Students will treat patients from the first year of study: The Ministry of Health is changing medical education
25 December 13:47The Ministry of Health of Ukraine is considering scaling up the university hospital model to at least five to seven higher medical education institutions. The plan is to take as a basis a pilot project implemented in Lviv, which has already demonstrated the effectiveness of combining education, science, and medical practice. This was announced by Health Minister Viktor Lyashko in a commentary to the Ukrinform news agency, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Lviv pilot is a model for the whole country
The experiment to create a university hospital was launched on the basis of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, which is subordinated to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The project was approved by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers and envisages combining financial resources, personnel, educational, scientific and medical activities in a single structure.
According to Lyashko, this model is fully in line with the practice that has long been used in the European Union, where university clinics are key centers for training doctors.
“This complex is our experiment of reform in medical education, which reflects the European approach, when treatment, education and science exist as a single entity,” the Minister emphasized.
What does the new model change?
Previously, medical universities were forced to divide educational, scientific and medical activities between different legal entities. This complicated the learning process and limited students’ access to real clinical practice.
The new model of the university hospital integrates the medical practice of teachers into the educational process. During operations and treatment, students and interns work alongside doctors, gaining practical skills from the first years of study.
The Ministry of Health is preparing to expand the project
After the start of the Lviv experiment, the Ministry of Health held meetings with the rectors of all medical universities in the country, presenting the possibility of expanding this practice.
Currently, the Ministry, together with the heads of universities and regional councils, is working on mechanisms for introducing university hospitals in 5-7 more medical universities in Ukraine.
What the university hospital in Lviv has already become
Professor Orest Chemeris, Rector of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, said that the formation of a single university hospital in Lviv has already been completed. It consists of:
- 10 clinics in the main medical areas;
- 40 departments;
- 1350 beds;
- more than 2900 employees.
All clinical units will operate under contracts with the National Health Service of Ukraine. There are 31 packages of medical services for 2026.
In addition, the hospital’s structure includes a Simulation Medicine Center, where students, interns and young doctors will practice their practical skills in conditions as close to real life as possible.
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