About preparing clinical psychologists in medical higher education institutions

On the background of the current difficult medical and social situation associated with an increase in the overall morbidity of the population, including socially significant pathology, the need for highly qualified psychological assistance is growing. The article presents an analysis of the problems associated with the training of clinical psychologists at the present stage. The article consists of two parts. The first part presents data on the dynamics of the number of non-medical and medical universities for the period from 2011 to 2017, as well as the number of budget places allocated to these universities for the same period. The main problems of training clinical psychologists in medical and non - medical universities: 1) the problem of shortage of highly qualified psychological personnel, especially in the specialty 19.00.04 – medical psychology, as well as the problem of the use of teachers of biomedical and medical departments in the preparation of clinical psychologists; 2) the problem of the qualitative composition of applicants and freshmen. The role of professional motivation of future clinical psychologists is emphasized: 3) the problem of quality of educational process in medical University. The second part of the article is devoted to the peculiarities of training clinical psychologists who will provide medical and psychological assistance to pregnant women, their families and children, starting with the perinatal period, and in institutions of maternal and child health,as well as how to solve the above problems at the faculty of clinical psychology of Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University.