Education and Training
Delivery of quality care is profoundly affected by poorly educated medical professionals, especially in rural regions of Armenia.
The absence of a mandatory education system for medical professionals impedes the crucial ability to keep up to date on the ever-changing discoveries in the fast developing healthcare industry. The lack of resources and low salaries give no incentives to doctors and other medical professionals to continue their education.
Armenia's medical education and training challenges are:
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Practical training and knowledge for medical students is limited with an overlap of fields
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No standard curriculum and no set level of knowledge among specialists
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Mandatory continuing medical education by Ministry of Health is not funded and clinicians who can afford to travel abroad pay out-of-pocket training expenses
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Lack of national standards of medical and surgical care and lack of uniformity of quality of care or treatment regimens
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Language of instruction is in Armenian, sometimes Russian, yet most of the medical literature is in English, creating a language barrier for students and clinicians that prevents them from accessing open sources of knowledge
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Continuing Medical Education requires that practitioners attend conferences and seminars, conduct research and publish in journals, most often paying out-of-pocket
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Lack of independent quality assessment agencies or consumer review platforms leads to uninformed decision-making among healthcare providers and consumers.
In October 2019, Meduni Charitable Foundation donated advanced surgical equipment and supplies to Fanarjyan National Center of Oncology in Armenia. Vaughn Martirosyan, Executive Director of Meduni UMSI, and Dr. Gennaro D. LaBella, Board Director, visited Armenia to ensure proper training and proper utilization of the equipment. Moreover, to provide free surgeries for qualified patients everyday throughout their visit.
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The laparoscopic method is not new in Armenia, although to date no laparoscopic surgeries of gastrointestinal tract or any colon cancer had been performed in Armenia. Dr. Gennaro D. LaBella is one of the top colorectal surgeons in Cincinnati, OH, USA. He provided the exchange of knowledge and skilled experience of alike professionals which is critically important, especially for our new generation of doctors.
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Meduni UMSI aims to implement a program to donate more medical equipment to Armenia’s hospitals including Surb Maryam Children’s hospital, Fanarjyan National Oncology Center and Gyumri Medical Center. Within the framework of the program, American doctors will arrive in Armenia to share their experience with Armenian specialists and provide full training using the donated equipment.