Temerty Medicine professor supports Ukrainian radiologists’ continuing education

When Michael Patlas learned his radiology colleagues in Ukraine had lost access to continuing medical education in wake of Russia’s invasion in 2022, he began to think about how to support them.

The result was a long-running webinar series that has reached over 780 radiologists in more than 450 hospitals across Ukraine.

Patlas, a faculty member at McMaster University before the war who is now professor and chair of medical imaging at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, says feedback on the series has been overwhelmingly positive, and that doctors taking part have been meaningfully involved.

“We’ve had some good discussions in the chat. The participants are quite knowledgeable and ask very good questions. Sometimes we run over time because there is such strong engagement,” says Patlas, who is an emergency and abdominal radiologist at University Health Network and Sinai Health, and past president of the Canadian Emergency, Trauma and Acute Care Radiology Society.

The idea for the series came together after Patlas spoke with some of his European peers and connected with Ukranian radiologist Tetyana Yalynska, president of the Association of Radiologists of Ukraine. The goal was to enable Ukrainian radiologists to get regular professional development during the war.

The webinar series has since run about once a month in the academic year, covering various topics on emergency and trauma care imaging. Each lecture is about 40 minutes and is delivered by members of the Canadian Association of Radiologists, who volunteer their time from across Canada.

The webinars are also accredited by the local Ukrainian radiological society.

Patlas has a strong connection to Ukraine — his father and wife were both born there. He says conditions for delivering online training to people in the war-torn country are challenging.

There are frequent power outages, so hospital personnel in the capital city of Kyiv route the lectures through a server used for magnetic resonance imaging, which has its own power supply. To date, only one session has been rescheduled due to a bombardment. The webinars are recorded, so anyone who wants to watch them later can do so.

The ongoing conflict has made it more difficult to train physicians of all kinds and other health-care workers to meet the country’s needs.

“It’s a major issue,” says Patlas. “Many people fled the country and it’s very difficult to have a proper system of medical education during a war. We try. We’re still doing it despite the war, but it is not easy.”

Medical education in Ukraine also differs from what is available in Canada. For example, there isn’t a comparable residency system equivalent to what is offered in North America.

When the war ends, Patlas says he hopes to continue working with his Ukrainian counterparts in person.

Colleagues in both countries have honoured Patlas for his efforts. He was recognized in 2023 with an Honorary Membership from the Association of Radiologists of Ukraine for his humanitarian work. The following year, he was awarded a Medal of Excellence by the Canadian Emergency, Trauma and Acute Care Radiology Society. He received a Gold Medal from the Canadian Association of Radiologists in 2025.

“Where there is an injustice, we want to help,” Patlas says. “I’m thankful to be able to do something that may have made a small difference. I don’t kid myself, there is still a war. But it feels good to help. And we’re an educational institution so our job is to help people get a proper education.”