The Department of Student Practical Training was established in 1997 as a structural subunit of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil State Medical Academy.

Since the founding of the medical institute, the students of the Faculty of Medicine passed internships at health care facilities in the city of Ternopil, Ternopil region and neighbouring regions for development of their professional skills regarding decision making in their future specialty.

After establishment of the International Students Faculty, Faculties of Pharmacy, Dentistry, Medicine and Academic and Research Institute of Nursing, the practical training also required development and improvement of skills in real settings, at the doctor or pharmacist’s workplace.

Associate Professor L.M. Malanchuk was the first head of the Department of Student Practical Training (from 1997 to 1999). For more than 10 years the department was ran by Professor O.Ye. Fedortsiv, in 2012-2013 – by Associate Professor M.I. Marushchak, from 2013 to 2019 – by Associate Professor V.B. Furdela. In September 2019, M.I. Herasymiuk, the Assistant Professor of the Department of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology, has been appointed to the position of the head of the department. At present, T.B. Datskiv also works at the department as a senior inspector.

Annually the department signs and updates agreements with hospitals and pharmaceutical institutions of the city of Ternopil, Ternopil region and other regions of Ukraine. Expanding the geography of practical training is currently on-going.

Since 2011, the students of the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry have the opportunity to practice in the Academic and Training Centres of Primary Health Care in the villages of Zarubyntsi, Hnylytsi, Hovyliv, Uvysla and Kokoshyntsi of Ternopil region.

The students passed internships at the Crimean Children’s Sanatorium and Health Centre “Laspi” (2010-2013), in summer children’s camps of the Plast organization (2013-2014), the Caritas charity organization (2016), since 2015 – in the National Orthodox Youth Camp “Virlia” as health care volunteers. It is a good tradition to select the best students for internships abroad by a competition, as well as to welcome the students from other local and world universities.

A long-term coordinator Professor Wojciech Barg has facilitated the students exchange programmes between I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University and Wroclaw Medical University (Poland). Also our university has been developing close relationships with the Slovak Medical University and the First Medical Faculty of Charles University (Czech Republic), as well as establishing cooperation with clinics in Warsaw, Nova Deba, Kutno (Poland). In 2012, the university welcomed the students from Kirov Medical Academy, Novosibirsk Medical University, Wroclaw Medical University and Slovak Medical University.

In 2017, an agreement on academic mobility of the students of Ternopil Medical University was signed with the University of Rzeszów (Poland); in 2018 – an agreement on internships with Bakhçeşehir University (Istanbul, Turkey).