Simulation Rooms for Family Doctor Training have been Established in TNMU

On June 7, 2021, the Laboratory for Clinical Skills Development for family doctors and nurses was established at the Center for Medical Simulation of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University. Professor Mykhailo Korda the Rector of TNMU, Olha Yarmolenko, the Director of the Department of Health of Ternopil Regional State Administration, Vasyl Danchak, the Head of Health and Medical Support of Ternopil City Council, and Tatiana Stepurko, the Head of the project office of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Development of Medical Education” joined the event.

Two years ago, the team of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Development of Medical Education” initiated establishment of such a unit at TNMU. Future family doctors will train there, as well as interns and primary care practitioners and nurses. The Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Development of Medical Education” invested almost 3 million hryvnias to create new rooms in the Center for Medical Simulation of Ternopil National Medical University (TNMU).

“As the head of the Department of Healthcare, I am very pleased that Ternopil Medical University is constantly introducing new technologies into education. This institution of higher education is the basis for practical medicine in our region. I am convinced that the Laboratory for Clinical Skills Development will help our family doctors improve their skills. This branch of medicine needs special attention and support. In my opinion, the newly created Laboratory for Clinical Skills Development will benefit more effective development of family medicine,” said Olha Yarmolenko.

Vasyl Danchak, the Head of the Department of Health and Medical Care of Ternopil City Council, stressed that he is proud to be a TNMU graduate. He added that the simulation platform for family doctor training is extremely important today.

“Now we cannot imagine medical education without advanced simulation technologies. From my own experience, all universities in Europe and the United States are proud of simulation centres and libraries. During the last eight years, simulation technologies have been introduced into medical education. We started creating the Center for Medical Simulation five years ago and since then it has become one of the best in Ukraine. Medical workers of different specialties as well as other specialists from all over the country come to learn, train and study there. Trainers from abroad also often visit it; they also emphasise a high level of the Center for Medical Simulation in TNMU. Equipping the centre with appropriate tools is only half the job for its successful operation. The other half of success is the development strategy, a vision of the direction, as well as a professional team r. I am grateful to the team of experts who work in our centre. Professor Arsen Hudyma, the Head of the Department of Disaster and Military Medicine is an ideological inspirer, and Halyna Tsymbaliuk, the director of the centre, is its manager. The specialists of the centre have passed all available courses, trainings and internships, have corresponding international certificates. The most important is that they are eager to fulfil their responsibilities and the University will provide any support they need,” assured Mykhaylo Mykhailovych.

He also drew the attention of the audience to the fact that in December 2018 Ternopil Medical University joined the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Development of Medical Education in Ukraine”, together with two other medical universities and three institutions of higher education for nursing. It provides for creating, equipping and improvement of simulation centres, which would enable students developing basic clinical skills in family medicine. According to Mykhaylo Korda, the project participants from the TNMU have already attended a number of seminars, lectures, workshops on introduction of simulation technologies into higher education in training family doctors.

The Laboratory for Clinical Skills Ddevelopment of Ternopil Medical University has three rooms:

– a room for practicing medical skills, equipped with cameras, microphones, medical tools and simulators of arms, legs, buttocks, which can be connected to a computer;

– rooms where the instructor and teacher provide information – manage the learning process;

– rooms where students and the teacher watch the recorded video on the performance of a manipulation, analyse faults and note successful manipulations.

Via the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Development of Medical Education” the Swiss government pays great attention to improvement of education of general practitioners in Ukraine. That is why the project team is working on creation of simulation training for future family doctors and nurses.

Since 2019, this program has invested more than 15 million hryvnias in six simulation centres in Ukraine. The project, launched by the Swiss Institute of Tropical Medicine and Public Health with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, is funded by the Swiss government. The Laboratories for Clinical Skills Development for general practitioners are also going to be established at Rivne Medical Academy, Bukovynian State Medical University (Chernivtsi), Zhytomyr Medical Institute, Kharkiv National Medical University and Andrei Krupinsky Lviv Medical Academy.

“The project invests not only in repairs, purchase of the latest mannequins and computers. Our priority is to strengthen and improve the quality of medical education in Ukraine, and this is possible only by investing in development of skills of teachers, IT, resources, English fluency. This is all that forms a high quality education in medical universities of Ukraine. Arrangement of such laboratories for clinical skills development is only one of the phases of the project implementation. The next step is a joint discussion of the priority areas of development of your university,” said Tetyana Stepurko, the Head of the Project Office of the Ukrainian-Swiss Medical Education Development Project.