Peculiarities of teaching “Psychiatry and narcology” to english-speaking students: basic problems and solutions

Abstract

The integration of the Ukrainian educational system into the world of educational space is a complex, multi-vector process requiring in-depth reform. The purpose is an analysis of the educational process of English-speaking students at the Department of “Psychiatry, Narcology and Psychotherapy with a Postgraduate Education Course”. The peculiarity of the educational process of English-speaking foreign students is that it includes a number of difficulties: the language barrier and difficulties of adapting to the new pedagogical system, social-cultural and mental differences of foreign students, lack of English literary sources on psychiatry, impossibility of direct communication with patients without an interpreter. To overcome the language barrier the discipline is taught in English. Foreign English-speaking students are involved in student scientific and practical conferences together with native students. Multimedia presentations, scientific videos, clearly demonstrating various psychopathological symptoms and nosology, are used to improve understanding and learning of the material. The individual approach to every student, improvement of the motivation level and stimulation of independent extracurricular training is an important principle of the educational process. For this purpose methodical recommendations have been developed and individual students' consultations are provided. For the formation of a doctor's clinical thinking the extended clinical situational tasks are used, cure and clinical discussions of patients with different psychic pathologies are held. Thus, the process of teaching of the discipline “Psychiatry and Narcology” to English-speaking students of the 4th course successfully combines both traditional and modern innovative teaching methods.