They’ve been Overlooked for Years: Now, they’re Stepping into the Spotlight

In Armenia’s remote villages, nurses often serve as the backbone of local healthcare—sometimes even filling in for doctors when none are available. Yet for years, these professionals have been left without access to the training and resources they need to grow. That’s changing now.

Through a powerful new partnership between FAR, the “Nursing and Therapists Excellence Center” Foundation, and the Ministry of Health, a long-overdue opportunity is finally within reach with the generous support of Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Education Fund. A three-month, fully funded professional development course in Yerevan is giving regional nurses the chance to sharpen their clinical expertise, enhance communication skills, and return home as stronger, more confident caregivers.

Launched on April 3 and continuing through June 7, the training targets pediatric nurses, hemodialysis nurses, and those working in resuscitation and intensive care. Upon completion, participants will receive Ministry of Health-approved professional development credits. "For decades, FAR's CPD programs focused on physicians' training in terms of Healthcare providers' capacity development. This training program for narrow specialist nurses is a very timely development towards to improving Armenia's healthcare system," said Hambardzum Simonyan, FAR’s Healthcare Program Director.

“We’re not just upgrading skills, we’re building leaders,” said Shushan Davtyan, Head of the Excellence Center. “Nurses in rural Armenia shoulder immense responsibility. This course gives them the tools to think strategically, solve problems under pressure, and communicate effectively, both with patients and colleagues.”

The need for such training is clear. Hermine Avetisyan, an intensive care nurse from Sisian Medical Center in Syunik, treats up to 30 patients daily from 36 nearby communities. She sees the gaps firsthand. “This course taught me things I’d only heard about, like inflow catheter placement and lumbar punctures. We don’t have the tools for those at our center yet, but understand their critical importance, and will make every effort to get them and share that knowledge with my colleagues. Medicine evolves constantly. What we learned five years ago isn’t always enough today. Even calculating mean arterial pressure was new to me, and now it’s something I know how to do confidently,” she concluded.

For FAR, this initiative is part of our unwavering commitment to strengthening Armenia’s healthcare system from the ground up—starting with the people who make care possible in the country’s hardest-to-reach places.

Support Armenia’s rural nurses—our frontline heroes. Donate to FAR today. You can also see how you can help Hermine obtain these essential tools to enhance the care she provides to her patients in the strategic region of Sisian.