Nikolai Alexandrovich Semashko’s views on the organization of a doctor’s treatment and diagnostic work

Introduction. A significant event in 2024 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of an outstanding healthcare organizer, politician, scientist and teacher in the field of social hygiene – Nikolai Aleksandrovich Semashko. The purpose of the study : based on the analysis of works published by N. A. Semashko, to identify the main organizational directions for improving the medical and diagnostic work of doctors in the first half of the twentieth century. Materials and methods . The study of N. A. Semashko’s views on the organization of medical and diagnostic work of a doctor was carried out using analytical and logical methods based on his published scientific works, the search for which was carried out in the Central Scientific Medical Library, the Russian State Library, electronic scientific libraries eLibrary and CyberLeninka for the period from 1918 to 1949. Results. In the course of the study, it was established that Nikolai Aleksandrovich paid close attention to improving the organization of medical and diagnostic work when forming a new healthcare system in our country. Based on his university education, experience as a district zemstvo doctor and his extraordinary abilities, he successfully achieved the development of effective directions of medical and preventive measures not only in the activities of hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, sanatoriums, but also performed by medical personnel at factories, plants and in rural areas. At the same time, N. A. Semashko considered the doctor to be the key figure in the implementation of medical and diagnostic work, who must know his duties and perform them efficiently. Along with this, he considered it important that society, in turn, knew the rights and duties of the doctor and understood the limits of its demands on him. Conclusion. Most of the directions for organizing the medical and diagnostic work of doctors substantiated by N. A. Semashko remain relevant to this day, and therefore they should be developed in the modern conditions of health care.