Pro-environmental education of medical students in the educational environment

Abstract

Objective — to investigate and improve methodological approaches of ecological upgrading in education; to determine the formation and the attitude towards ecological culture among medical students. Material and methods. Modern data and scientific achievements on the topic were analyzed and processed within contemporary literature. The investigation was held in 2020. 160 medical students in their 1st and 2nd years, who study at the Bukovinian State Medical University, Master’s program, participated in it. We applied such methods as observation, conversation and questioning. Results. The paper highlights main instructional approaches towards the implementation of the health-saving technologies in the educational process of higher educational establishment. The results of the survey showed that the self-assessment of students' level of health-saving competence is high (85%). Medical students realize the importance of promoting a health-saving environment. The overwhelming majority of participants (92%) displayed an outspoken desire to take part in activities that promote their level of a health-saving competence. 69% of students participated in health-saving events. With respect to the specific waste sorting activities, 50% of respondents said that they sometimes sort waste, a fairly large percentage (35%) do not sort, and only 15% pay considerable attention to the garbage sorting. Conclusions. The theoretical and methodological research highlights main issues of environmental education. Instructional approaches to the effectiveness of environmental education in the educational environment are the formation and development of health-saving competence in medical students. The study indicates that the practical realization of the objectives and goals of environmental education in higher education is based on several factors: integration of theoretical knowledge and practical activities of the students in this field; inclusion of ecological aspects in the structure of subject-specific and general topics; usage of problematic teaching methods; inclusion of the extracurricular environmental work into in-class training.