Intensive educational course on the development of nurses` competencies in primary care

An intensive educational course on developing the competencies of nurses in primary care was held in Zhytomyr from April 15 to 17.

For three days, the course participants studied, practiced new skills, communicated with trainers and colleagues, and shared their experiences.

Ihor Zastavnyi is a co-founder and member of the Board of the Academy of Family Medicine of Ukraine, co-owner, and doctor of the family clinic in Svoi.Ridni helped the participants improve communication with patients and learn the specifics of psychosocial interventions.

This workshop was included in the program so that nurses could learn how to build trusting relationships with patients during reception, recognize the manifestations of diseases in time, facilitate the patient’s treatment process, reduce stress, and increase social support for patients.

“Why is communication so important? For example, diagnosing and treating diseases is a complex process, but we can always look at clinical guidelines or recommendations. Contrary to communication that should be only trained! And this is 60-80% of the success of interaction with the patient,”

emphasizes Igor.

Together with Oleksiy Kovzhun, a media analyst and communicator, the group learned crisis communication skills with patients. Trust between healthcare professionals and patients is extremely important, as without it, all efforts can be in vain.

“Crisis is a part of our lives. Anyone who learns to deal with crises and benefit from them is invincible. When a patient trusts a nurse, he feels safe and can openly discuss his problems, symptoms, or fears. And the nurse, in turn, can help and support them,”

says Oleksiy.

A trusting relationship also improves patient compliance with treatment: the patient is more willing to follow all recommendations regarding medication, lifestyle changes, etc.

Anna Sohan, a family doctor and peer group facilitator at Svoi.Ridni helped with the intricacies of managing common chronic diseases. Namely, the ability to quickly record the impact of the disease on the patient’s condition, the ability to see “red flags” in time and diagnose the disease in the early stages, the ability to manage, support and adequately counsel patients with the most common chronic diseases: understanding the course of the disease, the patient’s needs, depending on the patient’s history, etc.

“Confidence in the management of non-communicable diseases opens up new opportunities for nurses, allowing them to make a significant contribution to improving the health of the nation and at the same time relieve the country’s medical system,”

Anna notes.

The participants learned how to perform and analyze ECGs from Antonina Mozharivska, head of the Zhytomyr Medical Institute’s Educational Training Center.

“Electrocardiography is not just a routine diagnostic test that most nurses and doctors have probably performed. It is the language of the human heart, which tells about its condition and asks for help in case of problems. The task of medical professionals is to be able to understand it and respond promptly,”

says Antonina. Everyone in the group had the opportunity to perform the procedure, analyze the findings and discuss the intricacies of using this method for diagnosis.

And that’s not all. The participants also took master classes:

1. The basics of dermatoscopy, conducted by Vadym Stefanovych, dermatologist, pediatric dermatologist, and podiatrist at the Medical Center “Vidnovnovannia”;
2. The use of digital tools in the practice of a nurse and the basics of otoscopy under the mentorship of Igor Zastavnyi.

Finally, they practised assisting in case of emergency together with Antonina Mozharivska and Alla Varych, assistant professor of Nursing and first-category lecturer of surgical disciplines at the Zhytomyr Medical Institute.

The event was held in Zhytomyr with the support of the Zhytomyr Medical Institute.