Workshop «Educational Sciences», Section No. 5

V.M. Tsyrkunov, M.I. Bogutski

Educational Institution « Grodno State Medical University», Grodno

Educational process at the clinical department of the medical university aligned with innovative development approach

        

         Innovative development approach to the educational process in the Republic of Belarus has been recognized as a topical and foreground task of the socioeconomic advancement of the state (Decree No7 by the President of the Republic of Belarus, March 05, 2003). Reorganization of public health system in the Republic of Belarus,  application of new technologies to diagnostic and treatment process have required  essential improving in training specialists of higher medical qualification. Innovative training is a process and a result of such educational activities that stimulate introduction of innovative changes into the existing traditional teaching methods as well as into the forms and methods of inspection of the educational process quality. Training of highly qualified specialists meeting the current requirements of practical health service is a challenging task as it is essential  to train not only theoretically and practically well-advanced physicians but to rear an integrated creative personality with a sense of doctor’s and civic duty.

         Training of highly qualified physicians in the first place depends on the professionalism of lecturers, their creative attitude to the subject they teach, as it is the teacher at the medical university who directs the students to develop and self-develop their abilities and forms their attitude to studies and to doctor’s duty. (A.N. Kosinets et al, 2004)

         The Department of Infectious Diseases with the Subdepartment of Children’s Infections at the Grodno State Medical University has got sufficient material, educational and methodological resources; it is equipped with a local computer network, its own computer classroom, and provided with the access to the Internet. The academic staff includes 11 lecturers among these there are 2 professors, 5 associate professors, 4 assistant lecturers; two of the latter obtain the scientific degree of the Candidate of Medical Sciences (Ph.D.). All this promotes the high quality organizational, scientific, teaching and methodological level of the educational process. 5 disciplines: Infectious Diseases, Children’s Infections, Epidemiology, Hospital Diseases, Tropical and Parasitogenic Disorders are taught at 4 Faculties (General Medicine, Pediatrics, Medical Psychology, Medical Nurses with Higher Education) and at the Faculty of Foreign Students as well.

         Aligned with the innovative development approach, the combination of traditional methods with current interactive technologies of teaching is employed in the educational process at the clinical department. This allows not only to adopt the information provided by a lecturer but also to find answers to the questions independently. Active students’ independent knowledge acquisition is highly appreciated and encouraged. This promotes the development of an integrated, creatively thinking personality within the system of continuous education. The educational process ensuring education continuity is realized by the employment of three components:

·       traditional educational resources (lectures, practical classes, presentations, patterns, video films, etc.);

·       self-educational resources requiring lecturer’s participation (distance education, controlled independent students’ work, results control);

·       autonomous educational resources, which do not necessitate teacher’s participation (multimedia course for independent education, electronic versions of textbooks and educational manuals, Internet-resources).

         Distance learning and education are the new effective forms of educational process organization, but in Medical Universities, their exact role and place have not been determined yet.

         Together with wide-spread introduction of new forms and methods into education, the education quality control, adequate students’ knowledge assessment and their practical skills evaluation as well as the alignment of the graduates’ training level with the educational standards become of great importance. The three-stage system of students’ knowledge and practical skills assessment has been introduced and approved at our Department. The final assessment of students’ knowledge in the discipline is based on the principle of accumulation of knowledge and marks at the interim stages in accordance with all the constitutive criteria, which are assessed   separately during the process of education, starting from the first visit to the clinic (Department). The assessment and registration of students’ current progress is made. The obtained marks are documented in the electronic register of the students’ performance (original version). The achieved knowledge assessment through the borderline and final computer-based testing is the total of several important components – the quality of preparedness for practical classes, creative purposeful work of students in the clinic, adopting lecture materials, the work with textbooks and recommended supplementary literature. Borderline testing makes it possible for the teacher to make some adjustment in the teaching methods during the educational process, to improve the availability of material presentation considering the outcomes of test control, and students themselves can make adequate conclusions about the actual levels of their knowledge. Final testing, in its turn, which is held at the last practical class reflects the level of mastering of the whole materials and allows to avoid inadequate assessment of the students’ knowledge, the latter being possible at the examination interview by the teacher. (V.M. Tsyrkunov et al, 2005).

         The written examination on the definite subject allows evaluating the answers to the questions of the examination cards objectively and implies the possibility to give a separate mark for solving situation tasks that are by maximum similar to real situations typical of general practitioner medical practice.

         Controlled independent work of students (CIW) includes taking patients’ complaints, obtaining past and epidemiological histories, mastering the methods of objective examination of infectious patients, making plans of laboratory and instrumental investigations and treatment, and implies making training case histories, solving situation tasks and filling the reporting documents. On every chapter of CIW the separate mark is given, that allows conducting the monitoring of the extent and quality of the essential practical skills mastering.

         Final examination mark is the average value of the sum of marks that were got during the academic year (storing system): written examination, average mark for students’ academic progress, marks for making training case histories, for practical skills, solving situation tasks and passing the final test.

         Conclusion. As we see it, the conception of educational process aligned with the innovative development approach implemented in the Clinic for Infectious Diseases allows using both traditional and innovative technologies to improve the quality of training specialists with higher medical education. The implemented methods of students’ knowledge evaluation, continuous and effective monitoring of academic progress assessment, quality and extent of practical skills mastering allow more objective students’ knowledge control during the written examination and improvement of the quality of further doctor’s training in disciplines taught at the Department. 

 

 

 

Authors

1. Tsyrkunov, Vladimir Maksimovich, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases with the Subdepartment of Children’s Infections at  the Educational Institution «Grodno State Medical University», Prof., Dr.Sc. (Medicine)

phone: +375(152) 43-42-86

e-mail: tvm111@mail.ru

2. Bogutski, Mikhail Ivanovich, Associate Professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases with the Subdepartment of Children’s Infections at  the Educational Institution «Grodno State Medical University», Associate Professor, Cand. Sc. (Medicine).

phone: +375(152) 43-42-84

e-mail: ts53@grsmu. by

         tvm111@mail.ru

 

            Adress: Åducation Institution Grodno State Medical University”,

            80, Gorkogo st. 230009 city of Grodno