Military training for doctors: what will change for students in 2025
18 July 06:26
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted as a whole draft law No. 13276, which amends Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service” regarding military training of citizens under the program of reserve officers of the medical service. This is reported on the website of the Ministry of Health, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“According to the new law, all citizens of Ukraine who study at universities in medical and pharmaceutical specialties, are fit for military service for health reasons and have passed the professional and psychological selection, are required to undergo military training under the program for training officers of the reserve medical service,” the ministry said in a statement.
This requirement is mandatory and applies to both public and private higher education institutions that provide master’s degrees in medical and pharmaceutical specialties
It is worth recalling that since 2006, military training under this program has been carried out on a voluntary basis, although previously it was mandatory for medical students.
“The return to compulsory training is due to the lack of reserve officers of the medical service who can be involved in performing tasks during martial law,” the statement said.
The adoption of the law will significantly expand the number of future reserve officers of the medical service. Military training will now become an integral part of the educational process for students of relevant specialties.
The procedure for conducting this training will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers based on proposals from the Ministry of Defense, agreed with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Health. The list of military specialties and the scope of training will be established by the Ministry of Defense upon the proposal of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and for medical and pharmaceutical specialties these parameters will be additionally agreed with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.
The law comes into force on January 1, 2026. Within six months after that, the government and the relevant ministries must bring their regulations in line with the new legislation.
