Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the ceremonious meeting of the Academic Council of the Yerevan State Medical University after Heratsi (YSMU).

During the event, held in the open air in the courtyard of the university clinic of the clinical complex Heratsi number 1, future doctors finishing the university, including military doctors, recited the Hippocratic Oath and received their diplomas. By the way, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the YSMU Faculty of Military Medicine.

In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated:
“Dear guests,
Government officials and officers,
Representatives of the diplomatic corps,
Dear graduates,

Congratulations to all of us on today’s event. It is emblematic to graduate from a medical university and wear a military uniform; it is highly responsible to serve under the double oath: the Hippocratic Oath and the military oath. And this responsibility is tripled due to another circumstance. In general, any doctor working with a patient in Armenia comes under strong pressure on the part the patient’s relatives. Military doctors face much more pressure, since any Armenian family considers every Armenian soldier and every officer an integral part of his family. Consequently, our graduates, who have decided to take a double oath and wear a double uniform, are undoubtedly very strong and responsible, and I wish them to fulfill their responsible mission with honor.

Secondly, about graduates of medical universities, as they say, about civilian doctors. At a time when there was no military medicine department in Armenia, doctors, who were civilians, were at the front during the Artsakh war and provided medical assistance to our freedom fighters and soldiers. But I wish our civilian doctors that their work fully take place in civilian life, so that the Motherland will never need additional help.

I wish them to master the art of returning our citizens to creative life, a decent and happy life. I wish that medical standards in Armenia, the quality of medical services could increase every day, every year, and every citizen of the Republic of Armenia could feel that medical services are actually accessible to everybody.

As you can see, this is a priority for our government, a permanent priority, so that no citizen returns from any medical institution to no avail.

I wish that together we could create a situation, so that every doctor would always extend a helping hand and be ready to help not only de jure, but also de facto. This is our collective mission that we must fulfill.

Thirdly, about our foreign graduates. I hope that they obtained the necessary professional knowledge in Armenia, became good professionals and during these years lived in a kindred atmosphere.

I want to believe that they will become ambassadors of the Republic of Armenia in their countries. I want to believe that they will succeed in their countries and provide such services to their people that not only their parents, not only their relatives and friends, but also the Republic of Armenia will be proud of them. And I hope that, having seen their example and professionalism, more and more of their compatriots will be able to get a higher education in the Republic of Armenia.
And, fourthly, about Yerevan State Medical University. Last year, on the occasion of this day, I said that the medical university, in fact, today is the only or most successful state university that reflects our understanding of the future of the higher education system.

We are talking about the internationalization of our higher education system, so that all of our universities have a tangible percentage of foreign students. And we hope that EGMU will not only continue and expand this practice, but also more and more universities in Armenia will become more attractive for foreign students.

Dear guests,
Dear teachers and staff of EGMU, dear parents of graduates, dear graduates,

I am congratulating you on the first step towards the professional career of a doctor, and I hope that your first step will be followed by a second, a third one, and you will boast a long and successful professional record.”

In the 2018-2019 academic year, about 1,000 students graduated from the YSMU, 27 of whom are military doctors.