FEATURES OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS IN HIGHER AND PRE-HIGHER MEDICAL EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN UKRAINE

The article substantiates the relevance of the modernization of higher medical education in Ukraine, which is in a state of transition to European standards. The analysis of existing scientific research and the results of practical research by the authors showed that this process is accompanied by a number of contradictions that arose due to the conflict between existing reforms and real challenges, such as war, resource shortages and system inertia. The main contradictions of the educational process in institutions of higher and pre-higher medical education are identified: the disproportion of the theoretical and practical components of professional training, the imbalance of quantitative and qualitative parameters of medical personnel training, institutional resistance to innovative reforms, the influence of external destabilizing factors on the stability of medical education. The regulatory framework (Strategy for the Development of Medical Education, Medical Guarantees Program from 2025), proposals for key reforms (implementation of a competency-based approach, simulation training, integration of university clinics into the medical guarantees program, continuous professional development) and international partnership were analyzed. Based on the results of a survey of applicants (n=238) and teachers (n=89), low satisfaction with the practical component of training, average satisfaction with the educational process as a whole, and a high risk of staff turnover were confirmed. The needs for further development of medical education were substantiated, thanks to the acceleration of reforms to strengthen practical training, simplifying students’ access to clinical facilities, as well as providing psychological and organizational support to participants in the educational process in the conditions of a full-scale war and overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects for the further development of medical education have been identified through a comprehensive resolution of the identified contradictions, increased funding, and systemic integration of innovative technologies, which will ensure the training of competitive medical specialists capable of working effectively in the modern healthcare system of Ukraine and meeting the challenges of European integration.