The Ministry of Health of Ukraine initiated expert discussions on implementing the system of continuous professional development of doctors

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine together with a team of experts and representatives from academia, with the support of the American Chamber of Commerce, organized the “Continuous Professional Development of Doctors” Round Table to discuss the new philosophy of continuous professional development (CPD) of health professionals, as well as the development of requirements and criteria for CPD providers. Key aspects of the implementation of the new CPD system were outlined by Oleksandr Linchevskyi, deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine, Inna Sovsun, vice president of the Kyiv School of Economics, and Mladena Kaсhurets, advisor to acting Minister of Health of Ukraine.

The implementation of the new system of continuous professional development of doctors envisages the introduction of innovative approaches to the post-graduate education and training of doctors, their professional development. In addition, the new system will encourage the integration of Ukrainian doctors into the international professional community.

"Finally, the state will officially recognize the knowledge, skills and experience acquired not only through participation in formal events and activities organized by national academies of postgraduate education, but also through training abroad and e-learning. This is the first time we are talking about the actual demonopolization of postgraduate medical education," noted Oleksandr Linchevskyi, deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine.

Inna Sovsun presented the medical education development strategy to the round table participants and pointed to a number of areas requiring priority attention. Mladena Kachurets outlined the legal and regulatory framework for the implementation of the new CPD system and facilitated the CPD System Construction workshop.

The members of the Ministry’s expert groups and respresentatives from academia worked in teams, actively participated in the discussion and made a number of practical recommendations aimed at improving the CPD system, as well as the testing and certification processes and procedures. Particular attention was paid to the introduction of the new scoring system and the development of requirements and criteria for CPD providers – academies of postgraduate education, professional associations, NGOs, etc.

All round table participants agreed that the introduction of the new CPD system will enable doctors to grow as professionals, to continualy improve their performance and raise work standards to best meet the health sector needs, which in turn will contribute to improving the quality of health care and patient services.