Rima Khachatryan

Rima Khachatryan
Rima Khachatryan
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Born	April 3, 1938; Yerevan, Armenia
💀Died	April 10, 2020 (aged 82); Yerevan, Armenia April 10, 2020 (aged 82)
🏳️ Nationality	Armenian
💼 Occupation	Educator, an Honoured Pedagogue of the Republic of Armenia,
📆 Years active	1965-2020
Known for	Textbooks for medical colleges. Introduction of а new educational module aimed at the learning outcomes.
Notable work	Inorganic Chemistry: Textbook for medical colleges (vol. I & II), Analytical Chemistry: Textbook for medical colleges

Rima Khachatryan (April 3, 1938 – April 10, 2020) was an Armenian educator and trade union leader, an Honoured Pedagogue of the Republic of Armenia^[1], author of textbooks for medical colleges^[2], founder of the Executive Coaching and Training Institute.^[3]

Biography and background

Rima Khachatryan was born into the family of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Her mother was from Van, and her father was from Alashkert. Her parents met in an orphanage of the Near East Relief in Alexandropol.^[4]. Attended Stepan Shahumyan school in Yerevan.

From 1955 to 1960 she studied at the Department of Biochemistry of the Armenian State Pedagogical University, and was qualified as a teacher of Chemistry and Biology. In 1965 she graduated from the Armenian National Agrarian University^[5], and in 1969 received Diploma in Chemistry from the School of Pedagogy of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia^[2].

In 1961 started her career at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Armenian SSR.

From 1 September, 1965 till her death in 2020 - for 55 years, she worked in the Yerevan Basic Medical College^[6] (2002-2013-Head of the Department of Pharmaceutics).

She was married having two children.

Teaching and promoting nurse education

Rima Khachatryan taught pharmaceutical, inorganic, analytical, and organic chemistry at the Yerevan Basic Medical College.

In 1987 as a finalist in the pan-USSR socialist competition, she was awarded an Honorary Certificate ‘for exceptional achievements in pedagogy’^[2] by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol).

In 2013, at the age of 75, she completed the ‘Training for teachers’ advanced course organized by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Training Development, and led the efforts of introducing in medical colleges the new educational program aimed at learning outcomes for “Pharmaceutics” discipline.

Her efforts to enhance nurse education led to establishment of medical vocational schools in rural areas of Armenia (Gavar, Ararat, Hrazdan, Armavir, Martuni) during 1970-1995, as well as the first scientifically based nursing schools – the Schools of Nursing at St. Gregory the Illuminator Hospital (2008) and #11 Policlinic (1996)^[7] in Yerevan.

In 2002 she was awarded with an Honorary Certificate by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia for her ‘contribution made to the expansion of the medical vocational educational institutions’ network in Armenia’^[2].

In 2007-2009 she authored and published two textbooks for the students of medical colleges, namely the two-volume “Inorganic Chemistry” and “Analytical Chemistry”. For about one-and-a-half decades both textbooks have been the core learning resources for seven state medical colleges around the country^[8]. The textbooks are positively described for their ‘consistency of the instructional design and the learner-centred approach to presenting the content’. Experts say, that the best praise of the textbooks is that ‘the student is given a broader opportunity for self-learning, and does not need a lot of instructional intervention’, and News.am stated in 2020 calling them ‘Textbooks, that are never outdated’^[9].

Khachatryan, R., Inorganic Chemistry: Textbook for medical colleges, Volume I, Yerevan, Lucky Print 2007, ISBN 978-99941-71-19-4 Search this book on .;
Khachatryan, R., Inorganic Chemistry: Textbook for medical colleges, Volume II, Yerevan, Lucky Print 2007, ISBN 978-99941-71-19-4 Search this book on .;
Khachatryan, R., Analytical Chemistry: Textbook for medical colleges, Yerevan, Legal Plus 2009, ISBN 978-9939-815-19-0 Search this book on ..

Trade union Activities

File:Armenia President awards Rima Khachatryan.jpg

Armenia president Serzh Sargsyan awards Rima Khachatryan with Anania Shirakatsi medal, 27 May 2009

In 1969-2020, for five decades she led the trade union of the College, which media recorded as “a record leadership experience in itself”^[10]. She considered ‘two fundamental elements – schools and civil society – to be major topics needing attention to encourage nurse education system.^[11]

In 1980 – 2020 she was a member of the Republican Council of Trade Unions of Medical Workers of Armenia, then of the Republican Union of Trade Organisations of Healthcare Workers.

In 1992-1994 for the first time in Armenia she introduced the principle of “the trade union treasury as a cash register for mutual support”, to honor those who served and to raise money for the College’s veteran students and their families.^[2]

In 1996, she significantly contributed to the elaboration of the RA Law on Medical Assistance and Service to the Population^[12], where for the first time ever issues regarding legal regulation of nursing, assessment of the workload of mid-level health workers and fair pay^[13] were touched upon.