Interdisciplinary Integration as a Main Factor іn the Development of Clinical and Professional Thinking of Students of Medical Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine
Authors:   Poltava State Medical University, Department of Histology, Cytology and Embryology. 23, Shevchenko St., Poltava 36039, Ukraine, Shepitko V. I. , Sherstyuk O. O. , Boruta N. V. , Tykhonova O. O. , Tarasenko Ya. A. , Skotarenko T. A. , Levchenko O. A. 
Published: February 2023

The purpose of the study was to reveal the essence of an integrated approach to teaching fundamental disciplines as a key factor in the professional training of medical students. Materials and methods. Analysis, generalization and systematization of scientific and methodological literature were used in the study. Results and discussion. Integration significantly changes the content and structure of modern scientific knowledge, intellectual and conceptual capabilities of certain sciences. It is the most important means of achieving the unity of knowledge in the content, structural, scientific, organizational, and pedagogical aspects. Integration in the fundamental fields arose on the background of differentiation of sciences and detailing of specialties, the growing amount of knowledge and requirements for it in each individual field. Integration between academic disciplines is aimed at deepening the interconnections between subjects and is a way to improve it. The interdisciplinary integration of basic disciplines in higher medical institutions provides for a unified approach of the teaching staff of different disciplines to solving common educational problems based on the generalization of knowledge by students. Histology, cytology, embryology and human anatomy as disciplines that study the structure and morphological variations of the human body are perceived from the viewpoint of modern science as the basis of medicine, physiology and pathology, which has been gradually formed since ancient times and up to the current day. Such a close relation between the micro- and macro-structure of the body is consistent and logical in the study of two fundamental disciplines, it becomes possible to transfer theoretical knowledge, practical skills and abilities from one discipline to another. Creating interdisciplinary connections contributes to deeper learning and repetition of previously studied material, and properly organized integration plays both an educational and an upbringing role. The interdisciplinary integration of two fundamental disciplines such as Histology, Cytology and Embryology with Human Anatomy is a necessary component of the training of a future doctor. The use of such interdisciplinary technologies for training a doctor allows to raise him/her to a qualitatively new level of clinical thinking, capable of solving the problems of medical practice in a comprehensive manner based on the wide integration of information from various disciplines. Conclusion. Interdisciplinary integration helps to increase the professional motivation of students in the first and second years of studies in higher medical education, deepens their knowledge in specialized disciplines, activates the cognitive activity of students, promotes the formation of their competencies and improves the quality of knowledge, skills and abilities