Educational Program for Oncological Specialists

In April we finished a field study of our educational project.

During 4 month we have done:

- Interviews and meetings, have reached preliminary agreements from participation in the program with more than 25 doctors, clinics, foundations, educational institutions and government officials.

- Analysis of successful and unsuccessful cases of educational programs in Ukraine and abroad

- Analysis of relevant scientific publications in the field of medical education (which techniques are effective and why)

- Sphere analysis (how the system works, what are the opportunities and barriers in the training of physicians, which the problems in the field of children's oncology can be solved also through access to training).

According to our findings we decided:

1. Provide access to existing high-rated educational programs (focus on practical workshops, big conferences and internships) both in and out-of-country

2. Organize own practical seminars for doctors and nurses with different specializations in oncology (onco-hematology, sarcomas, brain tumors, solid tumors, retinoblastomas, palliative care, unrelated bone marrow transplantation).

3. Create and conduct customized on-site training programs (simulations) with focus on pain control, ‘childhood in hospitals’, communication skills

4. Provide access to subscription to high-rated scientific periodicals with partial translation (recommended/requested materials)

5. Advocacy (GR) on the access of physicians to the education and systematic training of nurses in oncology, including: a training center for nurses (in Okhmatdyt or National Cancer Institute), English language courses.

It is important for medical professionals to get assistance in training that is relevant to their demands. For doctors, these are, in particular, issues of intensive care, antibacterial, antifungal therapy and prevention; issues of preservation of enteral feeding in severe and critical conditions (tube feeding); issues of personalized therapy in pediatric hematology and oncology; trainings in conducting clinical studies in which many hospitals do not participate because of insufficient knowledge in this field; traineeships; training in communications and writing scientific works in international peer-reviewed journals, grant applications for training.

For nurses, these are issues of handling venous catheters, mediports, transfusiology issues, training in prevention of fungal infections, catheter-associated infections, correct and effective organization of the work of a nursing team, trainings in communication and writing grant applications for training, learning English.

Ward chiefs also need trainings in team and change management,organization of work, reporting and fundraising, as well as traineeships.

It is necessary to create own program to solve specific problems in pediatric oncology as not all existing options are suitable and available for this. The interviewed stakeholders are sure that qualitative changes within a ward are possible only subject to the willingness of the management, that will implement changes and new algorithms and make them mandatory (control of implementation), as well as subject to holding simulated training of the entire team of doctors and nurses. This is also confirmed by the existing scientific research and experience of successful educational programs.

Also, this year, we have already paid for participation in practical seminars and a profile congress or helped with transportation costs to 6 neurosurgeons. For example, at the end of January, two neurosurgeons - Mikhail Lovga from Volyn Oblast Children's Hospital and Vadim Zyabchenko from NDSL Okhmatdit visited a three-day course on Neuroendoscopy in Naples. The organizational fees for 650 Euros were paid by our fund as part of the educational program.

Neuroendoscopy is a modern technique for treating tumors of the brain, hydrocephalus, cystic formations. Michael and Vadim said after the internship they will more widely use neuroendoscopic techniques in their everyday practice. Much of the surgery will be less traumatic for children, and their duration in hospital will be shortened.

New personal acquaintances with leading neurosurgeons from Western Europe, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, and Turkey will also help. We will be able to receive distance counseling to determine the best tactics for treating children, we will have more training in the best clinics in the world, - says Vadim Zyabchenko.

Thanks to your donations, we can pay for doctors to participate in important upgrade activities. And this means that more and more patients receive high-quality treatment in Ukraine, and not abroad. That is much cheaper and more convenient for families.