Meeting with the project partners within the mission of Martin Raab, leader of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Medical Education Development”

This week, Martin Raab, leader of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Medical Education Development,” and his colleagues visited higher education institutions and primary healthcare facilities that implement activities in cooperation with our project. 

 On 2 November, he visited the Zhytomyr Medical Institute, the Yuvileiny Primary Healthcare Centre of the Rivne City Council, and the Yuriy Semenyuk Rivne Regional Clinical Hospital. 

 We met with the management of Zhytomyr Medical Institute to discuss priority areas of cooperation, as the university is a pilot institution for our project. We heard that the institution is interested in digitalization, improving teaching skills in the simulation center, and developing training programs for nurses with expanded responsibilities. The colleagues also showed the activities of the simulation center and the new products of the institution, such as a room for teaching newborn care, innovations in the institution, etc. 

 We were pleasantly surprised that the institution is looking for development opportunities and expanding its influence and potential. For example, in partnership with the local administration, it trains teachers to provide first aid and premedical care when needed. It also teaches social workers to support and care for palliative care patients properly. 

“Zhytomyr Medical University has been with us since Phase I of the project. Therefore, it is enjoyable to see how the institution is developing and how various initiatives are being implemented,” sums up Olena Ihnashchuk, Medical Education Coordinator of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Medical Education Development.” 

 At the Yuriy Semeniuk Rivne Regional Clinical Hospital, we met Yuriy Ordynskyi, the Medical Director for Surgery, acting as Chief Medical Officer.  

 The institution is actively implementing initiatives: since September 2023, a new rehabilitation department has been operating, where people with various pathologies in need of rehabilitation services, including the military, can receive services using the most modern methods. The institution has rebuilt the reception area and is actively making repairs to save energy. The bomb shelter, functioning as intended since the first days of the full-scale war, was unexpectedly impressive and now also serves as a highly comfortable space, art gallery, and conference room. The institution’s management invests heavily in developing and training its staff. Almost 70 of the new medical staff are internally displaced persons. 

 The Yuvileyny Primary Healthcare Centre is implementing two activities related to our project: peer groups and a nurse with empowered responsibilities. We met with peer group facilitators and nurses with independent practice. 

 We saw that our colleagues have big and ambitious goals, such as joint training of doctors and nurses, learning foreign languages, developing a career in research, etc. Nurses actively work to overcome prejudice against nurses in the professional community and among patients. 

 “It’s great to see such an open dialogue and productive work between our project and the institutions. We are happy to support all activities that improve healthcare services,” Martin Raab sums up the first day of his mission.

On 3 November 2023, Martin Raab and Olena Ihnashchuk continued their visit mission. First, they visited the Andrey Krupinsky Lviv Medical Academy. 

 During the meeting with the institution’s administration, the rector, Yurii Kryvko, and the vice-rector’s office discussed the project’s impact on the institution’s activities and the changes that have occurred in the educational institution in recent years. In particular, the number of students and study programs has increased significantly, and international cooperation has intensified. 

 The project helps to develop both primary care and rehabilitation and nursing, as well as many elective courses and opportunities for continuous professional development for nurses. In addition, international students are already studying at the institution, and the staff continues to attract foreigners to learn despite the full-scale invasion. The management also discussed the main strategic development directions for the coming years and how our cooperation will contribute. 

 One of the critical approaches to the institution’s participation in our project is to involve students and listen to their initiatives when planning activities. To this end, Martin Raab met with representatives of the student government of the Lviv Medical Academy. We will not disclose the planned activities in advance, but we are only pleased with the activity and ambitiousness of the students’ plans. 

 The second meeting on that day was with Marta Matiushko, Deputy Director of the Department of Humanitarian Policy, Head of the Lviv City Health Department, and Nazariy Kolachynsky, Deputy Head of the Department, Head of the Health Services Monitoring Department. In the first phase of our project, we jointly conducted training for general practitioners – family doctors in Lviv. We were impressed by the department’s attention to data, monitoring before and after indicators, and studying the impact of such training. We will not be surprised that in the case of training in early detection skills, the detection rates of diseases do improve. So, having common goals and trying to improve medical care at the primary level, we are working on planning other educational opportunities for doctors. 

 On the same day, for the first time, Martin Raab visited the new pilot institution, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University. There, he met with the head of the institution, Acting Rector Orest Chemeris, and administration representatives, visited the institution’s simulation center and talked to students and teachers. We are glad to have a new partnership and look forward to productive cooperation! 

 This eventful day ended with a warm meeting with the project partners, GPs Ihor Zastavnyi and Anastasiia Khodan, with whom we have worked closely since the beginning of Phase I, relying on their expertise and professionalism. 

 We are very impressed with their private family medicine outpatient clinic, “Svoi.Ridni“, with its coziness, attention to detail, thoughtfulness in organizing the space, and especially with the vaccine menu. Olena Ihnashchuk could not resist and got a flu shot for the 2023-2024 epidemic season. 

 “I was happy to return to Ukraine, which, unfortunately, I could not do for a long time due to the full-scale invasion. These days were busy with meetings and communication. I am glad to visit our partner institutions and talk to their leaders, doctors, teachers, nurses, and students. I am impressed by how all the institutions we visited, despite the war, find development opportunities, do not stop, and make important changes,” Martin Raab summarises his mission to Ukraine. 

Photo: Zheniia Pedin