Department of pediatrics №1

The founder of pediatrics in Armenia was Hovnan Hambartzum Gabrielyan (1876-1946). In 1920 he established a chair of pediatric diseases in Baku. The chair of the same name was established in 1926 in Yerevan. Professor Gabrielyan combined the work of the two chairs for 10 years. In 1936, he returned to homeland and started the process of establishing an active pediatric service.

In 1940, the first children’s hospital was established in Yerevan. In addition to this, other hospitals were put into exploitation where the newly  formed departments of pediatrics of Yerevan State Medical Institute were deployed.

In September 1963, the first department of pediatrics of the Pediatric Faculty was opened at the 4th Children’s Hospital (now “Muratsan” University Hospital Complex).

Since 2019 the chair is being headed by Professor Karine Simonyan.

The activities of the department include not only educational, methodological, scientific, and organizational activities, but also active work in the field of healthcare, including professional media activity aimed at public awareness. Employees of the department successfully work and hold positions in university clinics, as well as in the highest instances of the healthcare system.

The courses of Pediatrics are organized in Armenian, Russian and English languages within the framework of curriculum of the following faculties: General Medicine, Stomatology, and Military Medicine. At the end of the first semester students of the faculties of General medicine and Military Medicine pass computer testing. At the end of the second semester they have oral exams. A mandatory component of certification in each semester is the testing of practical skills using the Mini-Clinical Examination (Mini-CEX) approach.

The subject of “Nursing in Pediatrics” is also taught in the chair for YSMU College.

Teaching process in the chair includes the following major methods:

• Practical trainings (discussion of clinical problems and/or simulation scenarios, working with the patients);
• Lectures and interactive seminars.

A rich educational literature is provided by the chair in 3 languages, which contains educational information with spectacular materials, and is constantly updated. A differentiated approach is shown for students of different faculties. Special educational materials are provided to college students.

The chair has a rich bank of quiz questions in Armenian, Russian and English, which is constantly updated and replenished.

The chair also provides postgraduate education in residency (3 years), post-graduate course (3 years), and continuing professional education through improvement courses for doctors and nurses.

The staff of the chair not only participates, but also gives speeches at numerous international conferences, organizes and conducts scientific conferences and seminars on current issues of medicine, implements various national programs of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia. The chair also conducts outgoing lectures, seminars, consultations, participates in the professional open days.

The department’s activities include not only educational, scientific-methodical and educational organizational activities, but also active clinical and health activities, including professional media activity aimed at public awareness.

The chair has a rich list of scientific works, numerous published articles in the journals with the impact factor of the “Web of Science” database, in the periodicals adopted by the Supreme Certifying Committee of RA.

In recent years, the chair has been engaged in the following research activities.

• Risk factors for severe covid-19 in infants and young children.
• “Clinical features of Covid-19 and the possible impact of the infection on the neuropsychological development of young children.”
• “The prognostic role of HLA-G in case of wheezing in young children.”
• Clinicogenetic characteristics of cystic fibrosis in the Armenian population.
• The importance of expanded genetic testing for cystic fibrosis in the Armenian population.
• Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with cystic fibrosis in Europe.
• Factors predicting severe consequences of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with cystic fibrosis.
• Child nutrition policies and monitoring systems. Qualitative study of European countries.
• The state of implementation of the global early childhood nutrition strategy in Europe.

The staff of the chair is included in various associations and organizations, participates in local and international conferences. The Chair closely collaborates with the following international associations and organizations:

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• Armenian Association of Pediatricians
• World Vision Armenia
• Armenian Relief Fund
• “Trust” Health NGO
• “Armenian Alliance for Maternal and Child Health”
• IBFAN-International Baby Feeding Association’s Network
• Geneva Infant Feeding Association (IF GIFA)
• “Swedish Reliance” NGO
• “Neurohreditary Diseases” NGO
• “Hospital Epidemiology” NGO
• International “Rare – best practice”
• Association of Women with University Education
• Association of Pediatric Endocrinologists
• European Organization for Rare Diseases
• European Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID)

During the educational-methodological and scientific-practical activities, the staff of the department is continuously cooperating with a number of foreign clinics:

• Scientific Centre of Children Health (Moscow, Russia)
• Royal College of Physicians of London
• Ryhov County Hospital, Jönköping, Sweden
• The Italian National Centre for Rare Diseases
• Cystic Fibrosis Care Centers in Russia and Georgia
• Center for Medical Genetics in the Czech Republic
• Royal Brompton Hospital, England
• Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova
• Moldovan Institute of Maternity and Childhood
• University Children’s Hospital, University of Graz

The staff of the chair successfully work and hold positions in university clinics, as well as in the highest instances of the health care system.