How a Ukrainian-British Project Opens New Horizons for UzhNU Students in Virtual Consultations

As part of a joint Ukrainian-British project, 6th year students of the School of Medicine of UzhNU have a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the real world of family medicine without leaving the classroom. Since September of this year, the Department of Family Medicine of the Medical Faculty #2 of UzhNU, together with the “InterFamily” Clinic, has been conducting a pilot project on virtual consultations with a family doctor. The goal of the initiative is to bring general clinical practice closer to future doctors by giving them access to real patient counseling in a virtual format.

Thanks to this initiative, future doctors can

• observe the reception of patients of different ages with various diseases in real time;
• participate in the selection of an individual screening, diagnosis, and treatment plan for real patients
• evaluate the capabilities of modern medical gadgets, such as virtual glasses, electronic otoscope and stethoscope;
• discuss complex clinical cases with experienced doctors.

Thanks to the active participation of Kharkiv and Bukovyna State Medical Universities, the project is gaining momentum. To date, eight clinical sessions have already been held. During this semester, they take place every Monday and will soon become an integral part of the educational process.

The project organizers hope that through this initiative, Ukrainian medical students will acquire the skills necessary to work in practical medicine and will be able to provide quality medical care to patients.

Currently, only the SMAD Department of the Medical Faculty #2 of UzhNU and the “InterFamily” Clinic have such a unique set of devices for virtual clinical practices. At the end of the semester, it is planned to ask the British partners to provide virtual medical devices to those universities that have demonstrated the greatest activity within the project.

This project is not only a new format of education, but also an important step in the introduction of innovative technologies in medical training in Ukraine.