Doctors from Ukraine get training at Yale New Haven Hospital

NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) - Doctors from Ukraine are spending a month at Yale New Haven Hospital.

They’re shadowing physicians there in order bring new tools back to their warn torn country.

The program is called Doctors United for Ukraine. It will give these doctors a chance to take what they’re learning here and put it to use in place where the need is so great right now.

“I’ve learned so much here. I’m going to go home and share this knowledge with colleagues,” said Dr. Artem Chernov of Ukraine.

Their hearts are still set on their country under attack. Attacks they’ve lived through.

“It was a nightmare those times, we could hear the bombings and sounds, it was really really close, we are in Kyiv,” Chernov said.

Chernov recalled having to move an entire maternity ward into a basement for more two months in order to keep women and their babies safe.

He is one of six physicians from Ukraine taking part in a month-long visit.

“Believe me, I’ve got a list of things to bring home,” said Chernov.

For four weeks, they are studying with doctors, learning about critical and intensive care, obstetrics and gynecology, along with anesthesia and pain control.

A major focus for Dr. Anna Masoodi is treating countrymen ravaged by war.

“When you see them, how they cry from the pain, you don’t know how, I can’t explain to you the feelings that we feel,” Masoodi said.

Doctors at Yale want them to feel that they’re making a difference, one they’ll be able to put to use at home.

“One is to learn some specific skills and tools, to learn about the healthcare system, but the other part is I hope they get a little respite, to sleep and rest and not be under shelling while working and to get appreciation of what life is like and to continue to be hopeful and positive,” said Dr. Andrey Zinchuk with the Yale School of Medicine.

A resilient group of doctors and a country that’s just as strong.

“I can stay in my country. I don’t want to move, I want to help, I don’t want to run, but it’s very scary,” Masoodi said. “This makes us strong; we believe in future.”

It’s just a pilot now, but the doctors at Yale said this is something they want to continue to do, hoping to expand the program to even more doctors from Ukraine.

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