Ukrainian medical students supported with clinical placements at University of Cambridge

Medical students from Ukraine whose training has been devastated by Russia’s war on their country are getting vital teaching thanks to doctors and clinicians in Cambridge.

Twenty-one students from Kharkiv National Medical University (KhNMU) are taking part in clinical placements this summer at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, and at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Royal Papworth Hospital and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

They are the second cohort to join the pioneering programme after it was launched last year.

Elina Sushchenko, 22, who was born in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, is one of the students taking part. Elina and her family fled to Kharkiv when Donetsk was seized by Russian-backed rebels in 2014. Since the Russian invasion in 2022, Elina has volunteered as a nurse at hospitals in Kharkiv.

She explained: “Kharkiv is now under attack, so at the age of 22 I’ve actually seen two invasions. Emotionally that has been hard, especially at such a young age.

“But I also try to look at it as a time of opportunity. We are the future generation of Ukraine; we need to rebuild our country. If we only stay focused on negative emotions, we cannot help. I hope to become a surgeon, and we need to get more skills – to study, get experience and take this back to Ukraine and help others.”

The students have just finished the fifth year of their medical training with KhNMU, but because of the Russian invasion, and before that the Covid-19 pandemic, most of their studies have been online and so they have had very limited opportunities to work with patients in person.

Now the seven-week, fully-funded programme in Cambridge, co-ordinated by the university, is providing them with that experience.

They are learning from experts in surgical and medical specialties, and receiving mentoring, supervision and bedside teaching from doctors.

After the placements, the students – who are staying at Homerton College – will receive a learning portfolio to support their continuing medical training with KhNMU.

Paul Wilkinson, clinical dean at the School of Clinical Medicine, said that following the success of last year’s clinical placements, the programme’s partners were determined to offer more Ukrainian students hands-on, practical teaching.

He said: “Medicine is people-centred, and the work of a doctor is about focusing on the needs of individuals, so it goes without saying that this kind of in-person learning with patients is vital for young medics.”

There is no cost to students taking part in the placements, with travel and living expenses funded by a donation from global DNA sequencing company, Illumina, which has its European headquarters at Granta Park, and accommodation funded by an anonymous donor.

Danylo Khodun, 21, another Kharkiv student, said he hopes to specialise in either oncology or surgery after he completes his medical training. His home town, in the Kharkiv region, was occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war.

“It was scary, you feel numb,” he said. “You don’t know what to expect or what will happen tomorrow. One morning we woke up to a knock at the door, and eight men were stood there with guns. They ordered us on to the floor while they were checking everything. After a while, they left and took my friend’s car. We weren’t able to leave the area for two months.”

After three weeks without running water, electricity, phones or the internet, and unable to get back into Ukraine from the occupied area, Danylo left Ukraine through Russia and journeyed to Poland, where he was able to apply for a visa to travel to Western Europe and continue his medical studies online.

“I want to help people to fix their problems,” he said. “That’s why I’m training to be a doctor, and that’s why these placements are so important.”

A spokesperson for KhNMU said: “As a frontline city, Kharkiv has been seeing an influx of wounded patients in its hospitals and clinics. This means that our students have limited access to patients for practical training, which could have an impact on their future education. Participating in training at Cambridge University is incredibly valuable for our students nowadays. It will allow them to gain new knowledge and skills in the field of medicine, which they can then bring back to their homeland to become a doctor with international experience."

The medical placements are part of Cambridge University Help for Ukraine, a developing package of support from the university.