«defects in Medical Care: Types, Causes, Consequences» - A New Elective Discipline in the System of Training Specialists at the Second (Master's) Level of Higher Medical Education: The Experience of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University

Introduction. A significant number of criminal proceedings in cases of improper provision of medical care is routinely initiated by investigators against medical professionals in Ukraine. This indicates insufficient level of knowledge among clinicians concerning their legal status, conditions, causes and consequences of defects in medical care. Aim. Substantiation of the need to introduce into the curricula of medical universities a separate academic discipline dedicated to the problem of medical errors and the principles of their prevention based on the experience of teaching such a discipline in I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University was the goal of the research. Materials and Мethods. The following general scientific methods of cognition were used in the research: cognition, observation and comparison, induction and deduction, analogy and concretization, abstraction and generalization, system analysis and synthesis. Results. Teaching of a new elective discipline «Defects of medical care: types, causes, consequences» has launched in TNMU since 2023-2024 studying year. Practical classes in this discipline were divided into two imaginary blocks: theoretical-educational and practice-oriented. The theoretical and educational block provides for a thorough study of the basic principles of the Ukraine health care legislation by applicants. Using specific examples from forensic-medical practice, future doctors are explained in detail the legal status of the doctor, the causes and consequences of deficiencies in medical care. Practice-oriented block meets the students with typical cases of malpractice in obstetrics, surgery, therapy and anesthesiology. The acquisition of the necessary knowledge and competencies at this stage of training takes place on the example of final judgements in cases of medical negligence, with the active use of interactive technologies of collective-group learning. Conclusions. It is necessary to introduce a separate elective discipline dedicated to defects in medical care and methods of their prevention in the curricula of institutions of higher medical education. The teaching of such a discipline initiated at TNMU forms the necessary professional competencies to prevent medical maloccurrence.