The role of practical training in a medical college for the formation of professional abilities and habits in students of the specialty “Medical Laboratory Assistant”

The practical training of students in medical colleges is aimed at acquiring reliable professional competence, professional self-confidence and confidence for future professional realization. The profession of “medical laboratory assistant” is practical and the mastery of general and special skills is a guarantee for the quality of professional training of students. The improvement of the professional qualities and competencies of the students is carried out in a real working environment in clinical practice bases. The awareness that medical laboratory assistants are active participants in the process of diagnostic and treatment activities motivates the students to develop independence and creative thinking in modern conditions. It forms and builds a new professional model of the healthcare specialist that becomes competitive on the national and international market. The present study aims to present the opinion of second and third year students majoring in the specialty “Medical Laboratory Assistant” about the role of practical training, the formation of lasting practical skills and habits in them in order to exercise their professional duties. A study was conducted among second and third year students at the Medical College of Trakia University - Stara Zagora in March and September 2020. The results show that 70% of the students give an excellent and very good assessment of the organization of practical training in the specialty. The participants rate the clinical bases they visit as “very good”, 82% of them agree that the tasks assigned during clinical practice help to acquire the necessary skills for work. The majority of the students, 89%, say that the ratio of hours provided for practical and theoretical training in profiling disciplines is correct, but those who feel confident to apply what they have learned in theory are less in number - 73%. Approximately 90% of the respondents in the survey identify the internship as useful and believe that it would help them realize the specialty in the future.