On one hand, the development of medicine allows to prolong the life of patients who previously had no chance for survive, on the other hand, though, it condemns some of them and their loved ones to extreme suffering. Fear of suffering is the main reason for a possible wish for euthanasia. The research aimed at measuring the attitude towards euthanasia among doctors and nurses who come in professional contact with terminally ill patients or patients versus the medical personnel who do not come in such contact. The research included: age, profession and workplace as well as personal experience in providing care to the seriously ill. The Attitudes Towards Euthanasia Questionnaire by Głębocka and Gawor was used during the research. The method consists of three scales: Informational Support, Liberal Approach and Conservative Approach. Medical stuff taking care of terminally ill patients were less conservative in their opinions than the participants from the comparative group. The intergroup differences in terms of Liberal Approach towards Euthanasia Scale were not obtained. It turned out that the age fostered the conservative approach, and working at the intensive care units or taking care of an ill relative fostered the reduction of such approach. All the respondents approve the idea of providing the patients and their families with informational support. Working in intensive care units or taking care of terminally ill relatives seems to reduce conservative attitudes towards euthanasia because persons with such experience have personally faced the multifaceted emotional and physical costs of suffering.

On professional ethics, the important role of mentors in medical education, and the standards of behavior expected of doctors.

In 2015 Supreme Audit Office published the report concerned the quality of doctoral studies in Poland. Result of the conducted audit is alarming: “there are serious doubts both about quality and effectiveness of mass doctoral education” (SAO 2015). The text presents an overview of university regulations concerned the evaluation of annual achievements of PhD students (in the area of social sciences) and indicates its potentially negative consequences for the quality of their academic activity. The article refers to two terms – “running for points” and “parametric game”– introduced by Emanuel Kulczycki to describe consequences of economization of research evaluation system, i.e. measuring academic activities and turning them into points-based rewards.

The purpose of this paper is both to present issues related to the interpretation of currently in force provisions on awarding degrees of doctor, habilitated doctor and the title of professor in the light of the Higher Education Law, as well as to attempt to reflect on whether a specific model of scientific promotion (career path) can be found in the analysed regulations. The issues seem to be of key importance for the practice of applying the latter, especially if one assumes that the supreme purpose of a particular model of scientific career is to ensure the highest quality of scientific research.

This contribution points out the most important aspects to consider in the ethical (in) acceptability of aesthetic operations. Starting from the value of the human body seen from a biblical perspective, it introduces the reader to the essential magisterial statements concerning aesthetic surgery, among which the speech of Pope Pius XII occupies a particular position. It also refers to ethical principles, especially the principle of double effect and totality, and outlines the basic argumentative positions of selected bioethics committees. There is also a brief introduction to the positions of several contemporary bioethicists. In conclusion, the author presents his point of view and briefly explains what the patient should take into account and what the aesthetic surgeon should look for to avoid ethically wrong actions

Being one of the most important centres in the history of Polish medicine, Gdansk attracted many eminent doctors. Physicians (municipal doctors) and professors from the anatomy department of the Academic Gymnasium Danzig won their doctoral degrees at European universities, and when arriving in Gdansk, they often provided a copy of their dissertation to the Library of the City Council. The article presents results of the initial analysis of the medical print resources kept by the Gdansk PAN Library, including works by the Gymnasium graduates and doctors’ publications other than their doctoral dissertations printed in Gdansk. A comparative analysis of the selected twenty five prints (call marks Fa 69 8o, Sa 30 8o, XIX q. 83d, XIX q. 83f) was carried out with a view to determining the potential research problems and their relationship with the relevant sources.

In the academic community within Poland, there is an ongoing debate about the optimal strategies for a redesign of PhD programs; however, the views of PhD students in relation to contemporary doctoral study programs are not widely known. Therefore, in this article, we aim to answer the following questions: (1) what are the demands and the resources for doctoral studies at the Jagiellonian University (JU) as experienced by PhD students? (2) how are these demands and resources related to study burnout and engagement? To gain answers to these questions, we conducted an on-line opinion-based survey of doctoral students. As a result, 326 JU PhD students completed a questionnaire measuring 26 demands and 23 resources along with measures of study burnout and levels of engagement. The results revealed that the demands of doctoral studies at the JU (as declared by at least half of the respondents) are: the requirement to participate in classes that are perceived as an unproductive use of time, the lack of remuneration for tutoring courses with students, a lack of information about possible career paths subsequent to graduation, the use of PhD students as low-paid workers at the university, a lack of opportunities for financing their own research projects, and an inability to take up employment while studying for a doctoral degree. In terms of resources, at least half of the doctoral students pointed to: discounts on public transport and the provision of free-of-charge access to scientific journals. Analyzing both the frequency and strength of the relationships between resources/demands and burnout/engagement, we have identified four key problem areas: a lack of support from their supervisor, role ambiguity within University structures for PhD students, the conflict between paid work and doctoral studies, and the mandatory participation in classes as a student.

Simone Simoni (1532–1602) was an Italian philosopher interested primarily in early modern Aristotelianism and court physician to King Stefan Batory of Poland. After the king's sudden death at Grodno on 12 December 1586, Simoni was accused of having made serious mistakes while attending his royal patient. In a bitter dispute with his rival, Niccolo Bucello, he came up witha spirited defence of his diagnosis and the adequacy of the treatment in view of the circumstances which played a crucial role in the last days of his patient. This article examines Simoni's argument concerning the king’s health, diseases and death, entitled Divi Stephani Primi Polonorum Regis Magnique Lithuanorum Ducis etc. sanitas, vita medica, aegritudo, mors (Nyssa 1587). Simoni fleshes out his polemic with a wide range of rhetorical devices, including many forms of irony and arguments ad personam. He also brings into it the larger context of interrelations between medicine and early modern philosophy, especially natural philosophy, summed up in the adage ubi desinit physicus, ibi medicus incipit (where the philosopher finishes, there the physician begins). Basically a vita medica of the king in his last days, it is also a fascinating portrait of a monarch with a passion for game hunting.

It was with great sadness that we learned on 18 October 2021 of the death of the distinguished Italian Slavist and Polonist Sante Graciotti, professor emeritus of the Sapienza University of Rome. This personal tribute, written on the first anniversary of his death, begins with a recollection of the ceremony of awarding Sane Graciotti the title of Doctor honoris causa by the Jagiellonian University. on 16 December 1986. The laudatio, delivered by Professor Tadeusz Ulewicz, presented our guest's achievements and the main stages of his academic life. It began with the study of Italian philology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and came to a turning point at La Sapienza in Rome, where he pivoted towards Slavic philology. The youthful fascination became a lifelong commitment which earned him the acclaim and honours that are the crown of an academic career. Finally, he concentrated his attention on Poland, Polish history and culture, and the history of Polish-Italian cultural relations. In his explorations of the new field, he could count on the friendly assistance of his Polish colleagues, especially Tadeusz Ulewicz, a historian of Polish literature with a profound knowledge of the historical ties between Poland and Italy. The respect they had for each other's work led to the promotion of Graciotti's research in Poland and the awarding of the doctorate honoris causa to Tadeusz Ulewicz by the Università Cattolica in Milan.