From January to May 2026, teams of educators from clinical departments at ten pilot higher medical education institutions attended 11 training sessions on the fundamentals of simulation-based learning. These events became part of the Swiss-Ukrainian project \u00abMedical Education Development\u00bb’s systematic approach to integrating simulation-based methods into the educational process of partner institutions.<\/p>\n
Simulation-based learning was introduced in Ukrainian medical HEIs in response to a problem voiced by both teachers and students: a lack of opportunities to practice clinical skills during institutional studies.<\/em> Previously, the typical approach was to immerse students directly into practice through real patient interaction. Such an approach does not provide a safe learning environment, as a mistake made under those conditions carries a real cost. Meanwhile, students in the early stages of education have not yet mastered skills at a sufficient level to practice safely.<\/p>\n The simulation centre provides a different space: to practice a skill, make a mistake in a safe environment without the fear of causing harm, analyze it, and try again.<\/em><\/p>\n Today, simulation-based learning is integrated not only into the learning process but also into assessment: HEIs must be confident that a student not only knows (which is assessed via oral exams and testing) but also can do. This is precisely why medical students take the OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination). Preparing for it is only possible through practice, and the simulation centre plays a key role here.<\/p>\n In response to these challenges, our project embedded a logic into our work with pilot institutions that involves developing simulation-based learning directly across several levels: infrastructure and equipment, institutional strategy and sustainability of the centre<\/a>, integration into educational programs in the form of simulation sessions within the \u00abGeneral Practice\u2013Family Medicine\u00bb course (the simulation scenarios section in the guide for medical educators \u00abGeneral Practice\u2013Family Medicine\u00bb), and finally, the capacity of teachers to effectively use the simulation centre in the teaching process.<\/p>\n It is this fourth level that became the focus of our series of training sessions.<\/p>\n