Autumn school of medical education 2024

From October 9 to 12, Uzhhorod National University hosted the “Autumn School of Medical Education 2024” of the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Development of Medical Education” in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Maastricht University (Kingdom of the Netherlands) and the Swiss Institute of Tropical and Public Health.

The event gathered more than 100 participants from various regions of Ukraine and foreign speakers. On the part of ONMedU, the assistant of the Department of Internal Medicine No. 1 Olha Bondarenko took part.

The key directions of the school were: the basics of functioning of the medical education system, its quality, challenges and changes in the medical education system of Ukraine.

In 4 days, there were 7 plenary sessions, 5 panel discussions, 4 workshops, as well as the presentation and discussion of research on the evaluation of the educational environment in undergraduate and postgraduate education (DREEM, PHEEM).

Plenary sessions were devoted to the system of medical education in the world and Ukraine, namely quality assurance, curriculum (educational program), transformation of the system of higher education in Ukraine, and the experience of Switzerland in the organization of practical training at the undergraduate level.

Panel discussions included discussions of didactic methods in medical education, the interaction of medical education and practice, quality in education, and the problem of abuse in a higher education institution.

It was possible to choose two workshops. At the “Teaching Mastery” workshop, attitude was discussed as the third component of competence (next to knowledge and skills), they learned how to form and evaluate changes in this component. Another workshop “Conducting research by medical students and specialists” was devoted to the importance of involving students in research work as preparation for practical work within the framework of the “evidence-based medicine” approach, and the experience of the Netherlands using the example of Maastricht University.

Speakers from Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland shared their experience on the organization of medical education in their countries. Representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, Testing Center at the Ministry of Health of Ukraine talked about changes in the system of higher medical education in Ukraine, which caused a lively discussion.

“Autumn School of Medical Education 2024” became a place for interaction between experts, representatives of ministries, medical educators, medical practitioners, students of higher education and others interested in problems in medical education in Ukraine and ways to solve them. Participation in this event provided an opportunity to exchange experience and find new ideas that can be used in teaching: paying attention to examples of practical use of theoretical knowledge in real practice. This information contributes to a confident orientation in the peculiarities of the medical educational process at the current stage, allows a better understanding of the trends and direction of the development of medical education in Ukraine.