Population: 45 905 341 (April 2010).

Ethnic composition: Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8%.

Territory: 603,700 km² (the second largest in Europe, slightly smaller than Texas), mostly consisting of fertile steppes (plains) and plateaus. The only mountain chains are the Carpathians in the west and the Crimean Moun­tains in the extreme south.

Borders: Belarus 891km, coastline (Black and Azov Seas) 2,782km, Hungary 103km, Moldova 939km, Poland 526km, Romania (south) 169km, Romania (west) 362km, Russia 1,576km, Slovakia 97km.

Rivers: Dnipro (1,204km), Dnister, Donets, Bug, Danube.

Highest point: Mount Hoverla 2,061m.

Capital: Kyiv, population - 2785976

Local time: All of Ukraine is in the Eastern European Time zone (GMT +2), along with its neighbouring countries Belarus, Romania and Turkey. Thus, when it is 12:00 in Kyiv, it is 13:00 in Moscow, 11:00 in Paris and Warsaw, 10:00 in London and 05:00 in New York.

Ukrainian Health System is undergoing the process of massive organizational reformation to general practice/family medicine.

GP programme was established in Ukraine in 1996.

Current number of GPs - about 10000.

The number of trainees - each year about 100.

GP vocational training is conducted by 17 departments of General practice of Ukrainian Medical Universities

The main establishment of vocational training is Institution of Family Medicine (in structure of National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education)

There are about 400 establishments of primary care, including the GP practices in Ukraine.

Ukrainian GP Vocational Training carries out in two ways:

- two years-program after receiving the diploma of medical doctor (internship is equivalent to residency).

- 6 months program of respecialisation for doctors with other specialities.

Getting into Vocational Training

After finishing the medical university (6 years of studying) students receive the state distribution and decision about their future vocational training depend on needs of health system, usually it is GP/FM.

The education of the most of students and trainee is paid by government, and some of them receive their education by the contract.

GP Vocational Training consists of 10 months of curriculum at university and 12 month at GP practice by the control of GP supervisor (1^st year - 6 month of curriculum at university and 5 month in GP practice, 2^nd year - 4 month of curriculum at university and 7 month in GP practice)

Curriculum of GP Vocational Training carries out by academic institutions (universities or academies of postgraduate education) at faculties and departments of General Practice / Family Medicine, which are placed at clinical hospitals and the practices of general practitioners.

Curriculum has compulsory rotations:

Internal Diseases (Cardiology, Pulmonology, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Haematology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Oncology), Paediatrics, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Dermatology, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Othorhinolaryngology, Tuberculosis, Urology, Infection diseases, Psychiatry, Organisation of health system etc.

After each part of rotation GP trainees have some tests.

Before finishing the vocational training there are 2 exams:

- test-control in computer

- interviewing (includes theory and practical skills)

Life as a GP

· GP education is continuous professional and uninterrupted. GPs have to improve their knowledge constantly.

· GPs can take some courses in different fields to make deeper their knowledge and skills (diabetes, diagnostic, etc)

· Each 5 year GPs have to prove or to improve their qualification by attestation.

· GPs can receive the narrow specialisation after the professional training (othorhynolaryngology, endocrinology, cardiology, etc).

· GPs can continue their education and improve their status by receiving the PhD qualification after making and protection of the dissertation.

· GPs are the members of Ukrainian Association of GPs, which is a member of Wonca Europe and Wonca (the president of Ukrainian Association is professor Lysenko G.I.). The association holds the annual conferences for GPs and monthly meetings.

· Each GP can subscribe to the professional journals. There are 2 medical journals for GPs in Ukraine (the publisher is National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, Institute of Family Medicine).

National Exchange Coordinator for the Ukraine 

Dr Victoria Tkachenko (witk@ukr.net)