Turns Out, “No CT Scanner for Hours” Is a Universal Language

I was on a panel at a conference for Melbourne University medical students recently, sandwiched between talks on Gaza and Yemen. The doctor before me — who organises missions to Gaza — turned to the Melbourne city-based  room and said, “Just imagine you don’t have a CT scanner. It’s a few hours away.”

I thought to myself – “Mate, that’s my last thirty years.”

I relayed this to ACRRM’s Dr Emily Moody in this episode of Life Hacks — a conversation about what happens when you take a rural generalist skill set, forged in Far North Queensland and remote Aboriginal communities, and drop it into a country under attack. Short answer: it turns out to be exactly the right training. Long answer: you’ll have to listen.

We talk about what healthcare actually looks like in Ukraine — not the trench-medicine cliché, but the antenatal checks, the chronic disease reviews, and the palliative care that carry on under shelling, power cuts, and the occasional drone with opinions about your travel plans. We talk about why “just become a trauma surgeon” is the wrong instinct, and why the humble, adaptable generalist — the one who can sleep when they can, eat what’s available, and not need to be the hero of the story — is far more useful on the ground. Sound familiar, registrars? It should. It’s basically your curriculum with a passport stamp.

I also get a bit more candid than usual about the emotional weight of this work, what I’ve learned from Ukrainian clinicians about professionalism under conditions none of us would voluntarily sign up for, and why I remain firmly convinced I’m the one getting the better deal in this relationship.

🎙️  Listen to the episode: ACRRM Life Hacks — Ukraine: Practising Beyond Borders 

And If You Want to Do More Than Listen

Near the end of the episode I mention MedLearnUke — an online medical education platform we’re building for Ukrainian clinicians, built on ACRRM’s own curriculum as a framework (with their generous blessing), and designed to run on a weak connection and sheer stubbornness. AI handles the bilingual dubbing so Australian mentors can lecture, comment on case discussions, and support Ukrainian colleagues without needing a word of the language themselves.

We’re looking for ACRRM fellows willing to mentor a case discussion, contribute a lecture in their area of interest, or simply help us keep the lights on. And registrars keen to be a part of the learning and helping subsidise the hosting costs for their Ukrainian colleagues.

📘  Learn more and get involved: About MedLearnUke

💚  Support the work directly: passingthrough.net/donating

Rural generalism taught most of us to make do with what’s in front of us and still do good medicine with humility. That’s just what humanitarian work needs.