This textbook is made up of six chapters.

1. The first chapter ideals with extremely important issues of effective cooperation and communication in an interdisciplinary team.
2. The second chapter discusses selected and important issues related to the perception of health, birth, preventive health care, disease, and death within the context of a selected religion or culture.
3. In the next chapter, the authors discuss issues related with treatment in specific cases in non-standard situations in nursing and obstetrics.
4. Chapter four contains sample simulation scenarios for selected diseases, nonstandard situations in nursing, obstetrics, and physiotherapy, considering aspects of multiculturalism and interdisciplinarity. Scenarios included in the textbook are related to specific areas of medical and health sciences. It should be highlighted that these scenarios may form the basis for creating new scenarios with other or additional teaching effects. The aim of the textbook authors is to establish a database of scenarios with different patterns and technical capabilities. This aim is justified, since it is supposed to capture the imagination of the readers, open them to taking autonomous experimental (empirical) actions in medical simulation conditions, and thus overcome barriers of simulation teaching.
5. Chapter five contains instructional videos concerning multiculturalism, interdisciplinarity, and non-standard situations.
6. Chapter six showcases photos from the Medical Simulation Centre in the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Opole.

The authors believe that the textbook will provide practical teaching support for a wide range of readers.

Excerpts from the review:

„The current shift in the approach to health and the organisation of health care is leading to an interdisciplinarity of care plans-medical, community, social, family, multicultural, and others-and, consequently, of the teams that organise and deliver education in the health professions. The book position submitted to me for review, entitled Interdisciplinarity, Multiculturalism, and Nonstandard Situations in Medical Simulation Situations, fits perfectly into this trend.”

„The study was prepared by a team of experts from academic centres in Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria – and at the same time from the field. The scientific editors, together with the authors, have summarised information about caring for people with various diseases, disorders and health problems with religious, national and multicultural aspects in a logical and structured scheme at an accessible level.”

„The authors’ intention was to provide the reader with knowledge about different religions, health problems, diseases, and human developmental disorders. The section of the book on different religions is an invaluable aid to medical personnel when dealing with a patient/patient from a different culture and religion. It will help avoid mistakes in professional practise.”

„[…] The book will serve both as an academic textbook and as an important writing position to support the self-education of medical professionals and will be a valuable source of practical knowledge for nurses, midwives, and all professionals involved in daily proactive patient care. The breadth of information and accessible presentation also encourage a wider readership of academics and students.”

Bożena Mroczek, PhD in Health Sciences

„[…] the reviewed study provides basic information about the beliefs and behaviours of followers of a particular religion and people of a particular culture, but is not a guide to the religions and cultures of the world, as the authors make clear in the introduction. Nonetheless, these beliefs and behaviours are often relevant in health care situations. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to the phenomenon of multiculturalism and religion already in the training of future health care professionals. Knowledge of the norms of behaviour of followers of a certain religion or people of a certain culture, for example, in terms of traditions, the role of men and women, attitudes to sexuality, personal hygiene, characteristics of clothing, attitudes to health, illness, dying and death, is very important for dealing with patients, understanding their needs, diagnosing their problems, ensuring good communication, i.e. for professional medical care.”

„The training of future medical professionals is a long-term, dynamic process, subject to constant improvement and evaluation, with the aim of preparing them as well as possible to fulfil their professional duties. In this process, medical simulation, which is an innovative but increasingly common method in the training of physicians, nurses, paramedics, and physical therapists, is proving to be very effective. This method provides opportunities for safe acquisition of practical skills in conditions away from the hospital, without patient involvement, and gives the opportunity to act in situations that closely resemble natural working conditions. The special advantages of using medical simulations become apparent when the prepared scenarios reflect real situations as much as possible and represent non-standard situations that occur in medical institutions. Such situations, involving people in different physiological states and disease entities, patients of different religions and cultures, were collected and comprehensibly described in this study.”

„In summary, I conclude that the textbook submitted for review, entitled Interdisciplinarity, Multiculturalism, and Nonstandard Situations in Medical Simulation Settings, is a clear, synthetic, yet comprehensive and valuable source of knowledge representing various situations in medical simulation settings. It provides fundamental knowledge on topics that have rarely been addressed in the medical literature and encourages special attention to interdisciplinarity, multiculturalism, and non-standard situations in medical simulation training. The international editorial team, consisting of teaching and research staff working at universities in Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, is an important and remarkable asset that ensures the high quality of the study. I congratulate the authors on the topic covered and the way the content is presented, while recommending without reservation the publication of the textbook submitted for review.”

Elżbieta Cipora, MD, PhD in Health Sciences