DISTANCE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES IN POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION AS A MEANS OF TEACHING NURSES IN THE CONDITIONS OF COVID-19

At the present stage of healthcare system development, due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, postgraduate education of specialists with secondary vocational medical education is undergoing significant changes. Nurses are faced with new realities of our time — training on additional professional training programs with the use of distance learning technologies. The use of distance learning in the implementation of the educational process is an effective mechanism of postgraduate education, which contributes to the formation of a high level of general and professional competencies, as well as a productive career model of a medical worker. A characteristics of nurses training in the conditions of COVID-19 was the intensification of the use of distance learning technologies, which ensures the availability of education, creating the opportunity to maintain and improve their professional level regardless of location and at a convenient time, in turn reducing the number of social contacts of students, expanding geographical boundaries, covering a large number of specialists. The specific features of medical education are that the main part of the competencies being improved and formed is inextricably linked with forms of training that requires personal presence, for example, practical manipulations and communication skills. Therefore, to implement the complex of basic characteristics of postgraduate education of secondary medical workers, elements of e-learning and distance learning technologies are introduced and used together with the development of practical skills, using the innovative approach “education–science–practice”, taking into account the modern development of advanced medical science technologies and the priority of patient safety. Distance learning technologies in postgraduate training of medical workers allow us to effectively solve current educational tasks, taking into account the needs of the healthcare system.