YEREVAN, Armenia — On May 21, the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) bridging program celebrated the completion of the capstone projects of its first cohort of graduating BSN nurses. Capstone projects demonstrate the culmination of all the hard work the BSN students have invested throughout the three-year RN-to-BSN program and their readiness to transition into their full professional roles in nursing. The capstone projects require students to synthesize knowledge in an area of interest and utilize evidence to address clinical or patient care issues, quality and patient safety issues, work environment issues, ethical responsibilities, and other policy issues.
The BSN projects this year explored topics essential to the development of a modern healthcare system in Armenia. The projects examined the literature and provided evidence-based recommendations on four key issues, including: (1) nurse-to-patient ratios and their impact on medication errors; (2) nurses’ understanding of ethics with implications to education; (3) orientation programs for nurses in Armenia; and (4) reducing 24-hour nurse shifts in Armenia and implications on patient safety and nurse burnout. Dr. Nour Alayan, the inaugural chair of the BSN program, opened the event and expressed heartfelt congratulations to the graduating students on their milestone achievement. She stated: “I am privileged to be a witness of the nurses’ transformation throughout this RN-to-BSN program. Each of these projects has the potential to drive pioneering change to advance the nursing profession, patient outcomes, and the healthcare system in Armenia.” The capstone poster presentations are now accessible online on the program’s official website.
The students’ presentations were followed by voting for the best poster. A committee of researchers and a faculty member from the Turpanjian College of Health Sciences evaluated the posters independently and selected the poster on orientation programs for nurses in Armenia as the winner. Each member of the winning group — Lilit Sahakyan (BSN ’25), Vera Minasyan (BSN ’25), and Zhanna Safaryan (BSN ’25) — received a prize as recognition of their outstanding capstone work.
The last part of the event included a pinning ceremony, a tradition in nursing where students receive a pin marking their transition to professional nursing and celebrating the nurses’ hard work and dedication throughout the academic program. The BSN faculty members pinned each of the 10 graduating students. The pin was specifically designed for the BSN program at AUA, featuring the lamp of knowledge in the center. The lamp is a significant symbol in nursing that is most famously associated with Florence Nightingale, who was known as “The Lady with the Lamp” for her work caring for the wounded in the Crimean War, often at night. The symbol also represents knowledge and wisdom, compassion, and hope, as well as the role of nurses as “lights” to their patients and the healthcare system. To the graduating students, the pin will remain a lifelong reminder of the pursuit of learning, reflecting the intellectual rigor of the nursing profession.
Dr. Varduhi Petrosyan, dean of AUA’s Turpanjian College of Health Sciences, closed the event with an inspirational speech to the students: “The BSN program is a groundbreaking initiative, supported by the Turpanjian family, and you are the change agents who will revolutionize the nursing profession in Armenia, making healthcare safer and of better quality. We are very proud of your milestone achievement!”
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.
