On 23 and 24 October, the first national conference ZDRAV-EDU 2023 took place at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, where experts representing educational institutions, health professionals, legislators, health service providers and students of health care disciplines gathered. The event was organised by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, the National Centre of Nursing and Non-Medical Health Professions, the Association of Deans of Medical Faculties of the Czech Republic, the Institute of Health Information and Statistics, the Institute of Postgraduate Education in Health Care and the Association of University Educators of Non-Medical Health Professions. The conference was held under the auspices of the Minister of Health of the Czech Republic, Prof. Vlastimil Válek, MD, CSc., MBA, EBIR.
The first ever national conference officially organized by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic was focused on undergraduate and postgraduate education of health professionals. Both days of the conference were not only packed with interesting expert lectures, but also panel discussions to provide space for sharing information, as well as discussing potential challenges and finding answers to current issues related to education. "I personally am very happy that space was left for representatives of the upcoming generations of health professionals (Young Doctors Association, but also students of non-medical programmes and disciplines from different types of educational institutions (NHS, HEIs and universities). Among the main conclusions of the conference in relation to the education of non-medical health professions is that there is no need for a significant change in the competencies of the graduates of the Nursing School in the field of Practical Nursing, it would be appropriate to revise the competencies of general nurses after graduation from the HEI with regard to the assessment of the quality of care and team management. In terms of systemic changes, the area of a new concept of the composition of nursing teams and the need for modification of the administration of postgraduate education was discussed," says Prof. Andrea Pokorná, PhDr., Ph.D., Vice Dean for Non-Medical Study Programmes and Information Technology at LF MU.
"This is a new meeting platform that we hope will help us reflect the current situation in the health sector into the education of health professionals. Every link of the educational process is important to us. Whether it is the Ministry of Health, health service providers, health workers, students, legislators, counties, cities and other entities. Finding new possibilities and new opportunities with regard to current and expected trends in education will be our primary task", says the Director of the National Centre for Nursing and Non-Medical Health Professions and member of the conference programme committee PhDr. Mgr. Michaela Hofstetrová Knotková, PhD, the Conference and Programme Director.
A significant part of the communication was devoted to analyses of the state of education in health care, staff capacities in health care and strategies of the Ministry of Health in optimizing education. The programme included thematic workshops for the conference participants. For those interested, we organised an excursion to the LF MU Simulation Centre, which is the largest and most modern simulation centre in Europe.
Dr. Jana Djakow and Associate Professor Martina Kosinová from the Department of Simulation Medicine at Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine were the first women in the Czech Republic to receive degrees from international professional societies in the field of resuscitation and anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, respectively.
At the beginning of November, six graduates of the Faculty of Medicine received the Masaryk University Vice-Rector's Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies.
