Problems of Medical Education and Implementation of Digital Learning Model in Training Future Physicians in Specialty "Internal Diseases" During Covid-19 Pandemic and Full-Scale War in Ukraine

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, and later a full-scale war in Ukraine brutally disrupted the well-established traditional medical training not only for university students, but for postgraduates as well. The new limitations of physical presence have accelerated the development of teaching and learning in an online environment that includes both asynchronous and synchronous methods of distance education and the introduction of new techniques to provide new knowledge and foster special skills. Today, following the path of improvement, in which the principle of imitation is the leading one and can cause physical and intellectual stress is not necessary, instead searching for new, more effective methods of educational and cognitive activity of students, which shape the needs of society is becoming a priority. Distance learning methods have passed through a number of technological stages, which, in the end, enable to obtain proper medical education even under the conditions of distancing. Today, asynchronous learning is based mainly on the use of Internet technologies. Independent work during asynchronous learning becomes a starting point, an organizing principle, and a central, leading form of student’s training. Therefore, it is asynchronous distance learning that creates the most effective pedagogical conditions to foster self-education and self-learning abilities and skills in medical interns. The unpredictability of the current predicament causes a rapid and forced transition from the traditional (analogue) method of learning and teaching to a more digital-advanced model, even in conditions where the use of digital tools was not so widespread. The implementation of the digital model should act as a new "stepping stone" for the success of evidence-based medical education in the future. At the same time, this ongoing crisis has serious consequences on medical training, including their psychological well-being and the impact on their academic trajectory. The urgency and the need to adapt to new circumstances were so-called a springboard for introducing innovation into medical education.