How the Azov School 2025 Went

On 3–5 October, the annual Azov School took place — a large-scale, intensive educational course for primary care professionals that the Academy of Family Medicine of Ukraine has been organising since 2019. For the sixth year running, the Ukrainian-Swiss “Medical Education Development” Project has been a partner supporting the event.

Recordings of all the School’s sessions are available at the following link: https://bit.ly/3ILhkZe. The programme combined topical sector discussions, worldview talks, and intensive hands-on training:

• Vaccination and calendar changes: The three-day programme opened with a talk by Fedir Lapiy on the updated vaccination calendar, problematic issues, and international experience.
• Frontline experience: Military doctors Maryna Khalimonenko and Agar Artsymovych shared their observations on service life and the position of women in the Ukrainian armed forces.

• Legal aspects: Lawyer Roksolana Lemyk (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) outlined key legal nuances in medical practice.

• Culture and values: Professor Nataliia Kryvda (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) delivered a rich lecture on the interconnection between medicine, culture, and values.

On the final day, participants took part in sector discussions on AFMU’s advocacy activities and on building effective interaction within medical institutions.

An important part of the programme consisted of remarkably applied trainings: from Mariia Nazarova (bleeding control), Oleksandr Arkhipov and Roman Barnich (BLS+AED), Fedir Lapiy and Iryna Voloshyna (vaccination), Vadym Vus and Enesh Byashmuradova (“Wound Healing: Low-Pressure Therapy,” as well as fundoscopy), Valeriia Leonova and Volodymyr Panov (cervical cancer screening), Larysa Borysenko (colostomy bags), and Anna Chervona (catheters).

Finally, here are a few examples of what primary care professionals plan to put into practice after attending the Azov School:

“I always used to be afraid of inserting a urinary catheter. Now I have the skills and a portable ultrasound machine, so I feel confident before the procedure. I will talk with patients about the importance of HPV vaccination.”

“I plan to share my knowledge with colleagues, properly plan vaccinations for enrolled patients, inform patients with pressure wounds about VAC, write a post, and encourage friends, colleagues, and patients to donate blood.”

We thank all the participants, speakers, moderators, and organisers for three days of incredible comfort — both psychological and intellectual.