Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, welcomed a delegation of Ukrainian physicians to UNMC last week. The group of physicians, who are interested in learning about emergency/trauma medicine and disaster preparedness medicine and programs at the university, spent the week at UNMC.
The visit was part of the Congressional Office for International Leadership’s initiative that strives to stimulate goodwill and collaboration between the people of eastern Europe and the United States.
David Crouse, PhD, former associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the goal was to give the visitors a “complete picture of how the campus and the city” deal with these issues.
During the visit, the physicians toured the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, the UNMC Department of Emergency Medicine and the Davis Global Center, including the iEXCEL program. Along with Dr. Gold, they met with UNMC leaders including Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH, dean of the UNMC College of Public Health; Michael Wadman, MD, chair of the emergency department, and Jane Meza, PhD, associate vice chancellor for global engagement.
Andriy Vasko, MD, PhD, a member of the delegation, said the visitors were especially interested in UNMC’s approaches to education and scientific research, practical simulation centers, as well as the use of mannikins and other tools in emergency education scenarios.
“First of all — we greatly appreciate the support of the government and people of the United States in our battle for freedom and democracy.
“Second — we want to know how scientific centers and education look at your university. What practical things can we see?” Dr. Vasko said. “We are building our own educational system. And the right trainings are sometimes worth much more than the equipment,” he said. “We’re excited to see your approach to the educational process. We look forward to implementing scientific research centers at our medical universities in Ukraine.”
Dr. Crouse is a member of “Friendship Force,” which provides host families for visiting physicians, scientists, leaders and scholars who travel to Omaha with the Open World program. He said he was excited to show off the campus and, especially given their area of interest, the Davis Global Center.
“It’s a great place for them to visit and have exposure to a lot of different aspect of these issues,” he said.
The group is one of the many important international groups what have visited the medical center for more than short meetings since the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Meza said.
“We’re really excited to have this group from the Ukraine,” she said.