Three round tables with the Ministry of Health: a conversation on training healthcare managers

In March 2026, we held a series of three online round tables in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Each meeting focused on a specific area of training for healthcare managers and together they formed a comprehensive discussion on how this training is organised today, where the gaps lie, and what needs to be changed. 

Management competence in medicine is a topic that has long been sidelined in sectoral discussions. Yet the quality of managerial decisions does not only determine the effectiveness of a particular institution, but also how the healthcare system functions as a whole. This is why these meetings were so important: they provided an opportunity for people working on this issue from various angles – universities, continuing professional development (CPD) providers and government institutions – to come together in one place and speak openly. 

19 March. Education Healthcare in Management: Master’s Programmes and CPD 

The first meeting brought together representatives of Master’s programmes in healthcare management and public administration, providers of continuing professional development programmes focusing on leadership and managerial competences, as well as industry experts. 

At the heart of the discussion was a question rarely raised in public: do existing training formats truly prepare managers capable of working within the real-world conditions of the healthcare system? The participants discussed which approaches have proven effective and which remain merely formal; the barriers that programmes and their graduates face in practice; the experience that has already been gained; and what aspects of this experience are worth scaling up.  

A separate topic was collaboration among universities, CPD providers and state institutions: what form this could take and why it often remains non-systemic today. 

24 March. Organisation and Management of Health Care: Specialisation Cycles 

The second round table focused on specialisation cycles, a training format that exists outside master’s programmes and is aimed at professionals already working within the system. The representatives from the faculties and institutes of postgraduate education at higher education institutions offering such courses joined the discussion. 

The key issues discussed at the meeting concerned the alignment of programmes with the system’s actual needs: is what is taught on specialisation cycles truly needed by healthcare institution managers today? Which teaching approaches yield the best results, and which have long since become obsolete? What barriers – organisational, resource-related or regulatory – are hindering high-quality training? The participants also shared their accumulated experience and achievements of their programmes, seeking common ground and opportunities for more coordinated work. 

25 March. Organisation and Management of Pharmacy: Specialisation Cycles 

The third meeting followed a similar structure, but the focus was on training managers for the pharmaceutical sector. Pharmacy has its own specific characteristics: the regulatory environment, supply chains, interaction with the healthcare system — and all of this requires managers with an understanding of the sector-specific context, rather than just general management tools. 

The participants discussed the extent to which existing specialisation programmes meet these needs, which teaching approaches work in a pharmaceutical context, and how to strengthen the role of such programmes in developing professionals capable of working effectively in today’s environment. 

The ultimate aim of the round tables was to gather and systematise existing experience and to try to formulate a shared vision of how to further develop management education in healthcare. 

The series of round tables was organised by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine with the support of the Ukrainian-Swiss Project “Medical Education Development”.