We were both placed with Dr. Richter, the Associate Dean of the Global Nursing Office. The experience was completely remote and our primary focus was creating a Terms of Participation document for nursing students participating in an international placement. This included the identification of student roles and responsibilities in academic and social settings during the placement and the required completion of pre-departure activities to facilitate risk mitigation.  

To complete this project, we reviewed literature discussing the challenges experienced by students and instructors in international placement; this information was utilized to develop a discussion guide to interview Faculty members and other professionals involved with advancing students into international courses. The discussion guide was used to interview over 30 faculty members from various universities along with students who have experience with international placements. This was directed to gain a diverse perspective on the occurrence of risk-inducing student behaviours in previous experiences and the implementation of appropriate efforts aimed at mitigating these risks. 

Furthermore, we had the opportunity to participate in our mentor’s meetings with the Faculty of Nursing committee groups, including the “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity” (EDI) committee and the “Continuing Professional Education” (CPE) committee. We scheduled weekly check-ins with our mentor and each other while proceeding to complete the project’s requirements on our own time. 

Hi there! My name is Hanul and I did my NURS425 leadership placement at a charity non-profit organization called The Center for Epilepsy and Seizure Education in British Columbia (ESEBC). The office was in my hometown, Abbotsford, BC, so I was fortunate enough to be able to move back home during my fieldwork experience. The format of my placement was hybrid where I alternated working from home and working from the office. My mentor was the executive director of ESEBC, and I worked closely with her, although I did spend time near the end collaborating with the other staff members. 

My first task was to familiarize myself with ESEBC’s mission, values, and operational structure. My mentor and I reviewed the organization’s strategic planning, fundraising, program development, volunteer coordination, and community engagement sectors. COVID-19 had impacted many of these facets of the organization, and the primary goal was to gain funding to operate the programs, client support, and education and awareness promotion. 

My main project involved me writing a grant application through the Community Services Recovery Fund. For this, I had to submit a project proposal and budget breakdown of how the money we receive will be used. I found it challenging as I was unfamiliar with the organization – especially with the complexity of the financial aspects of a charity. This involved me scouring the organization’s server to look up various documents and talking to my mentor and other staff on their perspectives of the budget breakdown for each of the departments. Luckily, my mentor was very supportive, and she was always there to answer my questions. This past May, I was happily informed that ESEBC was able to receive $72,000 from that grant!

I was also involved with a couple of other mini projects with the other staff members. This included helping out with planning the annual Purple Day walk on Mar. 26th which was held at the local park. I made posters for the event and worked as a volunteer on that day. It was great to see all the board members, staff, and members of the community come out to spread awareness and reduce the stigma around epilepsy! 

Overall, doing my leadership placement at ESEBC was a wonderful experience. I gained insight on the inner workings of a charity non-profit and got to experience viewing real-life challenges – such as limited resources and adapting to a dynamic socio-economic landscape – from a leader’s perspective. I honed my problem-solving abilities and strategic thinking and gained a profound appreciation for the transformative power of collective efforts in creating a better and more compassionate society. 

My time at Health Cities as a student intern was an experience I will never forget. 

Before I went into nursing school, I genuinely thought that the only role of a nurse was to work in a hospital or clinical setting. Being patient-facing certainly appealed to me; I’m a social person who thrives when I’m able to directly help patients achieve their care plan goals. I learned during my time with Health Cities, however, that there are infinite ways that a nurse can leverage their skillset and leadership abilities. 

I worked in an office setting with a small team, and together we helped bring technology and innovation into Alberta’s health care system through partnering with entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and tech-based companies. My favourite part about the process was meeting all the interesting minds coming together to bring fresh ideas into our field; the opportunities to participate seemed endless and it was surreal to think that as a nursing student, I saw glimpses of future nursing potential. How can the role of the nurse evolve with technology and innovation? Are we critical enough of our existing roles and responsibilities in our health care system? 

I learned at Health Cities that the role of the nurse during such a pivotal time for innovation is, in fact, invaluable. I am excited for more nursing students to have leadership experiences outside of our conventional patient-facing spaces; there is so much more to learn than what meets the eye!

For my NURS 425 fieldwork placement I was at Islamic Family & Social Services Association (IFSSA) and my mentor was a registered psychologist who was also the clinical director. 

During my time, I was involved in four separate projects. My main project was helping the association get accredited with the Canadian Accreditation Council (CAC). I went through all the policies and procedures this organization has and performed a gap analysis on what policies and procedures need work or what they need to create to fulfill the standards set out by the CAC. 

I was also involved with working with someone from the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) on their project about Gender Based Violence (GBV) where I reviewed the policies and procedures IslamicFamily has that helps prevent GBV at this organization. 

Along with my fellow students at this placement, we were tasked to create a volunteer and internship program for this organization. This allows the organization to facilitate the process of welcoming new volunteers and students to the organization, by providing relevant training and information sessions consistently. We had the opportunity to collaborate with six other non-profit organizations here in Edmonton to learn from them about their own respective programs in order to inspire our own at IslamicFamily. We created a presentation at the end of our time here with our findings and suggestions that we presented to the managers. 

Lastly, as part of Islamic Family’s Clinical Team, we were able to facilitate the creation of the Counselling Evaluation questionnaire. The purpose of this is to use the questions created to conduct a semi-structured interview with current and past counselling clients. This in turn helps IslamicFamily in knowing how to better serve their client population holistically. 

For our schedule, we discussed with our mentor, and we were able to find a hybrid style of working with spending two days at the office and the rest of the days at home each week. The other students and I were involved in the team meeting and the clinical team meeting and the rest of our time we had to work on our projects. We met weekly with our mentor to discuss our progress and have a check-in to see where everyone was at. I had a wonderful experience at this organization and was able to work alongside other professionals such as social workers and psychologists. 

I completed my leadership course in Spring/Summer 2023. My placement was with the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE), an organization dedicated to improving planetary health. My mentor was the president of this national organization.

My experience was entirely remote, allowing me the flexibility to manage my schedule at my own pace. At the beginning of my experience, my mentor outlined different projects underway, and I decided which projects I wanted to allocate my hours towards. I wanted a diverse experience, so I distributed my hours across multiple projects. In the initial weeks, I familiarized myself with CANE by exploring its website and various social media platforms.

A large portion of my hours were dedicated to a primary health care and climate change scoping review. This included title and abstract screening, full-text screening, and data extraction through Covidence. I was also allowed to continue this project outside of my clinical experience to have authorship. I went into this experience with no Covidence experience but learned everything through virtual meetings with my mentor.

My mentor also connected me with the CANE Alberta representatives to contribute some work locally. In collaboration with CANE Alberta, I wrote a social media proposal and started the CANE Alberta Twitter account. I met with the National Social Media Advocacy Committee to learn more about the objectives and planning that go into social media for CANE. I created a calendar and spreadsheet with a list of future tweets for a transition period after my placement ends.

Another project I was involved in was the development of an educational module on Environmental Racism. This project included biweekly meetings with the team. I focused on creating a "Flower Power" positionality exercise for learners to critically locate themselves and assess their societal standing and perspectives.

Overall, my leadership placement at CANE was a great experience. I learned about nurses' vital role in addressing the climate crisis and about CANE's indispensable contribution during this time.