BOSTON — More than 1,000 medical professionals from 35 countries participated in a virtual conference September 11-12 which provided free continuing education credits to doctors in Armenia and Artsakh while honoring the memory of a physician who had dedicated much of his life professionally to medicine and personally to Armenia.
The first “Dr. Raffy Hovanessian International Digestive Disease Virtual Conference” was organized by the International Center for Professional Development
(ICPD) and sponsored by the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), including its Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Education Fund and Dr. Edgar Housepian Medical Education Fund as platinum sponsors, and Izmirlian Medical Center as Gold level sponsor. The partners of the conference were the Ministry of Health in Armenia, and Arabkir Medical Center. The Skill Event Management Company was also a partner and took the lead in the logistical and technical aspects of the conference.
ICPD.am was founded by Doctors Rafi Avitsian, Ara Babloyan, and Gevorg Yaghjyan, with the mission of expanding medical education in Armenia. Together, the trio and Dr. Ara Nazarian form the ICPD board of directors. The organization has put together several conferences on topics such as COVID, pain management and post-conflict rehabilitation.
Chairing the conference was world-renowned gastroenterologist Dr. Asadur Jorge Tchekmedyian, of Uruguay. Keynote speaker Dr. John Bilezikian (Columbia University, US) led a roster of 54 speakers representing 23 countries.
For Rafi Avitsian, this seminar is another step toward bringing the latest in discoveries and methods in medicine to the professionals in Armenia or Artsakh who may not have other ways of easily continue learning.