TNMU Experts among Speakers at the International Course “Nursing Science in Ukraine – From Ideas to Impact!”

From 25 to 27 September 2026, the three-day course “Nursing Science in Ukraine – From Ideas to Impact!” was held to strengthen the research capacity of nursing in Ukraine, develop research competencies, and enhance cooperation between Ukrainian and international experts.

The course was organised for the second time by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the WHO Country Office in Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and the State Non-Commercial Enterprise “Centre for Healthcare Education Quality of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”, with the support of the Enabel charitable foundation.

I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University was represented at the event by Svitlana Danchak, Director of the Educational and Research Institute of Nursing, and Oksana Shevchuk, Head of the Research Project Management Department.

The course brought together leading experts in nursing and research, as well as aspiring researchers, Master’s students, and PhD students. Over the three days, nurses from across Ukraine, selected through a competitive process by the WHO Country Office, had an opportunity to share their experience and develop practical skills in formulating research questions, selecting contemporary methodological approaches, working with scientific evidence, and developing their own research projects. Particular attention was paid to academic integrity and research ethics, scientific communication, publication activities, and the development of international research networks.

The training programme covered the entire research process – from developing an initial idea and formulating a research question to designing a study, collecting and analysing data, writing and publishing a research paper, translating findings into practice, and establishing international professional connections. Participants worked with modern methodological and digital tools, explored issues of research ethics and academic integrity, and had the opportunity to communicate directly with international experts and editors of academic journals.

TNMU representatives contributed to the course as experts and facilitators of a number of training sessions. Together with Celina Flocks Monaghan (RCSI, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing), they worked on developing research questions based on real-world nursing practice issues, structuring searches for scientific literature, and using contemporary research tools. A separate session focused on mixed-methods research and the integration of qualitative and quantitative data. During a session conducted jointly with Nataliia Dub, participants explored research ethics, academic integrity, and responsible scientific communication.

Educational initiatives such as this one, implemented with the support of the WHO and in cooperation with leading Ukrainian and international experts, provide an important environment for developing a new generation of nursing researchers. Combining international expertise, contemporary research approaches, and the development of participants’ own research projects contributes to strengthening nursing science in Ukraine and its further integration into the European and global research community.

It was a pleasure to welcome international colleagues in person, including Cecile Dury, President of the FINE (European Federation of Nurse Educators), and Celina Flocks Monaghan, a researcher at the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

We express our sincere gratitude for the excellent organisation of the course to Dean Cairns, Health Programmes Lead; Maggie Langins, Nursing and Midwifery Policy Adviser at the WHO Regional Office for Europe; as well as Khrystyna Chaika and Polina Huk from the WHO Country Office in Ukraine, and the entire team involved in the organisation of the event.