On the occasion of the Military Physician’s Day Yerevan State Medical University honoured the men of the armed forces medical community who are fighting various diseases and saving lives throughout their whole medical practice.
“We take this opportunity to honour the professors and students of the Military Medicine Faculty on the occasion of the Military Physician’s Day,” said Professor Derenik Dumanyan, Rector of YSMU. In his address, Prof. Dumanyan also stated, that the Military Medicine Faculty being founded in 1994 lives up to its creed and sacred mission in educating and training highly qualified military doctors for the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.
“Over 430 students have graduated from the Faculty; these graduates maintain glorious path of the military physicians who have had great commitment in creating advancement and prosperity of our nation and country within different historical periods.
I am certain, the names of those devoted to our homeland will be hallowed and imprinted in the history eternally; the names of the people having undertaken the activities toward educating military physicians to provide the best care to the Armenian soldiers; people having significant life-saving contribution; people who still greatly foster the ongoing progress of the mentioned activities.
Our graduates of the Military Medicine Faculty are living up to their creed in providing best medical care on the battlefield and on the home front daily. This is achieved thanks to what the professorial faculty accomplishes on a day-to-day basis in teaching with great dedication. Several faculty members are honoured and awarded the Military Medicine Faculty “Gold Medal” in recognition of their distinguished service and entire commitment. Let peace be your everlasting companion in your future endeavors,” stated Prof. Dumanyan.
The list of honorees can safely be characterized as comprising dedicated people with noteworthy accomplishments; people who have provided medical care during the wartime in Artsakh and enormously promoted health care organization and management of RA Armed Forces. Dr. Samvel Avetisyan, University Vice Rector for Science; Dr. Mher Bisharyan, Vice Rector of Postgraduate and Continuing Education, who has cooperated with the forensic medicine structures of RA Ministry of Defence; Dr. Ara Minasyan, Head of YSMU Department of Emergency and Disaster Medicine; Dr. Ara Babloyan, RA former Minister of Health, Head of YSMU Paediatric Surgery Department; Dr. Gagik Sayadyan, YSMU Chief of Staff having great contribution to the organization of medical care in RA Armed Forces – all these distinguished officials have been awarded the “Gold Medal” of the Military Medicine Faculty.
University faculty members and emeritus professors were as well awarded the Gold Medal, among them Dr. Benik Harutyunyan – Head of Department of Rehabilitology and Sports Medicine; Dr. Armen Athabekyan – Head of University Department of Disaster Medicine; Dr. Mushegh Mirijanyan – Head of Department of Surgery N4; Dr. Artavazd Sahakyan – Head of Department of Plastic Surgery; Dr. Alexander Ouzankitchyan – Professor of Department of Surgery N3; Dr. Alexander Aramyan – Associate Professor of the Department of Surgery N4; Dr. Valery Kostanyan being in charge of Anaesthesiology service.
“Score years ago it was when Major Samvel Gasltyan, afterward a Professor, Colonel and Head of Military Medicine Faculty, left for St. Petersburg to comprehensively study the experience of Russian Academy of Military Medicine, with further goal to implement education programs and their academic training experience at YSMU. In those hard times medical university was the most capable institution in the country in terms of carrying out extraordinarily difficult assignments and training military physicians; in times when the country faced the challenges of numerous calamities; in times when the population and education and health care institutions were in a disastrous state going through war…
Honoured officials we meet today have titanic contribution to the development of the military medicine faculty; to the reconstruction of the country after war; to the treatment of those wounded on the battlefield,” said Prof. Dumanyan.
Numerous memories of those days were revived during the meeting. Looking back, Prof. Derenik Dumanyan, Dr. Ara Babloyan, Dr. Armen Athabekyan, Dr. Artavazd Sahakyan, Dr. Gagik Sayadyan and others spoke from their own experience and their accounts being engaged in the work in those severe times on the battlefield when first field and temporary hospitals had been created. According to their own records, the war had just broken out and they started to remember what was attempted and accomplished in the face of difficulties which seemed insurmountable, the provision of medical care to the severely wounded, etc. They talked about and named the people, who were so faithful, so earnest, and so fearless in their efforts.
Experiences and mental records of those times will never be forgotten. To revert to an earlier period of the war, the wounded were treated for weeks in the field-hospitals, in the immediate vicinity of the battlefield, regimental surgeons and medical officers remaining in charge of them until their convalescence… “The number of victims would have been even higher if such an operational follow-up and medical care had not been provided,” said Dr. Ara Babloyan, Chairman of RA National Assembly Standing Committee on Health Care, Maternity and Childhood.
“Creation of the Faculty of Military Medicine is one of the strong and fundamental milestones of our independent state. We are proud of what we have developed so far and have projected several new perspectives with the RA Minister of Defence for fostering the education of military physicians,” said Prof. Derenik Dumanyan, Rector of YSMU.
