MEDICAL EDUCATION IN UKRAINE

The profession of doctor has always been one of the most important and respected in the world. As time went by, this profession required new knowledge regarding the features of the human body and the branch of science needed new discoveries. Ukraine has evolved a tradition of training doctors over centuries, and today the country has a strong academic school known in international scientific circles. Today the Ukrainian medical school and Ukrainian medical education remain the most influential in Europe and worldwide.

In the XX century, medical education and science have undergone the most fruitful period of development. Ukrainian scientists have gained international recognition and actively developed industries such as microbiology, biology and medicine. In the middle of the XX century, Oleksand Bohomolets, a world-famous doctor and pathophysiology researcher, created his own scientific school in Kyiv. Doctor Mykola Amosov made the first mitral valve prosthesis in USSR in Kyiv. He founded the Institute of Cardiovascular Cardiac Surgery, which today is named after this scientist, and is considered one of the best cardiac centers in the world.

Ukrainian medicine continues to move forward. Recently, the famous Ukrainian children’s heart surgeon, Ilya Yemets, made a revolutionary discovery, which, in essence, involves transfusing their umbilical cord blood rather than doctor blood. This not only ensures the safety of the operation itself, but also prevents many diseases that can potentially ne transmitted through blood transfusions. Ukrainian surgeons were the first in the world with this discovery.

Today, there are medical school departments at clinics and doctors often combine their professional practice with teaching. An internship is mandatory requirement to practice medicine. This regards post-graduate education and takes place through a combination of full-time study at the university and an internship at the clinic.

After graduating from an internship, which depends on specialty and lasts from one to three years, the physician is entitled to practice medicine. Such a requirement is part of Ukraine’s medical education system.

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