- Skills training centre
- Introduction of Telemedicine at Yerevan State Medical University
- Cardiac Life Support training center
- Bone marrow transplantation center
- University teaching hospital
Skills training centre
To provide high-quality specialized surgical training programs meeting today’s requirements it is necessary to have a modern and well equipped skills training center. These types of centers are innovative and very few of them exist worldwide. The abovementioned centre is unique in its kind and will be the first in the region. The center will be a beneficial endeavor both financially and in fulfilling the educational mission.
The skills training center will be equipped with simulators. The goal of simulation is training the skills and rendering the knowledge necessary to successfully perform a procedure. Simulators will assist in solution of such problems as listed below:
- The certification of surgeons in Armenia consists of a written exam and an oral exam. There is currently no formal board certification process that includes a technical skills proficiency examination. Surgical simulators can potentially address many of these issues.
- New and complex surgical interventions can be practiced safely on a simulator before proceeding to the patient.
- Simulators can decouple the physician-student time dependency. The students can practice according to their own schedule. Practice sessions results can be stored for later review by the physician.
- Preliminary clinical studies have shown that simulators can be used successfully in medical courses. Since difficulty levels are controllable, a uniform learning experience is possible.
While initially expensive to acquire, simulators can be cost effective in the long term. In addition to skills training, simulators have potential applications in accreditation and re-accreditation, selection for training, and that for completion of training.
Potential benefits of the center go as follows:
- Increased quality of practical skills training and assessment
- Time-saving in education
- Accreditation and re-accreditation of physicians
- Self-financing due to extracurricular training of students/residents (special fees for trainees wishing to spend extra time in the lab), training of physicians wishing to obtain new specialization, licensing of physicians under auspices of Ministry of Health of RA.
- Training of foreign specialists and becoming a leader of medical training in the region.
Introduction of Telemedicine at Yerevan State Medical University
Yerevan State Medical University is going to establish telemedicine which is a new modern communication technology in medicine. Telemedicine is known to be a rapidly developed application of clinical medicine, where medical information is transferred through modern communication and information technologies for the purposes of consulting, medical examination and remote medical procedures. The telemedicine technology will be installed in the multifunctional University clinical hospital and 4 major hospitals in distant marzes of Armenia, thus integrating telemedicine technologies into a comprehensive network of health care in both rural and central areas of the country. Telemedicine will allow health care professionals of Armenia to collaborate closely with each other throughout the country in various situations by using “connected” devices ensuring cost-effective and immediate evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of complicated cases therefore minimizing the disparities in provision of medical care throughout the country. On the other hand, telemedicine equipment allocation at YSMU clinic would be a great educational tool for the students and residents as well as provide opportunity for lifelong learning for health care professionals ensuring high quality continuous medical education. It will also ensure close contact and collaboration with leading western clinics, giving the opportunity to exchange knowledge and practices which will guarantee access to the latest achievements in the sphere of medicine and providing up-to-date medical service to the population of Armenia.
Cardiac Life Support training center
Although Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Guidelines are industry wide accepted standards of healthcare, the latest are still not high enough in Yerevan State Medial University. Therefore the Yerevan medical community’s intent is to incorporate the high standard of care into YSMU medical school curriculum and further into the continuing medical education of physicians. For this reason, Yerevan State Medical University in association with University of Massachusetts School of Medicine is intending to establish Cardiac Life Support training center, where highly qualified specialists will provide variety of training courses.
The courses provided will be the followings:
- Basic Life Support
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support
- American Heart Association Core Instructor Course and Discipline Specific Instructor Courses
As a result, Armenian Medical Students, Residents, Faculty and practicing Physicians will be provided with AHA (American Heart Association) Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) with the most current information and skills. Furthermore, future instructors with AHA Core Instructor curriculum and BLS and ACLS instructor curriculum will be trained so that YSMU Training Center can become self-sustaining over time.
Bone marrow transplantation center
Bone marrow transplantation is now considered to be the only effective method in treatment of blood malignant diseases. For a long time patients with blood oncologic disorders have been condemned to death. As a treatment option, chemotherapy and radiological treatment often led to remission but not to complete recovery. Nowadays bone marrow transplantation gives hope to such patients for their lives to go on. In spite of its high effectiveness, bone marrow transplantation is a very risky procedure and may lead to serious post-transplantation complications. Therefore, oncologists and immunologists, as well as an experienced and skillful team of reanimatologists is required.
The aim of the project is to establish a bone marrow transplantation center as a subdivision of YSMU in the “Muratsan” University clinic. The center will be equipped with advanced medical equipment. Young professionals will undergo specialized trainings abroad in order to provide complex and high-quality treatment to the patients with blood disorders. As the center appears to be a university substructure, it will be not only medical but also scientific and research center, where students and clinical residents will have the opportunity to acquire clinical skills and be involved in patient care and treatment procedures, as well as conduct research studies. There will be a rehabilitation unit and a clinical laboratory operating at the center.
University teaching hospital
Nowadays, an up-to-date and fully equipped teaching hospital is an essential precondition for ensuring high-quality and modern medical education. Since YSMU is the only state higher medical institution in Armenia, it is highly important to have such a teaching hospital within the university campus. The clinic will include surgical, therapeutic and dental centers with their respective units.
The university teaching hospital will provide:
- Medical services by experienced physicians using modern equipment and the newest technological achievements as well as methods in the field of medicine.
- High level medical training for students and clinical residents, as well as continuous medical education (CME) courses for physicians, including those from the regions and NKR.
- Modern research projects in the field of clinical medicine and clinical trials.
- Preparation and training of specialists in various fields of medicine.
