Peculiarities of teaching the oncology cycle in students of foreign faculty in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic: the department’s experience

The spread of COVID-19 has prompted a revision of the possibilities of distance learning technologies and contributed to their introduction as basic learning technologies to ensure the continuity of the educational process in extreme conditions. Distance learning has both positive aspects, such as saving time, the ability to educate more people, and disadvantages, namely the lack of practical skills, the inferiority of the emotional component of education. Aspects and issues of distance learning of students of the international faculty, classes which are conducted in a foreign language, are analyzed. The main differences between the education of students of international faculties and students of domestic faculties are noted. The issues of communicative relations, psychological aspects of distance relations, language issues, logistics of distance learning and methodological problems are described in detail. It has been suggested that distance learning may be equally effective in full-time education for theoretical subjects, but in the study of clinical disciplines, the priority is traditional methods of education, which include learning at the patient’s bedside.