TNMU Representatives Took Part in All-Ukrainian Meeting of Heads of Physical Therapy Departments
The All-Ukrainian Round” Table of heads of departments in the “Physical Therapy” specialty, dedicated to issues of clinical education of physical therapists, was held on November 16-17, 2023 in Lviv. I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University was represented by the Head of the Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physical Education, DSc, Professor Daria Popovych, the Head of the Department of Medical Rehabilitation, DSc, Professor Ihor Mysula and the guarantor of the “Physical Therapy” training program, PhD in Medicine, Assistant Professor of the Department of Medical Rehabilitation Yurii Zavidniuk. The event took place within the framework of the “Improving rehabilitation services in health care systems” project, financed by the US agency for international development USAID and implemented by the international non-governmental organization “Momentum Wills for Humanity”.
The attendees had a chance to listen to a number of speakers, such as:
- Marsha Greenberg (Senior Technical Lead Momentum Wheels for Humanity, World Rehabilitation Alliance Representative, Workforce Work Stream), who gave an introductory talk on “The Role of Clinical Education in Master’s Level Physical Therapy Programs.”
- Olena Lazareva (Head of the Department of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy of the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine, National Education Consultant of the “Improving Rehabilitation Services in Health Care Systems” project), who presented in detail the “Clinical component of physical therapist education”.
- Maryna Mruha (State expert on higher education and adult education of the Directorate of Professional Pre-Higher and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine), who presented a report on the topic “Landscape of Physical Therapist Education in Ukraine”.
- Oleksandr Karpov (President of the Ukrainian Student Association of Physical Therapy, Expert of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance) focused on the question “Analysis of the training system of physical therapists in Ukraine.”
- Serhii Ubohov (Ministry of Health) drew attention to the main employer in Ukraine, which needs well-trained physical therapists.
Discussions and debates took place at the meeting, which unfolded after the report by Lesia Oliinyk (General Director of the state non-profit enterprise “Testing Centre” of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine) “Testing results of the integrated test exam Step 2 for masters in the specialty “Physical therapy, occupational therapy” as component of USQE in 2023″.
There were many other interesting reports, especially productive was the work in small groups, the discussion of the next steps to improve the education of physical therapists in Ukraine.
The event was moderated by Mykola Romanyshyn – the Head of Clinical Education Coordinators in Ukraine within the “Improving rehabilitation services in health care systems” project), who gave a speech “Creating a modern working curriculum in physical therapy.
The presented reports were aimed at improving the quality of education of future physical therapists, and the event itself, which lasted two days and was held at a high professional level. The meeting of the All-Ukrainian round table ended with a discussion of the next steps in improving the education of physical therapists in Ukraine.
The information was provided by Professor Daria Popovych.