Doctors, students and resident physicians to receive training in public health emergencies area

A team of trainers from Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova is conducting training courses for students, resident doctors and physicians from the country's public health institutions in order to prepare them to face any kind of epidemic. Recently, on September 9, the first training course for doctors from Briceni District Hospital and Balti Municipal Clinical Hospital has been carried out.

The courses are part of Strengthening Human Resources Capacity in Public Health Emergencies in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic project implemented between December 1, 2020 and November 30, 2021, with the support of Soros Foundation Moldova.

The innovative course focuses on specialized study programs, developed by a team of experts, led by Associate Professor Angela Paraschiv, Head of Epidemiology Discipline, Preventive Medicine Department of ”Nicolae Testemitanu” University, and project coordinator. The courses have already been approved by the responsible structures of the University. The team members have also developed teaching materials according to the topics included in the course and target groups: students, resident physicians or practitioners. To identify the public health emergencies and the necessary actions to be taken, simulation problems have been developed, which are used in the training of resident doctors and practitioners.

According to Associate Professor Angela Paraschiv, training activities are based on elements of simulation of public health emergencies, with the accomplishment of practical tasks. Since the beginning of 2021, 442 students from the Faculty of Medicine No. 1, 368 resident physicians and 15 family doctors from the University Primary Health Care Clinic have been trained. Overall, more than 500 students, 1,000 resident physicians and practitioners are expected to be trained at continuing medical education courses.

”Due to the development of a new curriculum for the training of health  professionals, our system will be much better prepared to deal with pandemics”, stated Liliana Gherman, Director of Public Health Department, Soros Foundation Moldova.

The course program includes topics on: public health emergencies; international management of public health emergencies and assessment of risks of public health emergencies occurrence; control measures based on the results of risk assessment; infections with pandemic potential; standard and additional precautions for the protection of healthcare professionals depending on the risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection; management of waste resulting from medical activity; clinical and rehabilitation features of patients with COVID-19; communication strategies in the management of public health emergencies, etc.

Thus, the training of medical staff in this field will contribute to increasing the capacity to respond quickly and effectively to public health risks and emergencies of national and international importance. As a result of project implementation, it is expected to reduce the spread of diseases with increased long-term infection potential by applying early and effective prevention and control measures. It should be mentioned that, in recent years, over 1500 new pathogens with high spread potential in the human population have been discovered. 70% of them are of animal origin, causing mass contamination and an increased mortality rate.

The project is implemented in partnership with the Association of Medical Students and Residents of Moldova, the National Agency for Public Health, the Epidemiology and Microbiology Scientific Society of the Republic of Moldova, the Society of Hygienists of the Republic of Moldova and the Association of Biosafety and Biosecurity of the Republic of Moldova.

The project has a total budget of 42,117 USD and is funded by the Soros Foundation Moldova.