Building Academic Bridges in Challenging Times: Launching the Clinical Communication Club for Ukraine-based students
After relocating from Ukraine to the UK, British Academy and CARA Fellow Dr Liliia Bespala wanted to find a way to support the thousands of students who remained at Zaporizhzhia State Medical and Pharmaceutical University. She set up the Clinical Communication Club, a virtual forum designed to introduce Ukrainian medical students and early-career researchers to evidence-based communication science.
About the author: I am a British Academy and CARA fellow based between the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and the Faculty of Linguistics. I work at the intersection of linguistics and healthcare, as part of the Clinical Communication team. My research explores how language tools can facilitate clinical communication and improve patient outcomes. I combine sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and interactional linguistics to analyse recorded clinical interactions, and establish correlation between language tools used and patient action on their health behaviours.
In 2022, I relocated to the UK from Ukraine, seeking refuge from the ongoing military invasion, and soon joined the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences (NDPCHS) as a British Academy and CARA Fellow. Before this life-changing transition, I spent over a decade at Zaporizhzhia State Medical and Pharmaceutical University (ZSMPhU)—one of the largest medical schools in south-eastern Ukraine—where I taught English and Clinical Communication to future healthcare professionals. I deeply valued this role for its practical impact and profoundly human dimensions.
Despite the continued threat of bombardments and siege, thousands of students at ZSMPhU have remained committed to their education. Their resilience, determination, and courage inspired me to act. I wanted to find a way to continue supporting their learning, even from afar. That’s how the Clinical Communication Club was born: a virtual forum designed to introduce Ukrainian medical students and early-career researchers to evidence-based communication science.
What is the Clinical Communication Club?
During the 2024–2025 academic year, we held three virtual sessions, attracting over 100 participants from Ukraine and beyond.
The opening session was co-led by Dr Jack Joyce and me. It offered ZSMPhU students and staff an overview of the structure of Oxford’s Medical Sciences Division, with particular emphasis on the NDPCHS. Jack introduced Conversation Analysis—a rigorous method for studying real-life clinical communication—and demonstrated how it can be applied in clinical trial contexts. Students responded enthusiastically to the interactive nature of the presentation.
For our second session, we were joined by Dr Marco Pino from Loughborough University, an established expert in palliative care communication. Marco introduced RealTalk, an evidence-based training resource designed to support communication skills in end-of-life and bereavement care. Participants appreciated the clinical relevance and practical application of the material.
The final session of the year featured Dr Charlotte Albury, Clinical Communication team lead, who presented findings from TalkWeL, a six-year research programme exploring how primary care clinicians can most effectively communicate brief weight loss advice to people living with obesity. Charlotte not only shared the evidence but also demonstrated how this research informed the development of online educational tools for clinicians and national guidelines. The session sparked a thought-provoking discussion and received very positive feedback from attendees.
Why It Matters
In a context where everyday life is shaped by uncertainty and trauma, initiatives like this offer more than academic knowledge. They foster hope, connection, and professional development. These sessions give students a sense of belonging to a wider academic community and remind them that the pursuit of evidence-based medicine and compassionate care doesn’t stop at national borders.
Here’s what some of our participants had to say:
“I attended the webinars on clinical communication that had lots of information! There were interesting discussions on actual issues related to communication with patients and other aspects of clinical interactions. This information was useful for me, and I thank you for the webinars!”
— Yuliia Vereshchahina, 1st-year student of the Medical Faculty, ZSMPhU
“I had the opportunity to attend a webinar organised by the Clinical Communication Club, which helped me improve my communication skills in clinical settings. The session was interactive and insightful, offering practical tips on effective patient interaction and teamwork. It was really inspiring and even more interesting thanks to all the sessions, which made us learn a little bit more about useful things for our future.”
— Shrilakshmi Sannidanam, 4th-year student of the International Faculty, ZSMPhU
Looking Ahead
The initiative was made possible thanks to the encouragement of my home institution, ZSMPhU, particularly the Department of Foreign Languages, and with the support of Professor Alla Kulichenko, who helped organise, coordinate, and facilitate the sessions. Professor Kulichenko shared her enthusiasm for the project, saying:
“I was very happy to support Liliia in the implementation of this idea. It’s incredibly important—especially during these hard times—for our students to gain access to leading international research and engage with world-class experts. Initiatives like this help them see a future in science and medicine that reaches beyond the current challenges.”
Her belief in the value of this work was crucial. I also received tremendous support from my UK colleagues, especially from the NDPCHS Clinical Communication Team.
The positive response from both students and academic staff has been incredibly encouraging. With strong foundations in place, I hope to expand the Clinical Communication Club in the coming academic year, bringing in more experts and covering new topics—always with the aim of empowering Ukrainian students with tools for effective, compassionate, evidence-informed communication. Even in the darkest times, the act of talking—and listening—can be a form of care.
If you’re interested in Liliia’s research her latest publication is available here: Bespala, L., Meyerhoff, M. & Albury C., Navigating epistemic challenges: Self-initiated self-repair in weight loss discussions within clinical settings. Journal of Pragmatics. 233: 51-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2024.09.003
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