SCCM Returns to Ukraine to Train 200 Clinicians

Responding to a request from the Lviv Territorial Medical Union, 11 Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) volunteers returned to Ukraine this summer to train 200 critical care medical students, residents, nurses, and other clinicians. Although Lviv is far from Ukraine’s front lines, it has sustained air attacks and receives patients who are injured in the war zones.

In August 2025, SCCM led several Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) courses featuring lectures and hands-on skills training. The two-day courses included FCCS: Obstetrics, FCCS: Surgical, and FCCS: Pediatrics. This was the second round of FCCS: Surgical courses, which SCCM volunteers taught in Ukraine in 2023, along with Advanced Critical Care Ultrasound and ICU Liberation courses. Course materials were translated into Ukrainian, and local medical staff interpreted the lectures. Coordinated by SCCM’s Global Health program, the 2025 courses were supported by a $750,000 grant from Direct Relief.

While humanitarian missions typically target specific medical professions, SCCM emphasizes multiprofessional training, whereby clinicians of multiple professions learn the same principles together to foster collaborative team care. The courses are developed by a multiprofessional group of physicians, nurses, advanced practice providers, respiratory therapists, physical and occupational therapists, and other professionals.

SCCM’s FCCS courses focus on how to manage critically ill patients for the first 24 hours or until appropriate critical care consultation can be arranged. Learners are taught how to recognize when patients are decompensating to allow for quick intervention before they deteriorate further. “Such programs raise Ukrainian medicine to a new level—they make it more modern, effective, and safe,” said Oleg Samchuk, CEO of Lviv Territorial Medical Union. “We sincerely thank SCCM for the invaluable experience and all participants for their desire to learn new things and develop Ukrainian critical care medicine.”

Teaching Skills and Teamwork to Save Lives
SCCM volunteers taught learners about prioritizing timely recognition, intervention, and management principles for assessing and treating critically ill or injured children and adults. They also emphasized that emergency medicine, intensivists, and other specialists must work together as a team as critically ill and injured patients are received from the front lines or other facilities.

“When teaching these courses overseas, we really focus on working together as a team,” said Mohan R. Mysore, MD, FAAP, FCCM, course director for FCCS: Pediatrics and medical director of pediatric critical care at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Boys Town, Nebraska, USA. He codirected the course with Maureen A. Madden, DNP, RN, CPNP-AC, CCRN, FCCM, a pediatric critical care nurse practitioner at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

Training team members together helps them learn from each other and ensures they use the same care models for smoother coordination at the bedside. “My belief is that teams who learn and train together often work better together at the bedside,” said Brenda M. Engler, DNP, BS, ACNP-BC, CCRN, course director of FCCS: Surgical and a critical care nurse practitioner at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania, USA. For example, intensivists and obstetricians in the FCCS: Obstetrics course taught each other their skills. Intensivists learned how to deliver a baby, and obstetricians learned how to manage an airway.

“My goal is to teach obstetrics clinicians not to be afraid of the lines and wires they’re not acquainted with, and the intensivist clinicians to understand that the mother comes first, and taking care of her takes care of the fetus,” said Lauren A. Plante, MD, MPH, FACOG, instructor of the FCCS: Obstetrics course and an obstetrics and gynecology and public health professor at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.

Critical Care Shaped by War
Ukraine has been at war for more than three years. Course leaders explained how war affects the type of care clinicians provide and the way they provide it. For example, Ukrainian clinicians may treat critically injured pregnant soldiers. Maternity hospitals are sometimes targeted and have to be moved underground. “Normally, we teach them how to stabilize someone for 24 to 48 hours or until we can get them where they need to be, but we don’t have that luxury in obstetrics—hemorrhage or preeclampsia can’t wait,” said Dr. Plante. “That’s why it’s vital that both intensivists and obstetricians know how to address any issues that may arise.”

In addition to typical surgical patients, Ukrainian clinicians have a greater number of trauma patients requiring surgical care. The FCCS: Surgical course focuses on detection and treatment of surgical problems as well as monitoring for postsurgical complications such as tracheostomy dislodgement and gastrostomy tube complications.

Children continue to get ill during wartime, and parents may ignore subtle symptoms out of fear of leaving their home to take a child to a hospital. Often, when children finally receive medical care, their condition has advanced and requires high-level care. “Just because a war is going on doesn’t mean children don’t get critically ill,” said Dr. Mysore. “Children are the future of any society, and that is why our effort to optimize their healthcare is so important.”

While the skills taught in FCCS courses are universal, modifications are made based on location. Some countries do not have medical-grade oxygen or ventilators. Ukraine has a fully functional healthcare structure, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, dialysis, and mechanical ventilation. “What they don’t have enough of is personnel,” Dr. Plante said. “They’re so short-staffed that one neonatal ICU nurse might be handling 12 babies, whereas in the United States, it’s a one-to-one or two-to-one ratio.”

SCCM instructors were profoundly affected by the experience, energized by the resilience they witnessed, and willing to go back. “It was as much a privilege for us as a benefit to them,” said Dr. Plante. “I would go back next week if I had the chance, not just to teach, but to learn from our Ukrainian colleagues.”

This was the second trip for Dr. Engler, who also taught the FCCS: Surgical course in Ukraine in 2023. She remains in awe of the Ukrainian people and the dedication of the healthcare staff to improving their patients’ health. Lviv Territorial Medical Union expanded quickly to meet people’s needs, from 2000 beds before the war to 3000 beds in 2023 to 4000 beds in 2025. It is one of three hospitals in the country that take the most severely ill and injured patients from the front lines.

“While serving as a clinician at the bedside, I can affect the care of a few patients,” said Dr. Engler. “When teaching these courses, in just two days, I can help improve the care of thousands of patients by teaching members of the entire healthcare team how to recognize critically ill patients and intervene early to improve outcomes.”

Although Dr. Mysore has taught the FCCS: Pediatrics course in different countries, it was his first time in Ukraine. He was struck by the normalcy of life in Lviv, despite the war and regular nighttime air raid alerts. “We were woken by alerts several nights and, despite being up half the night, all of the attendees showed up on time,” he said. “They focused on the task at hand and were very engaged in learning.”

Continuing the Support
The Ukrainian participants expressed their thanks. Dr. Mysore said, “It was really a boost to their morale to see that we were with them in this struggle.” Many participants said they would love to connect further with SCCM volunteers. Dr. Plante is planning to conduct additional lectures for clinicians in Ukraine via Zoom.

“My biggest challenges in patient care include managing complex patients efficiently and ensuring the best quality of care under sometimes limited resources,” said Zoryana Ivanyuk, MD, deputy director and pediatric anesthesiologist at Hospital of Saint Nicholas in Lviv. She took the FCCS: Pediatrics course to enhance her knowledge and skills in critical care. “I found the course to be very valuable and informative. It has sparked my interest in exploring more of SCCM’s offerings.”

Those interested in supporting the Society’s initiatives can donate to SCCM to support training, resources, and supplies to ensure the highest-quality care for all critically ill and injured patients. SCCM offers a variety of courses, including the FCCS courses taught in Ukraine, through its Hosted Training program.