A PhD is an internationally recognized academic postgraduate degree awarded by universities and higher education institutions to a candidate who has submitted a dissertation based on original research in the chosen field.

Traditionally, obtaining a PhD degree involves three to four years of full-time study, during which the applicant completes a significant part of the original research, presented in the form of a dissertation.

This degree originated in the 19th century. The word "philosophy" comes from the ancient Greek "Philosophia", which translates as "love of wisdom". Initially, this degree was awarded to a person who received a comprehensive general education in the main issues of science at that time.

Today, a PhD degree still requires love to wisdom and concerns people seeking knowledge in a particular specialized field.

Two candidates from the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care of Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine successfully defended their scientific papers under the updated system.

Scientific work of PhD student Maxym Synytsyn (supervisor Prof. O. Loskutov) was devoted to improving the effectiveness and safety of postoperative anesthesia in patients after thoracotomy and reducing the frequency and intensity of chronic pain syndrome by using prolonged paravertebral analgesia. From the practical significance of the work, opponents noted that the developed methods make it possible to reduce the dose of narcotic analgesics by 2.5 times, compared to patient-controlled intravenous analgesia, for analgesia of patients in the early postoperative period.

Scientific work of PhD student Volodymyr Martsiniv (supervisor Prof. O. Loskutov) was devoted to improving the effectiveness of intra- and postoperative analgesia in surgical interventions for breast neoplasms using pectoral blockade. The results showed that the proposed methods made it possible to reduce the occurrence of paraesthesia by 30% and triple reduction of the incidence of complications in the early postoperative period.

Both works were positively evaluated by reviewers and opponents, and the members of the specialized Defense Council decided to award the academic degrees to PhD students.