Patients’ expectations of nursing staff in both medical treatment and surgical wards

Introduction
The study aimed to determine and compare the expectations that patients hospitalized in medical (conservative) and surgical wards have of nursing staff, and to identify the nurse attributes regarded as most important from the patients’ perspective.

Material and methods
The research was carried out in a Kraków hospital from 11 February to 6 March 2025 after approval from the Jagiellonian University Medical College Research Ethics Committee. A total of 160 randomly selected patients participated: 98 from a medical ward and 62 from a surgical ward. Data were collected using an author-designed questionnaire, the Tool for Assessing and Determining Nursing Expectations. Because the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test showed that the data were not normally distributed, non-parametric statistics were applied: the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square test with Yates’s correction, Fisher’s exact test, and the Fisher-Freeman-Halton test. Spearman’s rank-order correlation was calculated for ordinal variables. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results
The attribute most frequently cited by patients was nurses’ knowledge and professional competence (55.1% of medical-ward patients and 59.7% of surgical-ward patients). Surgical-ward patients more often emphasized politeness and kindness (54.8%) and a rapid response to their needs (29.0%). Medical-ward patients placed greater value on an individual approach (23.5%) and patience and understanding (21.4%). Attributes such as empathy, clear communication, emotional support, and availability – defined as ensuring equal access to care, resources, and nursing support for all patients – were important in both groups. Differences also emerged in the perceived importance of work organization and respect for privacy, characteristics mentioned almost exclusively by medical-ward patients.

Conclusions
The structure of patients’ expectations differs by ward type. Patients in medical wards more often seek relational qualities and emotional support, whereas surgical-ward patients prioritize efficient action and technical competence. Regardless of ward type, nurses’ knowledge, professionalism, and empathy were deemed crucial.