Overseas Medical Students in Ukraine and War-Related Interruption in Education: Global Health Considerations from India

Abstract

Background:The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has caused a humanitarian crisis impacting millions of individuals within Ukraine and globally. While war-related healthcare delivery has been discussed in both the academic biomedical literature and in non-peerreviewed sources, little academic attention has been paid to overseas medical students who have had to abandon their education. These constitute nearly a third of the 80,000 international students in Ukraine and represent a valuable part of the global healthcare workforce.Objective: This article utilizes the illustrative case of the over 18,000 Indian-origin medical students enrolled in Ukraine to review the state of overseas medical students in Ukraine and war-related interruption in education.Methods: Literature, both academic and non-academic, published up until October 1, 2022, pertaining to the conflict, the impact on students, the demands of various stakeholders, and the proposed solutions, was reviewed through the use of appropriate keyword-based searches.Findings: Factors influencing the decision to pursue education in Ukraine and their precrisis pathway to home practice are first discussed. Indian-origin students have historically gone on to Ukraine after securing insufficiently competitive ranks in the national medical school entrance exam, thus preventing them from getting a heavily subsidized education at publicly funded institutions in India. In the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict, these students have faced not only actual and potential challenges related to their safety, shelter, food, and home return, they have been considerably impacted by the uncertainty regarding their educational prospects back home. The article then delineates the nuances and challenges in attempting to reintegrate a large potential healthcare workforce in the home country, and discusses possible solutions, especially those being implemented by the government. Conclusion:Urgent need exists for the involvement of all stakeholders and careful consensus-building before the proposed reintegration from an equity-based perspective.

Immediate mental health status of refugees during the Ukrainian armed conflict of 2022.

“…Such an approach replaced the "individual relocation" concept of the 20th century (Zolberg, 1989). Specifically for the current situation, the Indian governmental measures for the group-organized evacuation of 18,000 Indian students of the Ukrainian Universities were as successful as the Israeli activities (Roy et al, 2022) because, in both cases, the final destinations and the status of travelers upon arrival were evident from the beginning of the assistance. This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Теоретичні Та Прикладні Педагогічні Дослідження В Умовах Війни (Український Досвід)

“…Авторами [2], розглянуто необхідність післявоєнного відновлення потенціалу викладачів вищих навчальних закладів для ефективності освіти майбутнього. Також цікаве дослідження проведено щодо освіти іноземних студентів в Україні, дотримання умов отримання сертифікованої освіти ними у період війни [5].…”