Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi (YSMU) is the only state medical university in Armenia providing under- and postgraduate education in various medical specialties and courses for students and physicians from Armenia and abroad and Continuing Medical Education courses for various specialties. Meeting international requirements, YSMU is one of 3 state universities in the country undergoing the process of State Accreditation to meet ENQA requirements. YSMU has numerous joint research, collaborative and exchange projects with various universities in Europe and USA. The Department of Medical Genetics integrates specialists with strong research and teaching experience in molecular and clinical genetics. In addition to several research projects, the department is involved in an integrated network for creation of tools and databases of genetic data, improvement of infrastructure and genetic services. YSMU has participated in four projects under Tempus IV call, and will act first time as an applicant and coordinator.
The key role in specialization, training, and continuous medical education of physicians and healthcare specialists in Armenia belongs to the YSMU with a strong platform for developing medical modules and programs. Given the importance of MG for all health care professionals, a one-week MG rotation is delivered to undergraduate students by key national professionals. However, lack of professional MG workforce in Armenia requires further development of faculty capacities to train and develop specialists in MG with an in-depth knowledge of genetic principles and genetic diseases, and a clear understanding of the principles of clinical genetics as a generalized discipline in adult and pediatric medicine. The YSMU will develop new MG modules to integrate in its current undergraduate medical curriculum and develop the first 2-year residency training program in clinical genetics in Armenia.
