40 disaster medicine specialists have already completed an instructor course in providing prehospital care

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the World Bank continue professional training of medical workers of emergency medical teams as part of a large-scale educational project. The second group of 20 emergency medicine specialists from eight oblasts of Ukraine has already completed the training. 

The training was held in the format of a simulation for instructors of training departments of emergency medical care and disaster medicine centers. 

“Since mid-October, 40 people have already completed face-to-face trainings, where each group learns for a month to become certified instructors in providing prehospital care and train their colleagues on the basis of training departments of emergency medical care and disaster medicine centers in each region. Starting from the beginning of 2023, three more groups will take this course, a total of 100 people,” said Iryna Mykychak, Deputy Minister of Health and coordinator of joint projects with the World Bank. 

The deputy minister also added that we take into account the fact that new instructors have a short experience in educational activities, so we organized the development of thorough methodological materials, in which the instructor's working day is scheduled literally by the minute. We took into account how to build clinical scenarios to reveal each topic, what practical skills should be worked out, and what points are required for discussion. 

Due to this large-scale project, which also provides for online training, professional skills in providing prehospital care, in general, will be strengthened by about 25 thousand specialists in emergency medicine throughout Ukraine. 

Methodological materials have already been developed for instructors in two of the three sections: “Critical Pediatric Patient Management and Extended Resuscitation Measures in Children, Infants (including newborns)” and "Critical Patient Management and Extended Resuscitation Measures in Adults”. 

As part of the course, participants also learn the specifics of the work of emergency medical teams in an aggressive and stressful situations. In addition, such training is an effective way to increase the level of knowledge and prepare our specialists for the challenges of wartime. Especially relevant are the skills of recognizing the mental state of victims and methods of own stress tolerance.

The course is organized on the basis of the simulation training center of I Horbachevsky    Ternopil National Medical University. The training is conducted by trainers who have practical experience in the emergency medicine system and significant teaching experience, as well as certified instructors according to the system recognized in the European Union countries. In particular, among the instructors, there are members of the public organization “All-Ukrainian Council of Resuscitation and Emergency Medical Care” and instructors of the European Council of Resuscitation (ERC). 

It should be recalled that the training of emergency medicine doctors is one of the steps in the implementation of the national program of mental health and psychosocial support, which is being developed on the initiative of the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. Thus, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine engages emergency medicine specialists to participate directly in the program. 

The program aims to provide Ukrainians who suffered as a result of the aggressor's actions with full and effective access to psychological assistance and cope with the consequences of the war.