025-06-04 · DOI 10.5603/pmp.105337
INTRODUCTION: Poland ranks seventh in Europe in terms of the development of specialized palliative care, with 90,000–95,000 patients receiving such care annually. However, several challenges hinder the proper implementation of these services. These include limited access to services for patients with non-cancerous diseases, insufficient valuation of guaranteed services, lack of state funding for hospital-based palliative care teams, an uneven distribution of contracted services across different regions of the country, and shortages of specialized medical and nursing personnel. The study aimed to present the history of postgraduate education for palliative care nurses in Poland. METHODS: The study was conducted based on an analysis of the literature on postgraduate nursing education in palliative care in Poland, an examination of legal regulations and educational programs governing postgraduate education, and a review of archival documents related to postgraduate nursing education from 1960 to 2024. RESULTS: The first nursing specializations in Poland began in 1969. However, the first specialists in palliative care nursing did not emerge until 2006. Various forms of postgraduate education in palliative care have been completed by 16,952 individuals, accounting for 1.9% of all nurses who participated in postgraduate training programs. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities for postgraduate training in palliative care nursing in Poland were established at the end of the 20th century. The first specialist courses were introduced in 2000, with the first graduates of qualification courses appearing in 2001. The first specialists in palliative care nursing entered the Polish healthcare system in 2006. Training in palliative care nursing continues to attract interest among nursing professionals.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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