One Surgeon’s Experience During Armed Conflict In Ukraine

Abstract

 Healthcare Under Fire: Stories from Healthcare Workers During Armed Conflict 23 heightened emotions, the fundamental principles of healthcare services rooted in medical ethics and the obligation to provide impartial and neutral treatment to all patients without discrimination or judgement , as per the Hippocratic Oath, were clearly at stake. While this situation provided us all in the humanitarian agency with an opportunity to reflect as human beings first and as humanitarian workers second, we were determined to tackle the ethical dilemma sensitively while upholding the principles of medical ethics. These principles required us to provide care without discrimination to anybody seeking medical assistance in our facilities. Therefore , we held several meetings with staff members. The primary objective of these group meetings was to reorient staff members about medical ethics and their roles as healthcare professionals and to truly listen to their stories, thoughts, and feelings as we embarked on the emotionally charged and sensitive mission of providing care to our patients. We reviewed our organization’s code of conduct and discussed medical ethics as professionals, exploring our perspectives on similar situations. One of the agency’s international workers remarked, “This is a very unique and unprecedented situation that I have not encountered previously”. Finding a balance between emotional reactions and medical ethics was challenging at the beginning . However, as we deeply reflected on our duties and responsibilities as healthcare providers, we began to realize that medical facilities are not courtrooms, and we should never assume the roles of judges or law enforcement agents. While we were all deeply affected by listening to our coworkers’ stories, feelings, and emotions, we agreed that the duty of care, a fundamental principle guiding our work as healthcare professionals, needed to be our overarching guide in this situation. We understood that those who committed crimes or violated human rights deserved to be prosecuted by law once outside the medical facility. This situation served as a reminder to me personally that we, as healthcare workers, are human beings after all, with our own emotions and feelings. These aspects can be affected and have an impact on our work. We are not simply robotic creatures expected to work and serve neutrally one hundred percent of the time; however, we need to have flexibility, courage, and willingness to reflect on our daily interactions with our patients and coworkers to expand our understanding of the emotions and feelings of all involved in order to create an understanding and resilient way of thinking at our workplaces. B One Surgeon’s Experience During Armed Conflict In Ukraine Artem Riga S hortly before the war, I completed my postgraduate studies for my PhD degree and became a young teacher at a medical university , gaining academic experience. And I carried out my surgical clinical practice on duty in the 2nd level district hospital for the civilian people in the city, which is located not far from Kharkov. My story begins at 5 a.m. on February 24, 2022. A terrible and awful morning found me on duty in this hospital near Kharkov—the sounds of explosions, shock waves, the smell of burning—and all at the same time. My thoughts turned into a swarm of bees. This is a war. There had been anxiety in society for several days before, that Russia would attack Ukraine. Now, within a short time after the explosions, adults and children with numerous injuries and wounds began to enter the hospital. There were many. How to help so many wounded at the same time? It was a challenge. What will happen next? The hospital was dramatically unprepared to receive such a large number of victims. It turned out that there was an acute shortage of medical personnel, medical materials, and painkillers. It was difficult for me to sort the patients according to the severity of their injuries, since I was the only surgeon on duty. In the first hours of the beginning of the aggression, the management of the hospital was paralyzed. I could not leave the victims alone and leave my 24 Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics • Volume 13 • Number 3 • Winter 2023 post. I felt that my strength was slowly leaving me but I stayed to provide medical...