Nursing exchange students from Qatar have trip of a lifetime in Calgary

The Facebook pictures and YouTube videos say it all: four University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ) students, in Calgary on a six-week exchange for a nursing practicum, are revelling in the complete Canadian experience.

They walked with the penguins, snowboarded at Sunshine Village, had tea with the dean of the Faculty of Nursing, biked around Banff and, yes, completed their clinical placements and are ready to graduate.

“We are really trying to maximize the trip; we wanted a full experience,” says Lea Chan Pinco Jabonete about her first sojourn to Canada. It also appears that they have become good friends in the process even though they have all taken different paths to nursing.

Family connections spark students' nursing pursuits 

Jabonete's family is originally from the Philippines: her father is a nurse and her mother a pharmacist. “In high school, I was always interested in the sciences,” she says, “so my parents took that interest and led me to nursing and UCQ.”

Evelyn Edwards grew up in Ontario wanting to be a nurse, but landed in business instead. In 2010, when she and her family moved to Qatar for her husband’s job with Qatar Airways, she found the opportunity to explore her dream.

“I had to go all the way to Qatar to go to the University of Calgary,” she says, with a laugh. “I’m very thankful for the University of Calgary and all the support they have given me. I saw moving to Doha as the end of something, when actually it was the beginning.” 

Edwards will graduate from nursing the same year as her daughter, who is a student at the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing at Trent University in Peterborough.

Experiencing hands-on nursing in a Canadian context

All the women are grateful for the chance to understand nursing in the Canadian context. Asma Alamgir was on the cardiology unit at Foothills Hospital and says the difference between Qatar and Calgary is substantial.

“Here, the scope of nursing practice is extensive and well respected; in Doha, it is still a work in progress," says Alamgir, adding that she is beginning to see a change in the perception of nursing in Qatar.

“Our university is working hard to change the image of nurses and we can’t stop talking about how amazing nursing is ourselves!" she says. "People are always asking us, and want to learn more, about our program; I definitely think there is more interest and awareness."

Jabonete adds, “When I joined the weekly seminars of the Calgary students also going for their final practicum, it was great to witness the similarity — we all are consistently reflective in our practice. It was a profound experience and I will always carry it with me.  

"As well, the hands-on learning is an expectation in clinical practice here, which made a great difference in gaining my nursing skills," says Jabonete. "Being able to document my assessments and nursing reports in my patients’ electronic chart made me feel part of their care progress.”

'I chose a career that will allow me to challenge myself every day'

As a Qatar citizen, Aisha Al-Yazeedi says the reputation of nurses in her country is improving because of UCQ’s commitment to excellence in health care. 

“We also have very dedicated students with a passion to offer the highest health care to their patients,” says Al-Yazeedi. She chose nursing because of her “passion to help others feel better.” Her Calgary placement was on a psychiatric unit.

“The value of education was highly emphasized to me at an early age,” she says. “I chose a career that will allow me to challenge myself every day. Being able to interact with patients in a mental health department gave me a chance to be in a unique environment; it is very interesting to be able to deal with psychiatric patients."

After graduation, cardiac nursing, maternal and child health and global health work await

After graduating, Alamgir, Jabonete and Al-Yazeedi will move into nursing roles with their sponsored hospital. Alamgir, sponsored by Sidra Medial and Research Centre, will work in the field of maternal/child. Jabonete, sponsored by Hamad Medical Corporation, plans to move into cardiac nursing. Al-Yazeedi, who is sponsored by the Qatar Foundation Research and Development Department in a unique research scientist program, will further her education and work in a research field using her nursing background.

Since it is necessary to be a resident in Qatar for more than 10 years to qualify for sponsorship, Edwards’s future as a nurse in Qatar is a bit more uncertain, but she is keeping her options open. She says, “I had a wonderful experience volunteering at a remote medical clinic in the Philippines following the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, and I may explore other global health nursing initiatives and master's programs.”

Wherever they land, it is certain their Canadian experience won’t soon be forgotten. 

“I learned more here in one month than I could have imagined,” says Alamgir. “I am so grateful to everyone here for their kindness and the great opportunity to see nursing in a new way. I am excited for the future.”