TNMU Actively Participates in the DAAD Project “Ukraine Digital: Supporting Academic Success in Times of Crisis”

The DAAD program “Ukraine Digital” was launched in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to support German-Ukrainian university collaboration in digital teaching formats and to assist Ukrainian students and educators (More about the program). A significant advantage of this initiative is the direct involvement of faculty and researchers from Ukrainian universities, including those currently residing in Germany.

In 2024, Ternopil National Medical University is implementing two projects under the “Ukraine Digital” program:

1. Medical Education Network Ukraine (MENU): Implementierung eines Train-the-Trainer Fakultätsentwicklungsprogramms (Medical Education Network Ukraine: Implementation of a Train-the-Trainer Faculty Development Program) This project is carried out in collaboration with Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich and aims to enhance faculty training through a “train-the-trainer” model.
2. UA-MEDSAT: Ukraine Medical Satellite Teaching 2024 (Satellite Teaching for Ukrainian Medical Students). This project is being implemented in partnership with Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg. It aims to support Ukrainian medical students through an online module on medical communication and feedback skills. The curriculum covers patient history collection, bad news delivery, and patient counseling. Practical training involves role-playing exercises with peers and patient simulations, preparing students for real-world communication scenarios. The training program alleviates the workload for Ukrainian partners and broadens the educational offerings. Students complete the module through synchronous online sessions supported by digital materials, including scenarios, videos, and role descriptions for simulations.

UA-MEDSAT Overview and Achievements:

The UA-MEDSAT project began in 2022, was extended into 2023, and originally included two main components:

1. Training in medical communication and feedback skills
   1. Focused on patient history collection, delivering bad news, and counseling through role-playing with simulated patients.
2. Training in clinical reasoning
   1. Case-based discussions on key topics, including surgery, internal medicine, gynecology and obstetrics, pediatrics, and neurology.

The ongoing support from German colleagues has been invaluable, helping to strengthen the resilience and quality of medical education in Ukraine.

A heartfelt thank you to our German partners for their comprehensive support!