Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, numerous hospitals and clinics in the country have been damaged or destroyed. In one attack, a maternity hospital was struck, resulting in the deaths of several people.
After fleeing their war-torn country, a group of Ukrainian medical students has been welcomed by one of the top universities in the United Kingdom to continue their education.
As part of the program, twenty students from the bombarded city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine will receive seven weeks of training at the University of Cambridge.
Due to the war and the COVID pandemic, the majority of their education has been completed virtually over the past two years.
Despite this, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, many of them were forced to work in hospitals treating patients.
One of them was Zaur Badalov, who is currently participating in the university’s program.
After the outbreak of war in Kharkiv, the 22-year-old was forced to flee to western Ukraine, where he continued his online studies while working in a local hospital.
“On the day of the invasion, I was staying at a hospital in Kharkiv; I was the first to notice the windows shaking and alerted the others,” he explained.
“We were all in a state of shock when, the following morning, injured patients arrived at the hospital requiring assistance.”
The Kharkiv National Medical University student began working in the emergency department after relocating.
“People simply required assistance from physicians. It didn’t matter if it was a civilian or a soldier; we always administered first aid,” he explained.
Mr. Badalov required special permission to leave Ukraine to continue his training as a man.
This is an excellent opportunity for us, as we can share this information with our university and students,” he said.
Cambridge thinks this is the first program of its sort in the United Kingdom to support Ukrainian medical students.
The Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust will train the students.
As part of the curriculum, they will shadow physicians on wards and in clinics and practice essential skills, such as physically examining patients.
The student traveled through Russia to secure a position.
While it is customary for the university to accept international students, Dr. Jonathan Fuld of Cambridge’s department of medicine stated that the group had encountered “extraordinary” circumstances.
“They were dispersed throughout Europe, and Kharkiv was required by law to assist the men still in Ukraine in regaining their visas,” he said.
“One of our students was in occupied territory and traveled through Russia to obtain a visa that allowed them to participate in this placement.
On our side, there was a considerable amount of administration. Kharkiv and the students were ultimately responsible for exerting the necessary effort and overcoming the most difficult obstacles to make this happen.
According to the clinical dean, students must return to Ukraine.
Numerous hospitals and clinics in Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed as a result of the ongoing conflict.
In March, several people were killed after a Russian airstrike reduced a maternity hospital in Mariupol to rubble.
While the students will spend nearly two months receiving training in the United Kingdom, the clinical dean of the School of Clinical Medicine, Paul Wilkinson, has stated that their return to Ukraine is essential.
Ukrainian medical schools do not want to lose students and physicians who will be essential to rebuilding the country’s health services following the conflict,” he said.
