This paper summarizes the experience gained in the training of surgery specialists at a medical institute and determines the main shortcomings of undergraduate and postgraduate specialization. A sociological survey carried out in the groups of subinterns indicated low effectiveness of preinstitute and intrainstitute professional orientation. Great emphasis is being placed on increasing the quality of training on fundamental sciences and preclinical disciplines. A positive appreciation is being given to the long application of the unified methodological system of specialists training, the use of the syndrome method of training at the graduate year, which is based on maximum activation of clinical thinking, motivated approach to the development of practical knowledge and skills. The important role of continuity in the training of surgeons in the subinternship and internship is stressed.

The study data are provided on the volume of curative and preventive care for 1740 infants at the outpatient department and at home, an analysis is made of the working time spent by a district pediatrician in two polyclinics of Nizhniy Novgorod. It has been shown that most of his time is devoted to sick children. Practically no time is spent on follow-up group of children pertaining to the populations "at risk". To improve preventive work among children of the first three years of life it is proposed to establish departments for young children in the territorial children's polyclinics. The organization of these departments makes it possible to improve the main qualitative indicators of child health.

An analysis is made of physicians' functions in all hospital departments; their significance, labour-consuming character and realization in the annual cycle of work were determined. The functional analysis of physician's performance was conducted in two directions: a study was carried out of all kinds of physician's work, its labour-consuming character and periodicity, and also of all kinds of documents he has been dealing with during a year.

According to the findings of different authors somatic emergency hospitals admit about 0.3-40 percent of patients with psycho-somatic diseases: mental patients suffering from acute somatic diseases, patients with somatically conditioned mental disorders and also patients the somatic complaints of whom are manifesting symptoms of mental disease. An analysis was made of the consulting psychiatrist work at the multidisciplinary emergency hospital which had no somatopsychiatric department (SPD) in its structure. Medical care was provided to 2654 "mixed patients" with different mental disorders. Acute psychotic symptomatology was detected in 38 percent of these patients, however only 3.42 percent were transferred into mental hospitals and SPD of other hospitals. The remaining patients stayed at somatic hospital up to the end of treatment due to non-carriageable condition. Such situation considerably compicates the work of consulting psychiatrist. The optimization of curative and rehabilitative care for the patients requires efficient cooperation between consulting psychiatrist and resident physicians providing diagnosis, complex biological therapy, differentiated curative and rehabilitative regimen and also securing the rights of mental patients for confidential care in accordance with Code of medical ethics and ensuring continuous upgrading the skills of nurses and physicians of somatic hospitals.

For the purpose of obtaining a socio-economic characteristic of a rural family a complex survey has been conducted in three regions of the Uzbek Republic covering all families having children of early age. The findings showed that in rural areas of the republic women marry early and the birth spacing in 74-78 percent of women does not exceed 2 years. Rural women deliver babies during the whole period of reproductive age but when they reach the age of 28-30 the birth spacing increases. All rural families tend to have many children and there is no evidence that they might shift to having less children in the nearest years. About 60 percent of rural families have two babies under 3 years of age. Living and socio-economic conditions of most rural families are estimated as poor. Most of these families have many children, their health culture is poor and medical activity slow. Many of these families preserve old, at times negative traditions. The demographic development of a rural family does not correspond to the level of socio-economic development of the rural area. All this contributes to the formation of a slow dynamic lifestyle concentrated on narrow family interests. As a whole an average rural Uzbek family lags behind other such families from industrial regions of the country as far as their cultural and socio-economic development is concerned, and to overcome this backwardness it is necessary to create real conditions for more active involvement of population in different spheres of social and public activities.