Right: Forward row, left to right: Rosine Der-Tavitian of CSUN Nursing with Lucy Daderian Huckabay, Director of the School of Nursing at CSU Long Beach. Behind them, facing camera; Vartan Tachdjian, Pediatrician and member of the Armenian Medical Society; and CSUN Nursing faculty and organizer for CSUN's role, Zarmine Naccashian.
Giving back to community, educating and learning are important to HHD’s mission to enhance, enrich and empower the human experience locally and globally.
To elevate the nursing profession as a scientific discipline internationally, CSUN Nursing faculty Zarmine Naccashian, along with faculty colleagues Rosine Der-Tavitian and Armine Hayrapetyan, traveled during summer to the 5th International Medical Congress of Armenia (5IMCA) in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan.
One of the members of the planning and organizing committee, Naccashian reached out to faculty colleagues from CSU Long Beach and practicing nurses in the industry. “By bringing professionals together, we can discover new ways to strengthen each other and the profession over broader spectrum: from education to practice.”
The conference supports a national movement to help elevate the medical profession in Armenia and opens a platform for dialogue among the scientific community. Academic influencers from around the world came to the conference to strengthen the understanding that the profession, and patient health, are better served when nurses have a say in medical decisions, and that they are not just there to be doctors’ helpers.
Geghsnoush Stephanyan, President of the Armenian Nurses Association in Yerevan, made the opportunity possible through collaboration with the local leaders and the Armenian American Nurses Association (AANA) based in Los Angeles.
In some rural towns, medical professionals are stretched thin and don’t have procedures in place, so they may not see the value of tracking infectious diseases in the community; Stephanyan described how failing to keep reporting practices in place can create impressions that are not only misleading, but dangerous. “If illnesses are not tracked, first what you see is misinformation – a report may show ‘zero illness’ suggesting that nobody in the town got sick that year," she said. "As a result, it will appear that the town does not need dedicated resources when the fact may be that illness was high but just wasn’t tracked.”
Naccashian added that by coming to the conference, specialists of all levels can find each other, learn from each other and build a sense of community that extends to lifelong professional relationships.
Throughout the trip, Naccashian used social media to share some highlights of the conference. Below is her social media journal:
Monday July 1, in the city of Ijevan (Tavush Province), more than 250 local nurses congregated in the city hall to attend a full day nursing workshop with discussion topics that ranged from “Hepatitis B and C”; “How to Improve the Image of Nursing in Practice Setting”; “Standard Precautions”; “The Consensus Report Guidelines of Diabetes Management”; “Public Health Nursing”; “Female Infertility” and more. The delegates met with the Marzbed (Leader of Province) of Tavush Marz (Province) Mr. Hayk Chobanyan to discuss the process of implementing established policies and clinical practice guidelines, which have already been approved by Minister of Health, to be adopted by professionals in the Tavush Province.
Tuesday July 2: we all attended the gala dinner on the 15th Anniversary of Cochlear Implant Surgeries in Armenia and celebrated the inception of AIMFund Yerevan. Congratulations to all AIMFund team members for their dedication and perseverance in granting the gift of hearing to hearing impaired children in Armenia.
Tuesday July 2, a full day pre-congress nursing workshop took place in Mkhitar Haratzi Medical School auditorium at Yerevan State University. Such an arrangement allows staff nurses and nurse leaders from different provinces to travel to Yerevan to attend an educational workshop where wide spectrum of topics is presented and discussed. This model was first implemented in 2003 with the 1IMCA to allow larger number of nurses participate in the congress by attending no registration fee; discipline specific pre-conference nursing workshop portion only. This model is now adopted by other disciplines and are identified as satellite sessions. Strong collaborative ties has been established between AANA and Armenian Nurses Association, Yerevan that makes these workshops successful. More than 500 nurses attended the workshop and upon conclusion of the session each attendee received a certificate of attendance validated by Ministry of Health. I was honored to be part of this event. A quick needs assessment revealed that topics in pediatrics and thyroid disorders will be appreciated for the upcoming workshops. Our thanks to the presidents of both organizations Kristine Oganian and Geghanush Stepanyan and their teams for their tireless efforts.
Wednesday July 3, a panel discussion took place at the American University of Armenia (AUA). The panelists were: Drs. Arsen Torosyan (MoH); Vicken Sepilian (President; Armenian Medical International Committee: AMIC); Shant Shekherdimian (Pediatric Surgeon, UCLA) and Mr. Zareh Sinanian (High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs). The discussion focused on initiatives to strengthen the ties between Armenia and the Diaspora by following a systematic functional approach that will lead to sustainability. Vast variety of topics were discussed. An evaluation outcome of the past accomplishments can act as needs assessment and lead to a paradigm shift from charity to collaboration. The panel was led by the AUA Dean of Public Health Dept. Dr. Varduhi Petrosyan.
Right: Sign along the highway reads: "Welcome to the Republic of Arsakh." Left to right: Lucy Huckabay (CSULB), Jackie Ovsepian of Armenian Nurses Association (AANA); Zarmine Naccashian (CSUN); Kristing Oganian and Anna Nigogosian (AANA); and Armine Hayrapetyan (CSUN).
Thursday July 4, 5IMCA morning sessions were attended by hundreds of health care providers. The topics included Global Health, Brain Stroke, Genetics and Robotic Surgery by renowned clinicians and researchers. During concurrent sessions Naccashian presented on practical food choices that constitutes balanced meal intake. Demonstrated by actual size plates and meal samples. It was well received by the audience. Der-Tavitian presented on the relationship between major social media sites and depression.
Thursday July 4 evening attended Charity Concert at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. Excellent performance! A few of the performers were children who had received cochlear implants. Congratulations AIMFund for the dedication and the exemplary work.
Friday July 5, one of the key-note sessions focused on Motherland and Diaspora Cooperation. It was a productive panel discussion. In the afternoon during concurrent sessions, Naccashian presented a summary of 2018 Consensus Report of American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association of Study of Diabetes (EASD) reviews. Focus on cardiovascular disease to determine treatment options and then A1C control was discussed. Algorithms of clinical management in relation to comorbidities was reviewed. The presentation was well received by the attendees.
Saturday, July 6: It is customary to conclude these congresses with a social gathering where all the organizing committee key players are recognized and appreciated. The gala dinner took place at Paravon; spacious and beautiful banquet hall. It was well attended by dignitaries, health care professionals and family members.
Monday July 8, a group of nurses from the AANA and nurses from Yerevan headed towards Artsakh to hold an encore session of the nursing workshop in Stepanakert. The pre-conference nursing workshop was initiated with 1IMCA in 2003 to ensure the attendance of vast number of nurses to discuss and explore discipline specific topics. In the following congresses the planning team attempted to initiate a post congress workshop in Artsakh only to actualize this year! Our thanks to Lilia Movsesyan; President of the Armenian Nurses Association and her team in Artsakh for coordinating the session in collaboration with the Minister of Health of Artsakh, Arayik Baghryan. It was a full day of education, networking and collaboration. Feelings of contentment and accomplishment witnessing this milestone!
Tuesday, July 9, It rained hard in the afternoon in Stepanakert as we were conducting the conference! We visited the Medical Center in Stepanakert and conversed with the staff. Thankful to Dr. Karen Baziyan, Director of the Medical Center for his insights. Plans to implement structured continuous sub-specialty competency based workshops were discussed. We headed to a serene place in the woods “Isahaki Axpyour” restaurant for dinner. Thankful to Dr. Vartan Tachdjian for reciting one of his poems.
F2019
Zarmine Naccashian, Nursing; Jean O'Sullivan, HHD