Other Military medical care – how do we improve our capabilities ahead of and during a war? – lessons and experiences from Ukraine
The Centre for Health Crises at Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency and Repower invite you to a meeting where we in Sweden can learn from Ukraine’s experiences through their combat medics. The meeting is primarily intended forthose in Sweden who work in healthcare education in the fields of traumatology and disaster medicine within the civilian and military healthcare sectors, as well as voluntary defence organisations.
About the day:
In the event of war, there will be a great need to increase our healthcare capacity. To be prepared, we need to establish structures and methods through which our healthcare capacity can be scaled up. Military medical capacity currently sitswithin the Swedish Armed Forces, in hospitals and, to a lesser extent, in non-hospital healthcare settings and in civil society.
The educational programmes currently available in military medical care will not meet the needs in the event of war. We will need to provide training whilst a war is ongoing, should such a situation arise.
This meeting with Ukrainian medical personnel is intended to facilitate a dialogue through which we can learn from and benefit from their experiences.
If you would like to find out more about similar experience sharing session between Swedes and Ukrainians that we have organised, you should read these articles:
Experiences from the front line – Ukrainian combat medics meet Swedish total defence stakeholders
An opportunity to learn from each other when 120 medics from the front in Ukraine came to visit
Programme (updated regularly):
- Presentations
- Lessons from Ukraine: how is training organised and how is it delivered to meet the country’s needs?
- Sweden’s civilian medical preparedness: how do we provide education in peacetime?
- Sweden’s military medical preparedness: how is training carried out within the Swedish Armed Forces?
- Stories, experiences and points of view from medics near the front, focused on education and training
- Lunch
- Discussion
Date and time:
14 December 2026, 10:00-16:00, with the opportunity to continue the conversation at a social event afterwards.
Venue:
Lecture hall J3:07 Sune Bergströms Aula at Karolinska University Hospital (street: Eugeniavägen 3) in Solna.
Target audience and registration:
The meeting is intended for those of you who are involved, in various ways, in healthcare education within civilian and military organisations, voluntary defence organisations, relevant government agencies and healthcare providers.
Click here to register. Participation is free of charge.
Organisers:
RePower, the Centre for Health Crises at Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital and the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency.
Questions:
If you have any questions about the day, please contact Lisa Strömmer at lisa.strommer@ki.se
About Repower NGO
Since 2022, the organisation Repower NGO has worked to ensure that Ukrainian healthcare professionals receive support, rehabilitation, recovery and respite from their posts on the front line in wartime Ukraine. Each project has a programme with various elements, such as sessions with a psychologist, mindfulness, outdoor activities, and different cultural and nature-based experiences. Ten psychologists from a Ukrainian volunteer organisation work on each individual project. Activities and programmes are carried out in collaboration with local stakeholders, businesses and organisations. The content gives participants tools to strengthen their physical and mental health. After twelve days, the group returns to the war. So far, around 700 doctors and healthcare workers have taken part in Repower’s projects.
Funding comes from contributions from private individuals, as well as from companies and organisations that sponsor the initiatives.