AUTHOR=Jain Nityanand , Jersovs Kirils , Safina Taira , Pilmane Mara , Jansone-Ratinika Nora , Grike Ieva , Petersons Aigars TITLE=Medical education in Latvia: an overview of current practices and systems JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=10 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1250138 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2023.1250138 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

Located in northern Europe, Latvia is one of the three Baltic States with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a rich history of medical education spanning a century and is becoming an emerging global hub for medical education. Although the surge in international students has been beneficial for the development of educational and research infrastructure, increasing demands from local students, along with institutional capacity constraints, have overburdened the available resources. Substantial investments are being made to adapt to the rapidly changing geopolitical and techno-biomedical landscape. This perspective paper presents an overview of the country’s medical education system, its challenges, and prospects from pre-university to doctoral level.