Q & A with Rita Iradukunda, who will be speaking at the World Congress on Undergraduate Research Conference in Germany
Rita Iradukunda-who just completed her fourth and final year as an undergraduate honors student at the Faculty of Nursing-is getting ready for her first international conference as an oral presenter. The conference, which takes place on May 23-25, 2019 in Germany, is an opportunity for global dialogue across many different fields of inquiry. Students from across the globe are invited to share their research, create international research connections, and discuss global issues. Iradukunda, an avid volunteer within the Faculty, is constantly seeking out rewarding and challenging opportunities that satisfy her thirst for knowledge.
"The Faculty of Nursing provided a lot of opportunities for me, such as being a part of the Nursing Undergraduate Association (NUA), the Official Delegate for the Canadian Nursing Student Association (CNSA), and volunteering at events like the Lighting of the Lamp," said Iradukunda.
Though these opportunities are available to everyone, Iradukunda believes it's up to students to seize them and turn them into learning experiences.
"Having such an incredible experience during my undergraduate degree, the connections I formed with students and Faculty, and being involved in research is really what prepared me for the next step in my nursing career. I'm looking forward to learning everything that I possibly can."
Why did you choose to become a nurse?
I chose to become a nurse because I always wanted to do something that would involve helping people and giving back to society. I came to Canada in 2012 from Malawi where I lived for 15 years, but I was born in Burundi. I lived in New Brunswick for a year before moving to Edmonton-and when I came here, I had to navigate around to find out what I wanted to do for a career. I always wanted to go into medicine, but when I came to Edmonton I learnt about nursing and all of the opportunities associated with the profession. I knew nursing would give me that one-on-one experience with the patients that I really desired; to be able to look at a patient instead of just helping them from a purely medical perspective.
Why U of A?
I applied to U of A and MacEwan. I decided to take one year of open studies and took all nursing prerequisites while taking a year to decide what university to stick with. That's when I heard about the honors program-something that the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta offers-that really stood out to me, and I knew right away that it would be a great opportunity for me. I see myself as someone that wants to pursue academics down the line, and I knew U of A would be the right path for that aspiration.
Can you tell us more about your upcoming international presentation?
My scope of research focuses on how home dialysis patients would like their patient reported outcome data to be used by clinicians. My supervisor and mentor, Kara Schick-Makaroff's research focus is on Nephrology, specifically dialysis. As I was sitting on the patient advisory committee, some of the patients mentioned they did not feel like they were being heard whenever they went to the clinic. When they go in, they fill out these surveys called patient-reported outcomes (PRO's). These PRO's cover other aspects of health such as physical, mental, emotional, and psychological aspects; however, research shows that clinicians don't use the collected data once it's turned in, which shows quality of care isn't always a top priority. My research started when I realized that there was a gap in understanding how home dialysis patients would like their data to be used once it's been collected. At the conference, I will speak about my research and my findings that are based on data collected through focus groups and interviews.
What are you excited to learn from this conference?
I'm really excited to present at an international level, especially to 300+ people-I know it'll be a challenging but beneficial experience. I'm also excited to network with international researchers, especially now that I hope to come back for an NP program or masters. Mostly, I'm excited to stay in the groove with the research world, and to keep learning.
Any advice for any current undergraduate students?
Always take time for self-care. It's really easy to overlook this, but it's so important to take a step back and work on yourself, even if it's just for a day.