An 8-month clinical skills training programme for rehabilitation professionals in Ukraine has empowered participants through knowledge sharing and mentorship to improve rehabilitation of the increasing number of traumatic injuries, burns and wounds among patients in the country.

There is an unprecedented need for rehabilitation services in Ukraine due to the ongoing war and the associated large number of war-related injuries. The Clinical Skills Training Program implemented over nearly 8 months from August 2023 to April 2024 aimed to strengthen the rehabilitation workforce and improve quality of rehabilitation services in Ukraine. This was a hybrid online training programme for Ukrainian rehabilitation professionals who were heads of rehabilitation centres and included doctors of physical and rehabilitation medicine, physical therapists and one occupational therapist.  The participants represented 8 different regions of Ukraine. 

The training comprised online learning through Physiopedia Plus (Plus) courses to prepare for twice monthly online gatherings for discussion of practical cases with guidance from mentors from the USA and facilitated by Angela Patterson from Physiopedia. A total of 12 mentoring sessions were led by the highly qualified volunteer international mentors Rebecca Downey, Lilly Webster and Alfred Bracciano. The sessions were facilitated by simultaneous Ukrainian translation via interpreters which were provided by the project Rehabilitation of War Trauma Project in Ukraine, which was a unique but crucial element to this training allowing participants to ask questions in Ukrainian language and fully explore the topics. 

Communication with a mentor helps to organize the rehabilitation process more efficiently and quickly. I will use the knowledge in my practical work to organize training and improve the professionalism of my colleagues, as well as to more effectively organize the educational process for students, future physical therapists, who are undergoing clinical practice in our center. – Andrii Bukhval, physical therapist in Medical Center for Rehabilitation of Participants of Combat Actions Hostilities of Lutsk City Territorial Community

Specific topics were selected based on priorities identified by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and Plus online courses on the following topics were translated into Ukrainian:

Mentorship
Rehabilitation of fractures in disasters and conflicts
Rehabilitation of burns in disasters and conflicts
Skin anatomy, physiology and healing
Characteristics and identification of arterial and venous insufficiency ulcers
Characteristics and identification of neuropathic wounds, pressure injuries and non-healing surgical wounds
Factors affecting wound healing
Basic wound assessment

All the courses were accredited by the Testing Board in cooperation with the Ukrainian Physical Therapists Association and officially added to the list of events for which Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points are awarded in Ukraine. As a result, certificates with awarded CPD points can be officially recognised as part of the professional portfolio.

Mentoring relationships are important in the work of the team, as it allows sharing experience and information with colleagues, giving advice at team meetings or in individual cases. It is always useful to learn new information that can be helpful at the most unexpected moment of working with patients. I am very grateful for participating in the Program. I listened to almost all the sessions with pleasure. – Oksana Vorobel, Head of physical rehabilitation department in the St. Panteleimon’s Hospital of the First Lviv Territorial Medical Union

Discussion was encouraged throughout the programme through the Rehabilitation Community online discussion forum where participants and mentors could engage in facilitated topic discussions to expand the learning opportunities beyond the structured meetings.

Many rehabilitation professionals in Ukraine do not have access to regular mentorship and this training program provided a unique opportunity to share experiences and learn new skills in the field of rehabilitation.

All was interesting and useful. It was the first experience of a mentoring relationship for me, and there was a lot of new information.  I will apply the knowledge when discussing clinical cases with the team, and if there are cases similar to those discussed during the mentoring sessions, I will share how to use this knowledge in practice. – Taras Ikalo, Head of department in the Volyn Regional Clinical Hospital

This program, with it’s diverse participants and mentors and facilitated by Ukrainian interpretation was able to focus on key topics that were selected specifically because of the increasing number of traumatic injuries, burns and wounds among patients in the country. By supporting participants to strengthen their knowledge and empowering them to share this with colleagues, they are now set up to become leaders of change and ultimately improve quality of rehabilitation services in Ukraine.

This activity is organised by Physiopedia as part of the “Strengthening Rehabilitation Services in the Health Systems” (SRSHS) activity, implemented by the Momentum Wheels for Humanity, with the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).”