Children's perceptions of the nursing profession in Poland

The drawing, as a kind of artistic language, used by the child-artist to express his or her thoughts and opinions concerning their environment is an immensely interesting form of cognition for the viewers of such artistic creations. The aim of the study was the analysis of the presentation of the image of the nursing profession created by children and the application of these experiences in vocational education of nurses. The objects of the analysis, were 182 artistic creations of children living in eastern Poland. The detailed analysis of the works was carried out by three independent competent judges who grouped the works according to the accepted indicators of evaluation. The young artists created the image of the nurse that presents a detailed range of professional duties, the quality of the child-nurse relationship and the prognostic vision of the new activities that will be put into practice in the future. The rich content of the drawings was complemented by the high artistic value of the composition. The study material collected should be used not only by nurses participating in care of children, but also in vocational education of nurses for more complete preparation of candidates to perform their future profession.