Anita had a great day of teaching at the only cardiac center in Erbil!
A total of around 45 students attended across two classes—some doctors, but mostly nurses from the hosting hospital as well as other hospitals in the city. Her students ranged from having 5 years to 30 years of experience in their roles.
The first class was on coronary artery disease and the basics of nursing care for a patient experiencing a heart attack. They discussed angioplasty, nursing assessments, and the importance of nursing knowledge for the care and education of cardiac patients.
The second class was on heart failure: defining it, sharing the latest guideline treatments, and the importance again of nursing knowledge and understanding to better care for these patients. They also discussed how to better prepare heart failure patients to manage their chronic disease through patient education prior to discharge.
Anita said, "It was determined that the nurses were okay with me giving the lecture in English without a translator, however, after a moment or two, I was asked to slow down—we all had a good laugh, and I concentrated on talking more slowly, which is difficult for me! Several students came up to talk to me and they were very excited to learn this information. As always, it was wonderful to meet nurses of all ages excited about being nurses and excited about growing their skills and understanding!"
Anita was asked by the hospital's head of professional development if NHTH could provide more classes, perhaps even through zoom. We will work with the Nursing and Midwifery Development Centre to see how we might be able to make this happen!
