Since 2016, Ronald McDonald House Ukraine has strived to become a catalyst and facilitator for implementing FCC principles in Ukraine. During this time, we have observed a high need for retraining medical professionals so they can provide medical services with a focus on the child and family involved in the treatment process. But it is much more effective to train students at the very beginning of their careers, when they are open to new ideas. To teach them to be compassionate, to understand that the family is an integral part of the process of treating children, to remember that the pain of children and families is not only physical but also psychological, to understand why they are under stress and why it is so important—to work with families toward a common goal—healing sick children.
That is why in 2023, Ronald McDonald House Ukraine, engaging highly qualified medical professionals, developed an educational course for medical education institutions to highlight the theoretical and practical aspects of the family-centered care approach. The training program is successfully implemented at the 2nd largest medical educational institution in Ukraine—Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University.
The course is mandatory for 4th-year students of the medical faculty, specialists of the second (master’s) level of higher education in the specialties “Healthcare,” “Medicine,” “Pediatrics.” Annually, 450 students complete the course.
The course consists of 1 lecture, 3 practical sessions, and 3 sessions for independent work. Before the start of classes, a psychologist familiarized instructors with the psychological aspects of the family-centered care approach. Training materials include a family-centered care presentation for the course and methodological guidelines.
The curriculum includes both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, aimed at gaining experience in quality medical care for children and their families and applying it in practice after graduation.
After completing the course, a survey was conducted among students: they reported a better understanding of the benefits of family involvement during the treatment process and best practices for communicating with families during their children’s hospital stay.
Before training, 17% of students rejected the idea that “doctors should ensure the child and their family stay together in the hospital.” After training, only 7% continued to reject this idea. Also, before the course, 7% of future doctors believed that family participation in the treatment process is an obstacle to treating the child. Later, only 1.7% believed this, which equals a statistical margin of error.
The overall opinion of all students is: “Family-centered care is a very important direction that needs to be implemented.”
