The tasks related to the reforming of healthcare and laboratory medicine in Ukraine requires a qualitative improvement of the system of laboratory services specialists’ training, bachelors in particular. The field of laboratory medicine is developing rapidly, new methods and technologies of diagnostics are constantly being implemented, modern equipment is being used; all these require the involvement of highly professional specialists. Reliability and speed of diagnosis, monitoring of treatment depends on the efficiency of specialists in laboratories of different profiles. The increasing level of tasks for laboratory medicine can only be achieved with the help of highly skilled staff. The training of future specialists in laboratory medicine should provide for their personal development through the development of moral and professional characteristics. Graduates should be prepared to solve tasks and problems in their professional activities independently and effectively, constantly strive for professional growth and creative self-realization. The formation of the professional competence of future bachelors of laboratory medicine is a multifactor phenomenon that affects their personal and professional development, and the value sphere of an individual should be the guideline regulating the activities of medical workers.
Strengthening the requirements for the professional competence of future bachelors of laboratory medicine leads to an increase in the quality of their training, the review of the content of training, and the introduction of effective pedagogical technologies.
The problem of future specialists’ professional competence formation in psychological and pedagogical literature is considered. The author defines the concept of «professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine» as an integrative characteristic of a personality covering the values of mastering the profession, professionally significant knowledge, skills, and a set of personal qualities reflecting the readiness to effectively carry out future professional activities, as well as self-development and self-improvement.
The theoretical principles of formation of professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine are substantiated basing on the provisions of the competence, systemic, axiological, humanistic, activity, and context approaches. Particular attention is paid to the competence approach, the essence of which is the application of knowledge, the formation of experience of activities, as well as the qualities of a person necessary for effective professional activities.
The structural components of professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine are determined, namely: motivational, cognitive, activity, and reflexive ones. The criteria and indicators of formation of professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine are substantiated. The motivational and value criterion is characterized by the following indicators: the presence of positive motivation to master the profession, the importance of value orientations in professional activities, and the need for lifelong learning. The content criterion is characterized by such indicators as: possession of a complex of professional knowledge, and aspiration for research activity. The practical-operational criterion is characterized by the following indicators: the solution of professional tasks, the application of skills and abilities during different types of practices. The reflective and evaluation criterion is characterized by such indicators as: assessment of reflexive skills, level of ability to professional self-improvement, self-assessment of the formation of professional competence. The level of formation of the professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine is highlighted, namely: low, medium and high ones.
The ways of effective formation of professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine in the educational process at higher schools through the implementation of the developed model, pedagogical conditions and the author’s methods are suggested.
The model of the formation of professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine takes into account the social order for such specialists’ training and includes: target, conceptual, content-procedural, evaluation and performance blocks. The following pedagogical conditions are substantiated: orientation of the educational process to the formation of motivation to master the profession and professional values of a specialist in laboratory medicine; purposeful introduction of modern pedagogical technologies into the theoretical and practical training of future bachelors in laboratory medicine; application of the method of step-by-step formation and development of professional competence of future bachelors in laboratory medicine; creation of a reflexively oriented learning environment as a factor of the development of the
