Medical students who fled Ukraine can gain practical training in own countries

International medical students who fled Ukraine amid the war just got the big break they were looking for: Ukrainian universities have reportedly allowed them to pursue their practical training at hospitals and clinics in their respective countries.

According to The Indian Express, Ukrainian universities are also urging foreign governments to offer medical practice to their students. Students have voiced concerns about not being able to engage in clinical practice when their studies were abruptly halted by the Russia-Ukraine war, which is essential for them to graduate.

Some hospitals and private clinics in Ukraine are also offering practical classes and internships to affected students.

Ukrainian universities bolster efforts to provide students’ with medical practice amid the war

Among the universities that are appealing to governments to provide practical training opportunities to their students is Dinipro State Medical University (DMSU).

“In the current situation in Ukraine, students are taught with the help of technologies. But students do not have the opportunity to learn practical skills directly at the clinical departments of the university and treatment and prevention facilities of the Dnipro city,” said a Dinipro State Medical University official in a notice.

DSMU has appealed to public institutions in students’ native countries “to provide medical practice opportunities for students of the university in the spring semester 2021-22 academic year in public and private clinics in your country”.

Ukrainian universities have made it easier for foreign medical students enrolled in their programme to look for practical training opportunities in their native countries. Source: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP

The V N Karazin Kharkiv National University also issued a letter requesting governments in other countries to allow its students to get practical training in private as well as government colleges.

Another university, National Pirogov Memorial University in Vinnytsya, gave its students consent to undergo practical training at private or government hospitals and clinics of their choice.

The university said if enough evidence can be provided to indicate that students have acquired the practical skills required for their programme, they will be considered to have completed the practical training aspect of their programme for the 2021-22 spring semester of the academic year.

This, however, must be evidenced through a signature by a doctor on a form of a medical institution.

Many students were in the midst of pursuing their Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, or the MBBS, when the war broke out. Source: Alexander Nemenov/AFP

Opportunities to engage in medical practice a much-needed respite for students

Some students enrolled in Ukrainian universities have been approached by local hospitals with offers for medical practice.

Students who spoke to The Indian Express said, however, that some are charging money while others are offering it for free as part of an internship.

Many students who returned home after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out on Feb. 24, 2022 were uncertain when they could resume their education.

The introduction of online learning has provided a degree of reassurance that they will have the opportunity to complete their courses, but many universities are working at reduced strength.

Students who were looking to transfer out of Ukrainian universities were left in a lurch when they left without evidence that they ever studied their MBBS in Ukraine, making it difficult for them to find alternative institutions to complete their education at.