Understanding the role of hospitals and their environment in practical training

A hospital represents a special environment, serving health care to patients, and as a work environment for medical and other staff. The problems of the hospital environment, its risks and the prevention of nosocomial infections have become an important topic in activities concerning the environmental education of medical students at the Institute of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Educational objectives were different, regarding knowledge, behaviour, attitude and social action. The hygienic level of the hospital ward was observed by students themselves, including microclimate assessment and evaluations. Microbial contamination and acoustic well‐being of the indoor air in a hospital ward were also assessed. Results from environmental investigations performed in several hospitals have shown improvement of microbial contamination in internal, surgical and neurological departments. We believe that if educational objectives targeted at the beginning of practical sessions are fulfilled then medical students will think and behave more pro‐environmentally.