Issue 2 June 2016
Department of Nursing & Midwifery
University of Limerick
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the second edition of
the International Education
Newsletter (IEN), which is
produced annually by the
Department of Nursing and
Midwifery, University of Limerick.
The aim of this newsletter is to
provide highlights of our
international students’ journeys,
success stories, events and
announcements. It is written for the
students, with the students and
about the students. It will also
provide general information and
updates regarding international
education and other
internationalisation initiatives within
the Department of Nursing and
Midwifery, to current and
prospective students, staff and
faculty members. We hope you
enjoy reading the various student
contributions and we look forward
to working with you on your
contributions in the future.
The Department of Nursing and
Midwifery acknowledges that
internationalisation and intercultural
learning enhances the quality of
learning, teaching and research
within the Department and
contributes significantly to the
overall student learning
experience. In particular the value
of providing opportunities for
students from diverse cultural and
ethnic backgrounds to learn with,
from and about one another, is
seen as an important component
for developing cultural awareness
and sensitivity. The nursing
classroom is a microcosm of the
clinical environment, where
professionals from diverse cultures
bring with them a wealth of
different experiences and skills.
A lot has happened regarding
international education and
internationalisation initiatives within
the Department of Nursing and
Midwifery, since the publication of
our last newsletter. In particular,
the following news items which will
feature in this edition, may be of
interest to you: graduation of our
second cohort of international
students of their MSc Nursing
Studies award, the development of
a new 3 week summer school and
details of a joint publication with a
past student from Brazil, on the
Science without Borders
programme.
Contributions for the next IEN
newsletter (June 2017) are
currently being considered. If you
have a story to tell, an
announcement or news update,
please email your ideas and
contributions to
[email protected] by 1st
December 2016. We look forward
to receiving your ideas and working
with you on your stories and
contributions.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Conferring Ceremony .................... 2
Welcome Message ......................... 2
Summer School ............................ 3
Student contributions.................... 4
Student contributions.................... 5
How to contribute ......................... 6
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
Graduation Ceremony Jan 2015
Summer School
Department of Nursing and Mid-
wifery at NAFSA conference in 2015
Student Contributions
Contact us
International Education Newsletter (IEN)
The conferring ceremony 2016 was a very exciting and proud day for the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, the graduating students and
their family and friends. Congratulations and well done.
Well done and a huge congratulations to our second cohort of International students
who all successfully graduated with an MSc Nursing Studies award on the 19th
January 2016. The conferring ceremony was held in the Foundation building,
University of Limerick, followed by a celebratory reception hosted by the
Department of Nursing and Midwifery in the University’s Pavilion. This was a very
exciting and proud day for the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, the graduating
students and their family and friends.
Many thanks to Tara O’ Brien from O’ Brien Associates (http://www.obeduc.com/
Programmes), faculty and staff from the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, our
new 2015 cohort of students , our graduating students and their family and friends,
for coming to mark this very memorable day. Congratulations and well done.
GRADUATION CELEBRATORY RECEPTION
The Department of Nursing and Midwifery hosted a celebratory reception in the
University’s Pavilion, following graduation for the 11 graduating international
students, their family and friends. A wonderful evening was had by all, where the
students, their family and friends, O’Brien Associates and University of Limerick
faculty and staff all celebrated the students successful achievements.
At the celebratory reception Dr Pauline O Reilly, Head of Department of Nursing and
Midwifery, Kathleen Markey, Course Director for International Studies and Tara O’
Brien, of O’ Brien Associates also congratulated the graduates and joined in the
celebrations.
CONFERRING CEREMONY 2016 WELCOME MESSAGE:
The Department of Nursing
a n d M i d w i f e r y p r i d e
themselves in of fer ing
outstanding student support
and excellent learning and
teaching resources. The
academic, social, personal and
cultural benefits of studying in
another country are enormous.
While living away from home
and studying in another
country can be challenging, it
can also offer you a unique
opportunity to meet new
friends and develop new ways
of learning and thinking.
All those involved in the
delivery of the programmes
you are studying on, are
extremely committed to them.
We look forward to working
with you to generate a
supportive and beneficial
learning environment.
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A three week summer school entitled Developing self as a healthcare practitioner, is a 6 credit module developed in consultation with the International Education Division (IED) and hosted by the Department of Nursing and Midwifery. This summer school ran for the first time in June 2016. It interweaves a Celtic spiritual dimension to healthcare, exploring the psychosocial, cultural and spiritual elements in developing personal and professional practice. 4 Nursing and 1 Occupational Therapy student from five different Universities in the US registered on this summer school. Developing emotional intelligence offers a foundation towards transforming self and caring practice. The sessions were broadly structured around spirituality, self-care and mindfulness, complementary therapies, beliefs and values in developing and transforming self and practice. A site visit to an older person residential setting was organised and provided an opportunity for
students to engage with residents and practitioners. Learning strategies were underpinned by guided reflection aiming to foster a creative, engaged, connected learning environment. Students were encouraged to keep a reflective diary and submitted a portfolio reflecting on their learning journey. This summer school forms part of a suite of international summer schools coordinated by the International Education Division (IED). Students reside on campus and share social, cultural and field trip activities with students on other summer school programmes coordinated by IED. We thank the students of 2016 intake for their contributions and sharing their journey with us. We look forward to welcoming out 2017 intake onto this summer school in June 2017.
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SUMMER
SCHOOL
DEVELOPING
SELF AS A
HEALTHCARE
PRACTITIONER
The BSc nursing
studies
programme ran
for the first time
in 2015
Twelve students
commenced this one
year Programme in
September 2015. Students valued the personal and professional
learning opportunities this programme afforded to them.
A REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT BY: BOWAN GUO
My personal reflections—what is it like for a Chinese student to study at the University of Limerick
I am Bowen Guo, an MSc Nursing Studies student from Beijing. I initially felt alone and I felt it was hard to understand my colleagues because of their different accents when speaking English. Studying in a fresh culture and different beliefs helped me to adapt and develop. Although I sometimes felt homesick and helpless, I found talking to my colleagues helped as they had similar feelings. We hugged and encouraged each other, then I felt released from my feelings and engaged actively to study with them. Now, we have established a good friendship and we often share our feelings and study together. I am very proud of myself to have overcome this problem within such a short time. It was the best decision I have ever made to study here.
I would like to share some of my studying experiences and share with you what helped me succeed. The most significant tip is reading in advance before the lecture. Usually, I prefer to print out the reading materials from MOODLE and highlight the emphasis that is really helpful to discuss and exchange my thoughts in the class. I found writing assignments in English challenging. Initially, there were many mistakes, however, after several drafts and modifications you will make significant progress. Be patient with this process. It will come. Some international students feel shy to speak and communicate with each other, in my experience of working with a Finland and Estonia girl to prepare an oral presentation, the most effective way I learned from this is to express your thoughts and ideas when you study with a student from a different culture. It is an amazing learning experience.
I hope the sharing of my experiences are helpful for you. All lecturers and sessions here are perfect,, they give you hope and encouragement. You can get everything you want at the University of Limerick, I hope you have a good journey here and enjoy it as much as I have.
LEARNING TO REFERENCE USING CITE IT RIGHT BY:
KUNCHOK DOLMA
Referencing is one of the most essential learning skills required to develop early on in your programme of studies. It is essential to acknowledge your work and the work of others, ensuring they are referenced appropriately. Every reference must have adequate information to enable the assessor to find the source. This is one of the most challenging aspects of academic writing that I personally experienced. However, we were introduced very early on to the University of Limericks reference guide—cite it right. It is a thin, blue book which costs only 4 Euros with only 50 pages but very informative. It is based on the Harvard referencing style. It provides rules for in-text citing, when and how to quote, and rules for referencing for journals, books, magazine, web links, newspaper and lecture notes to name a few. I personally feel it is indispensable to have it at masters’ level because good referencing is essential to support and prove your work is valid and that you can demonstrate breath and depth of reading around your topic. I am reading it like a “Bible” and I carry it with me wherever I go. I am really thankful to our lecturers for introducing this beautiful guide to us and I recommend every student to buy it and use it continuously.
4
“Here we are pictured below during our dedicated writing
space time, which has been really beneficial.”
STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS: Congratulations to the BSc and MSc Nursing studies students on receiving their scholarship award. Below is
a photo of the scholarship awards ceremony with Professor Alison Perry (Dean of Faculty of Education and
Health Sciences, UL)
CONGRADULATIONS AND WELL DONE TO ANNA KARINA
MARTINS DE OLIVEIRA, A BRAZILIAN STUDY ABROAD
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT AND HER LECTURER DYMPNA
TUOHY FOR THEIR RECENT JOINT PUBLICATION
Martins de Oliveira, A. and Tuohy, D. (2015). “Communication and Nursing: A Study Abroad Student’s Reflections”, British Journal
of Nursing, 24(21), 1080-1084.
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Photograph of students on the
BSc Nursing Studies and MSc
Nursing Studies participating in
the St. Patricks Day parade at
Limerick on 17th March with the
University of Limericks’ English
Language Centre.
JOINING IN THE CELEBRATIONS OF ST PATRICK’S DAY:
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE AND SUBSCRIBE
TO IEN:
Contribute to the next IEN newsletter due to be com-
pleted in June 2017, by submitting issues of interest,
announcements, events, forums, societies or success
stories, however long or short, to
[email protected] before 1st December 2016.
The newsletter will be circulated via email. To sub-
scribe to the IEN newsletter, please email a request to
[email protected] to be included on the distribu-
tion and database of contacts.
Like our Facebook page for news updates:
https://www.facebook.com/nandmul
Follow our Twitter page: @NursingMid_Ul
Visit our website for more information on the pro-
grammes available to students and for news updates
within the Department.
http://www.ul.ie/nm/course/international-0
Faculty and Staff from UL at
NAFSA Conference —May 2015
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