The Russian Federation continues a phased reform of the higher professional education system, which focuses on the development of professional competencies among medical professionals. But the development of professional competencies should not go only by replenishing the baggage of skills with narrow-profile knowledge and skills. The competence-based model of continuing medical education implies the formation of a legal culture and the necessary level of legal literacy for a doctor. Knowledge and compliance by medical professionals with the norms of current legislation is the basis for the functioning of the healthcare system, legal literacy is the key to professional protection of their activities. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the need to develop an educational trajectory for the development of professional competencies among medical professionals (using the example of legal competence). Materials and methods. The sociological method (studying the opinion of respondents), the statistical method (evaluating the results of a sociological survey). Results. When determining the need to improve legal literacy among specialists in the field of public health and healthcare organizations, a sociological survey was conducted that revealed a lack of legal knowledge, primarily the lack of a structured understanding of the basic laws setting out the basics of the rights and obligations of subjects of medical care, and basic regulatory legal acts regulating medical activities. Conclusions. The availability of legal competencies would allow health workers to effectively master the methods of crime prevention in providing assistance, control the occurrence of conflict situations, as well as find solutions to complex ethical and legal issues. A modern doctor, and especially a healthcare organizer, must confidently navigate the legal context of his activities, legal information, and use legal knowledge in his work.

educational trajectory, legal literacy, additional professional education, healthcare organization, system of training medical specialists, competencies.