System of continuous professional development (CPD)

Continuing professional development of medical professionals is an important aspect of the quality assurance process. Constant updating of knowledge and skills, acquaintance with modern protocols and guidelines and their application in practice are the realities of a modern doctor / nurse, nurse / nurse not only in the context of state requirements for the profession, but also the need for self-improvement and professional growth.

The system of continuous professional development (CPD) for doctors was updated in Ukraine in 2018, in particular, the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine №302 of March 28 “On approval of the Regulation on the system of continuing professional development of health professionals” identified new approaches to advanced training of doctors. According to this Regulation, the continuous professional development of health professionals is a continuous process of training and improving the professional competencies of professionals after obtaining higher education in health care and postgraduate education in the internship, which allows the specialist to maintain or improve professional standards. activities in accordance with the needs of the industry and continues throughout the period of professional activity.

From now on, doctors are not limited in the right to choose the format of the CPD and the provider, they can choose exactly what is comfortable, interesting, convenient for them, but they must be trained annually (and not as before once every five years). Thus, health professionals can be trained as in traditional courses at postgraduate education faculties or postgraduate education academies, but can also attend seminars, workshops, online courses, trainings, conferences, symposia, etc.

At the same time, the CPD system for nurses / siblings needs attention, as the changes introduced in 2018 did not affect them, and the Regulation of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on advanced training of junior medical specialists, which was approved in 1993, is still in force. advanced training courses on the basis of centers of postgraduate education of medical workers and medical education institutions every 5 years. But nurses are constantly looking for opportunities for training and retraining, especially in the face of new epidemiological challenges (such as the COVID-19 pandemic).

Given the changes in legislation that have opened up new opportunities for health professionals on CPD, as well as the demand for quality educational products that take into account international algorithms of primary care and are based on evidence, the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Development of Medical Education” is working to introduction of accessible and modern forms of continuous professional development for medical professionals, as well as contributes to building the capacity of professional associations that can become powerful national providers of CPD. The project will also contribute to the improvement of national legislation in this area, based on international experience and world best practices, as well as provide support to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to establish a national accreditation agency.

  • In 2020, the peer groups initiative for doctors, nurses and health managers has been launched. Peer groups are a modern method of CPD that is available to health professionals in most European countries and consists of regular meetings of health professionals of the same level to discuss complex cases, updated approaches to treatment, other professional issues and situations to ensure continuous improvement of medical quality. assistance, improving the practice of health professionals to provide the highest quality medical services. The project trains peer facilitators – health professionals who will facilitate the establishment, organization and conduct of peer groups at the local level, and provides support to facilitators in the implementation of the initiative (see the Peer Groups section for details).
  • Together with partners, including the Center for Public Health of Ukraine, the Academy of Family Medicine of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Pediatric Specialties, Dobrobut Medical Network and others, the Project is working on developing open online courses (MOOC) on the most relevant topics for primary care professionals: already conducted two seasons of the course on medical care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a course on immunoprophylaxis. In the future, the Project will expand the list of opportunities for online training of primary care professionals (PHC), also paying special attention to the needs of nurses and siblings in training and development of key competencies to provide timely and quality health care.
  • The project also cooperates with professional doctor and nursing associations supporting their initiatives to organize educational events, to develop courses, to disseminate informational materials which can contribute to establishment of professional associations as the key CPD providers for medical professionals. Now the Project successfully cooperates with the Academy of Family Medicine of Ukraine, jointly plan and organize educational events and develop online courses.
  • The project ‘Medical Education Development’ broadens opportunities of international cooperation for CPD system strengthening in Ukraine. International consultants, in particular from Switzerland, provide expert support to the MOH regarding development of CPD system for medical professionals, establishment of accreditation agency, and also participate in educational CPD products implementation.

CPD Project activities