BSN Students Participate in International Workshop on Nursing Care for Displaced Populations
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YEREVAN, Armenia — With a shared commitment to advancing nursing education and improving care for vulnerable and displaced populations, undergraduate students from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at the American University of Armenia (AUA) recently participated in a significant two-day international workshop titled “Advancing the Nursing Workforce in Armenia and Greece: Advocates for Care for Displaced Populations.” Held on April 7–8, at the University of Athens in Greece, the workshop was co-organized by the Columbia Global Centers Healthcare Delivery Research and Innovations (HDRI), Columbia Global Center in Athens, and the University of Athens.
This important academic initiative addressed a critical global healthcare challenge — the delivery of effective and compassionate nursing care to displaced populations, a growing concern in humanitarian crises. By bringing together healthcare professionals, educators, and students from Armenia, the United States, and Greece, the workshop aimed to foster international collaboration, share best practices, and explore innovative approaches to addressing the unique healthcare needs of displaced individuals and communities.
For this workshop, three BSN students, Nune Tovmasyan (BSN ’27), Tamara Martirosyan (BSN ’27), and Gohar Bejanyan (BSN ’26) prepared a student project through conducting a focus group discussion with nurses from the Ararat region, who had experience working and providing care for the displaced population of Artsakh. The student project was supported by the Community Wellbeing Project conducted by the Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development at AUA. The student project aimed to highlight the critical role and experience of nurses in frontline care for the Artsakh displaced populations, as well as a future vision and possible measures for optimizing the nurses’ engagement in care for displaced populations within the Armenian context.
Tovmasyan and Martirosyan delivered an oral presentation on their student project titled “Understanding Nurses’ Roles in Providing Care to Displaced Populations in Armenia.” Their project was conducted under the mentorship of BSN faculty member Adena Alahverdian. Participation in this international workshop was made possible through the generous support of the Columbia Global Centers and HDRI, which provided full travel funding, enabling the AUA students to actively engage with global nursing experts and peers.
This opportunity reflects BSN program’s dedication to empowering nursing students with international exposure, professional networking, and the development of leadership skills. Through such initiatives, BSN students not only gain valuable academic and practical insights but also contribute meaningfully to global dialogues on pressing healthcare issues.
The AUA Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, nursing, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.
