EDUCATING FUTURE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS: TEACHING THE ELECTIVE COURSE “CELL TECHNOLOGIES IN MEDICINE”

Abstract

Significant progress in biomedical science over the past decades has led to the rapid development of regenerative medicine. Skillful use of the therapeutic potential of stem cells creates opportunities for treating a range of previously untreatable diseases. Today, the number of regenerative medicine centers is constantly increasing worldwide. Regenerative medicine is rightfully considered the medicine of the future. To provide students with the opportunity to master advanced scientific knowledge in this field, the elective course “Cell Technologies in Medicine” was developed at I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University. This article is dedicated to analyzing the content of this course and the experience of teaching it to the students of Training Program “General Medicine”, specialty 222 “Medicine”. The aforementioned elective course includes 20 hours of training sessions and 70 hours of independent student work. It consists of 10 comprehensive topics covering various aspects of cell technologies, gene therapy, transplantation, bioengineering, and their applications in medicine. Based on a retrospective analysis of elective course data, it is evident that this subject has experienced a significant rise in popularity among students, as indicated by the steady annual increase in the number of students choosing to study “Cell Technologies in Medicine”. This trend underscores the growing recognition of the course relevance and attractiveness, highlighting its effectiveness in imparting valuable scientific knowledge and practical skills to future medical professionals. The course curriculum is built on a competency-based approach to education and aims to engage students in innovative activities and develop their critical thinking skills through a combination of training sessions and the use of online resources. Feedback from students has been predominantly positive, attesting to the elective course ability to provide comprehensive insights into advanced cell technologies and their application in modern clinical practice. In the future, our research efforts will focus on exploring opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange with other universities, both national and international, to further enhance medical education in the field of regenerative medicine. The current possibility for students to create their individual educational trajectories through the elective component paves the way for forming a new generation of qualified and highly knowledgeable medical professionals.