IIHS Nursing Student Sashya Represents Sri Lanka in an International Research Conference
Sashya Kandanearatchy is an undergraduate Nursing student at IIHS (www. iihsciences.com) following the Diploma in General Nursing program which has a direct pathway to the final year of the Bachelor of Nursing program at Deakin University Australia.
Recently she presented her research in an International Health conference in Porto, Portugal. Shashya has also participated in the 1st international Nursing Research Conference held in Sri Lanka and won the silver medal in the oral presentation event.
Elaborating her experience in Porto, Portugal – Sashya Kandanearatchy says;
My attempt to start my first medical research was because of the great opportunity given to me by the International Institute of Health Sciences. (IIHS) . It was a big step in my career pathway of nursing as it would be a great strength to me in the future. Dr. Nishan Silva along with Dr. Kithsiri Edrisinghe helped me know what research is really about and how it should be done. I thank everyone who supported me through this process specially my mother and father, without whom I would have been unable to attend the Final project of the Family Health Nursing Conference 2013 held in Porto, Portugal.
Travelling all the way to Portugal was not an easy task but it was an experience I never expected to gain nor will I ever want to forget. Learning new things, meeting new people from various origins, learning new languages, and tingling my taste buds with various new dishes was something I very much enjoyed.
The University of the West of Scotland’s, project managers for the FamNrsE project has been working with over 13 partners across Europe towards the development of the WHO family health nursing concept. This conference not only was the ending of the final 2 year project, but was an important stage in the dissemination and exploitation of the project results. They mentioned having a Sri Lankan representative was an important addition to the conference as their main intention is to put forward this concept to communities all around the world.
My research was on the ‘’Description of patients knowledge of preparation of the fasting blood glucose test at a leading private hospital in Sri Lanka’’. My session was moderated by Professor Wilfred Schnepp from the University of Witten/ Herdecke in Germany. At the end of my presentation the audience threw many questions at me about my research and questions were put forward the following day as well from other delegates as they were curious on how things are practiced in Sri Lanka.
During the 2 days of the conference I learnt a lot on family health nursing as I was introduced to many nurses from all around Europe who were kind enough to give me the opportunity to learn how nursing is practiced in European communities. I was also introduced to important delegates of the conference who were very much interested in knowing how things are practiced in Sri Lanka. They were also interested in visiting the island someday to experience life in Sri Lanka and to explore the beautiful locations.
There were many musical performances along with cultural dances going on during the course of the conference. University students of the University of Porto displayed a cultural musical performance for us all.
A scrumptious dinner along with yet more musical performances was held on the 1st night of the conference at the beautiful restaurant Heranca Magna. After the final day of the conference we were given the opportunity on going on a boat trip along the Duoro River to see the many bridges built along the river. The day ended with me and my new friends from the conference site seeing until we couldn’t walk anymore.
The experience I had in Portugal was very gratifying and the prestigious committee members I met were more helpful than they could have asked for during my stay. Thanks to all the support from my institute the International Institute of Health Sciences along with the biggest contribution and main support from my mother my research presentation was a success and my experience was unforgettable. This research will not only help me bring knowledge and understanding to others but it will open great doors of opportunity to a better career path.