Interview with V.M. Zaporozhan

Exclusive interview to “Interfax-Ukraine” agency with the rector of Odessa National Medical University, Academician of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine Valerii Zaporozhan.

Valerii Mykolaiovych, you were the rector of Odessa Medical University from 1994 to 2018 and passed many crises in this status. What is your plan for the coronary crisis?

At the beginning of the rector’s term in the 1990s, when my colleagues, prominent scientists, went to work in the markets, and universities were “privatized” for offices, the question was: will we exist or not? But we not only survived, but also began to earn. During the crisis, those who are able to think out of the box and creatively survive. How did the university have to get out of the situation at that time? – Sell ​​or rent out some of the buildings. This is the standard path that could have been taken, a path to nowhere. We approached the question creatively, so to say. We were the first in Ukraine to switch to English language of teaching. It was very difficult, it was a real challenge to the society, but we believed it would work. In the first year, we admitted foreign students and received money for development. In addition, our teachers  mastered English to the professional level – participation at international conferences, publications in world scientific journals began, the rating of Odessa University began to grow. This is a case of “How to find resources for growth in a crisis.” I look to the future with confidence and urge all colleagues: look for growth points, do not hold on to one-time stability.

Where is this point for Odessa Medical University?

The pandemic has shown how important it is to be flexible and able to make decisions quickly. I want to implement the e-University program. The idea is to digitize the maximum number of management, training, financial processes. We have already begun this journey. It is the second year when the university is on a blended learning system, part of the lectures are held online. In 2008 we opened an electronic library, it became a part of a global scientific network. That is, our students have access not only to their textbooks, but also to the materials used by students at Stanford or Yale universities. Step by step we want to “digitize” jobs, create a single database for teachers and students. Digitalization will be accompanied by decentralization, so that departments become as autonomous as possible, they will have their own development plans and budgets. Less bureaucracy, more freedom and time for creative, scientific, research work. The transformations I have named will provide the university with the opportunity to fully meet the requirements of the time.

The system of education in blended learning is going on for the second academic year. What difficulties has ONMedU faced?

We were in a better starting position than many other universities, as we began to develop distance learning long before the pandemic. I already mentioned the library. There are lectures in video format. Attending lectures has always been mandatory for our students, but, for its part, the university creates all the conditions for students to be able to practice on their own. For example, those who took academic leave. Great difficulties in teaching, in terms of ownership of technical means, also did not arise. We have progressive people who strive for knowledge. They regularly work in simulation classes, practice with robots and rather complex technological devices. Therefore, lectures in ZOOM or any other program are not a problem for them.

Did distance learning not become a vacation for students?

Unfortunately, there are students whose education their parents need more than themselves. Let’s be honest, there are such in every university, and for teachers this is a problem. But in medical universities they are much less than in any other. This has to do with medical education itself. It is very long and very difficult. That is why we are mostly joined by highly motivated young people who know what they want in this life, they want to succeed. Fortunately, most of us have them. Last year’s results did not differ from all previous ones. The mixed system did not affect their success.

By the way, about exams. Odessa Medical University was one of the first to conduct the state examination of USСE and OSCI. What are the results?

These are important exams, without which it is impossible to get a diploma. Those who do not want to learn cannot cope with them. Everyone else who is responsible for learning does not experience problems. For its part, the university has created all the conditions for the testing and assessment of knowledge to be complete and completely objective. We have refused the presence of a teacher wherever possible. We are confident in our team, but where a person is present, the human factor is possible, it is important to understand. For example, OSCI is an objective structured clinical trial. It takes place in the format of a quest: students move to different stations and perform certain tasks. The station is a conditional ward where there is a “patient” . His role is played by a completely unknown healthy person who is allegedly ill and describes his symptoms to the doctor. The student’s task is to question, diagnose and prescribe treatment in a limited time. And each student is assigned a number – no names, complete anonymity. The teacher only indicates in the e-check which points the student N has fulfilled or has not fulfilled. Then the electronic system itself counts the number of points scored. Students like this format, they are less nervous before the exam and show higher results. The education quality center has been operating since 2016, admission or non-admission to the session is automated.

You mentioned simulation classes – How many of them are there? How much money was spent on them?

We were the first in Ukraine to launch a training simulation program. What problem does it solve? It fills the gap between the theoretical training and the real clinical situation. Imagine a patient in intensive care. His life depends on how quickly the doctor will be able to restore his breathing, start the heart, stop the bleeding. No one will admit yesterday’s student to such a patient.

The simulation class is a work that accurately mimics the anatomy and physiology of a real patient in different clinical scenarios. At a clearly regulated time, the student must perform all manipulations, for example, to restore breathing. Moreover, the robot itself “evaluates” the correctness of actions and sets a credit or non-credit. Such robotic operating rooms are created at each department – pediatrics, therapy, surgery and others. Since 2017, the Department of Robotic and Endoscopic Surgery has been operating. There is a set of virtual simulators on which students practice laparoscopic operations. I am one of the founders of endoscopic surgery in Ukraine. This is a surgery in which operations are performed without extensive tissue dissection – through a puncture of the skin or natural openings. This is a modern approach to surgery, which significantly reduces the time of recovery and rehabilitation of the patient. Odessa medicine, in particular due to simulation medicine, has become one of the pillars of this area in our country.

Simulation classes at specialized departments exist only at our university. This is an expensive pleasure – tens of thousands of dollars. But they are necessary for the competence training of doctors. Upon successful completion, our students, under the supervision of senior colleagues, can provide qualified medical care even to difficult patients.

What is the real situation in Odessa with Covid-19? I am interested in your assessment.

Given how fast the situation is changing, it is difficult to make predictions. Moreover, this issue belongs to the competence of epidemiologists, virologists, biologists, so it will be incorrect to assess. Much depends on the trends of the epidemic, the further rate of spread, the rate of vaccination in the world and in Ukraine. Of course, the quality of the vaccine is very important, it must be safer than the disease itself. Regarding the situation. In our country, in particular in Odessa, it is not easy, and I as a doctor and a resident of Odessa am very worried about it. For our part, we are doing our best to help the city cope with this. First, at the university itself, which is 10 thousand teaching and student staff, we strictly adhere to all anti-epidemic rules. Secondly, we are actively involved in the fight against the pandemic at our level.

Is there experience of cooperation of the university with hospitals? Can students help doctors in this difficult situation. Does that make sense?

Odessa National Medical University has university clinics, but none of them has been included in the list of reference of patients for treatment with COVID-19 approved by the Ministry of Health. But that doesn’t mean we stay away. Just a week ago, the university created a Medical Council. Its first initiative was the creation of a temporary medical cluster “Odessa Regional Center for Infection Control”. It will work on the basis of a separate cardiorheumatological building. It already has beds for patients with COVID-19, partially purchased medical equipment, including ventilators. We plan to involve all our clinical departments in the work of the Center, which will accompany patients not only during the treatment, but also on the way to recovery. For example, the Department of Occupational Pathology and Functional Diagnostics will assist with the registration of incapacity documents, the Department of Medical Rehabilitation – with the physical and psychological rehabilitation of patients and, if necessary, their relatives. The cluster will work closely with the city and regional health departments, as well as the relevant ministry. I believe that our students can gain experience and also participate in this work. We guarantee them and all our specialists safe working conditions – our clinical base is fully provided with personal protective equipment. Consolidation is important in the fight against the pandemic, and our university is doing its best to unite the scientific and medical communities to build a knowledge base. In May, for example, we conducted a 5-day All-Ukrainian special course on respiratory support. It was listened to by more than 50 thousand specialists. Our webinars and online master classes were listened to by tens of thousands of doctors from Ukraine and other countries. In the current situation, the task of our university is to become an educational hub, and we are confidently moving towards this goal.