Medical students from Kharkiv begin their studies in hospitals around Cambridge

• Twenty medical students from Kharkiv, Ukraine, whose training was halted by Russia’s invasion on a large scale
• The student’s school, Kharkiv National Medical University, and the University of Cambridge formed a twinning collaboration to organise the placements.
• The majority of the programme participants, who are in their last two years of medical school, have been displaced by the fighting.

Twenty medical students from Kharkiv, Ukraine, whose training was halted by Russia’s invasion on a large scale, will start clinical placements at hospitals near Cambridge next week to gain crucial skills for supporting their nation’s healthcare system.

The University of Cambridge made the pertinent remark.

At the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Royal Papworth Hospital, and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Ukrainian students will continue their practical studies and receive crucial instruction.

The student’s school, Kharkiv National Medical University, and the University of Cambridge formed a twinning collaboration to organise the placements.

The seven-week, fully financed programme, according to the newspaper, “will improve the training the students have previously received despite the fighting, help them advance in their subsequent studies with Kharkiv National Medical University, and serve Ukraine’s essential health care.”

The participating hospitals will provide clinical training, and the University of Cambridge will oversee the whole initiative.

“Colleagues have put in a tremendous amount of effort to launch this programme quickly. The School of Clinical Medicine’s Clinical Dean, Paul Wilkinson, described the programme as “action-oriented.” “This is about packing as much as possible into seven weeks, everything essential that will allow Kharkiv National Medical University to progress students that otherwise, because of the circumstances, it just couldn’t,” he said.

The majority of the programme participants, who are in their last two years of medical school, have been displaced by the fighting. The majority of their education over the previous two and a half years has been online due to the war and the COVID-19 outbreak, which prevented them from receiving crucial practical training. The students will get a learning portfolio to support their ongoing medical education at Kharkiv National Medical University after their placements.

Serhii Alkhimov, 21, one of the students, lived for four months with about a thousand other people in an underground train station in Kharkiv. He provided independent medical care for many sick people, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky honoured him with a medal for his efforts.

It wasn’t as difficult for me as it may have been because I had military medical training, but I didn’t get much sleep. The majority of the patients I saw had chronic illnesses and were unable to find other healthcare. I was happy to assist and help save two or three lives, said Alkhimov.

When Kharkiv, Ukraine, was attacked at the outset of the conflict, 22-year-old Vira Lavryk fled. She returned to her village in the south of the country before eventually travelling to Portugal for a hospital job.

“On the first day of the invasion, Kharkiv was attacked hour after hour, in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. My mother urged me to return home, where I did so for a short while before Russia attacked and conquered my town. Lavryk said, “I was really afraid, and it left a mark on me that I will never forget. It’s my aim to specialise in medicine and become a surgeon, so even coming to Cambridge for a little placement is a dream come true for me.