ROLE OF INDEPENDENT WORK IN DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF MEDICAL SPECIALISTS

Abstract

Current global trends in the medical services market are creating new requirements for the quality of medical training. First of all, graduates of medical educational institutions should be guided in the latest technologies of medical science, be prepared to develop and implement scientific achievements in the system of practical health care. The assistance and quidance of future specialists in acquiring a high level of professional competencies, along with the fostering moral, emotional, and volitional qualities, life values and professional orientation, clinical thinking, are priority tasks of a modern higher medical school. The educational and scientific environment of a medical university provides great opportunities for successful professional and personal growth of specialists, however, the ever-increasing amount of knowledge and information requires the intensification of the learning process, and well-planned and organized tasks for students’ independent work is one of the forms of the effective learning strategy. In the context of the ECTS implementation, this form of learning is able to provide an independent search for the necessary information, creative perception and comprehension of educational material in the classroom and extracurricular time, the development of analytical skills and critical thinking. The effectiveness of independent work depends both on the organization of classes and the nature of the teacher’s influence, and on the self-organization of the student. The key to the success of this learning form also consists in a reasonable ratio between the volumes of class work and independent work, providing the student with the necessary methodological materials for independent work, conducting individual consultations, maintaining motivation among students. The tasks for independent work should include two levels of tasks: basic tasks, which are obligatory for everyone, and more advanced tasks, which based on deep understanding and mastering the basics. The article provides a theoretical justification and some aspects of the practical implementation of students' independent work at the Department of Histology, Cytology and Embryology, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University as one of the sources for improving the medical training quality.