Training standards for doctors and dentists - regulation signed

The revised standards will be effective from the 2024/2025 academic year.

According to the Ministry of National Education, the purpose of the amendment to the regulation on the standards of education preparing to practice the professions of doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, midwife, laboratory diagnostician, physiotherapist and paramedic in the part concerning the profession of doctor and dentist is to ensure the highest possible quality of education. The change in regulations is also due to new challenges facing modern medical higher education.

The changes take into account the need to implement the action on medical personnel included in the multi-year program entitled National Oncology Strategy for 2020-2030, the need to increase the size of classes forming practical skills and expand the catalog of learning outcomes in the skills category, including those related to professional communication with patients and their families and communication in a team, as well as the need to update learning outcomes in the context of ongoing progress in the scientific discipline - medical science.

The regulation was signed by the Minister of Education and Science in consultation with the Minister of Health. The issues agreed upon by the ministers were considered particularly important in terms of ensuring the highest possible quality of education and meeting the expectations of the medical and medical-dental student community:

1. Compulsory standardized exam (OSCE) in the sixth year of study in the field of medicine and the fifth year of study in the field of medicine and dentistry;
2. classes that enable the achievement of learning outcomes in class group H (practical clinical teaching) will be implemented during the sixth year of study in the field of medicine and the fifth year of study in the field of medicine and dentistry in groups of no more than 5 students, and in the case of the field of medicine when their implementation in such groups will not be possible - they can be implemented in groups of no more than 8 students;
3. in the course of training in clinical sciences (class groups E and F), at least 5% of the total number of hours of classes are carried out in simulated clinical conditions, in addition, classes that enable the achievement of learning outcomes in class group H (practical clinical teaching in the sixth year of study in the field of medicine and in the fifth year of study in the field of medicine and dentistry) may be carried out in simulated clinical conditions, but no more than 10% of the hours of these classes;
4. education to achieve the learning outcomes of patient communication and teamwork and communication will be provided by academics or other persons who have completed studies whose curriculum specified learning outcomes in medical communication or have completed training in medical communication, or have at least five years of experience in teaching medical communication;
5. The minimum number of hours of organized instruction for learning outcomes in the standard preparing to practice medicine will be:
   • Morphological Sciences - 270,
   • Scientific basis of medicine - 465,
   • Preclinical Sciences - 525,
   • Behavioral and social sciences with elements of professionalism and communication, taking into account the idea of humanism in medicine - 240,
   • Non-surgical clinical sciences - 1120,
   • Clinical treatment sciences - 940,
   • Legal and organizational aspects of medicine - 90,
   • Practical clinical teaching in the sixth year of study - 900,
   • Apprenticeships - 600.

Source: MEN