Peer groups for family doctors, nurses

Peer groups are a modern method of continuous professional development of medical professionals: doctors, nurses / nurses, health managers, which ensures that the acquired knowledge corresponds to the professional needs, timeliness and accessibility of training to each interested specialist.

Peer groups are regular meetings of a group of specialists at the same level, in other words specialists with the same position – for example, family doctors who, using structured approaches to discussion, analyze professional situations, analyze complex clinical or management cases, share knowledge or share experiences. build professional relationships with colleagues. The goal of the Peer Groups is to continuously improve the quality of medical care, improve the practice of health professionals to provide the highest quality medical services.

Peer groups operate in European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In Switzerland, for example, participation in peer groups is a mandatory requirement for doctors’ BPD.

As a BPD method, Peer Groups have a number of advantages, including:

  • They are problem-oriented and practical: they discuss real problems, practical cases that medical professionals face in everyday practice.
  • All participants are equal: this promotes openness and constructive discussion.
  • Peer groups provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences.
  • Encourage self-study: participants prepare for the meeting.
  • Peer groups contribute to the creation of professional communities through constant communication and cooperation.
  • You can achieve more with a group than on your own

Ukrainian-Swiss project ‘Medical Education Development’ supports implementation and development of peer groups for family doctors, nurses, and health care managers as a part of the updated CPD system in Ukraine. The project trains peer group facilitators – medical professionals, who ensure organization and conduct peer group meetings at the local level. Ukrainian and Swiss specialists are involved in this training. Also, the Project provides supervision and informational support for the participants of this initiative, ensures regular experience exchange and possibility for peer groups to implement their own initiatives.

In the summer 2021 peer groups exist in Chernivtsi, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Kharkiv, Donetsk oblasts and in Kyiv city. The project also cooperates with national and international partners to spread the geography of peer groups all over Ukraine. Since the autumn 2020 peer groups are also being implemented among medical educators in medical HEIs.