Features of preparation of foreign students for taking objective structured practical (clinical) examinations in a combined learning format

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of a full-scale military invasion, the opportunities for conducting offline training at the medical university have significantly decreased. This made it necessary to find mechanisms to ensure the continuity of medical education of students for all disciplines in general and “Hygiene and Ecology” in particular. Another new challenge was introducing a new form of final exams for university graduates, which also required students and teachers to focus on preparing for this format of knowledge control. This defined the objectives of this study to analyze and summarize the peculiarities of prepar- ing international students for taking an objective structured practical (clinical) examination (OSP(C)E-2) in the “Hygiene and Ecology, Healthcare Organization” station, in the context of combined (distance and in-person) learning. Materials and methods: Informational data on training organization systems, filling of training platforms, video hosting, and messengers, the results of intermediate controls of students’ knowledge during the exam (3rd year) and final module control (6th year), and final graduation control (OSP(C)E-2) are used as research material.