More kidney patients in the United Arab Emirates will be able to benefit from specialist care after a new cohort of expert nurses graduated from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The eight nurses have all achieved an MSc in Renal Nursing, a course which was specially designed to respond to the rising numbers of patients with chronic kidney disease in Abu Dhabi.
Geraldine Endall, Carol Dianne Gonzales, Jincy Kuriakose, Rube Jane Lutero, Maria Cristina, Mina, and Anitha Nundall made the journey from Abu Dhabi to Leicester to collect their degrees at DMU’s summer graduations.
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The MSc is run by DMU in partnership with SEHA Dialysis Services and Fresenius Medical Care. The degree ceremony marked the end of a tough 18 months combining their day jobs as nurses with family life and studying for the Master’s – but they all said it was well worth it.
“My family are so proud of me,” said Maria. “I’m proud of myself and all of us, so so happy that we have this degree.”
Many of their families were able to watch the ceremony on YouTube thanks to DMU’s live streaming service, as they were thousands of miles away.
Geraldine Endall has been working in renal nursing for more than 30 years but said the course had still taught her a great deal.
She said: “It’s been a good experience, said Geraldine. We have all grown so much. We have had so many experiences together getting to this point is just amazing.
“It’s a very clinically based and actually being able to study in depth the evidence the principles of treatment has been so rewarding.”
Colleague Princy Joseph added: “Working and managing out family time and study is so tough but it is definitely, definitely worth it. We’re so proud of ourselves.”
In Abu Dhabi, the number of people under 30 who need dialysis treatment is 10 times that of the UK. Some 20 per cent of the population have diabetes and 14 per cent are pre-diabetic, a key factor in the development of renal disease.
Posted on Wednesday 24 July 2019