Cassandra Ma was a senior nursing student in Canada when she went to IUBAT last year. In addition to helping junior students in the nursing labs, Cassandra used her long experience with St. John Ambulance to teach first-aid to nursing students, IUBAT security guards and faculty. About her experience at IUBAT, Cassandra says, “Increasingly, I find that what I learned in Bangladesh is transferable to my practice in Canada and even to how I carry myself as a person. Although initially I felt ‘out of my element’, I gained confidence in my knowledge base. Now I am more vocal about my strengths, more assertive in contributing my knowledge to other healthcare professionals. For example, in my first preceptorship, I had the confidence to advocate for my patients with other team members. That’s not all: I also gained first-hand knowledge about the value of cultural acceptance. And I had no idea of the struggles nurses face in Bangladesh – these encounters have been invaluable in my own development.”
