It’s an honor to work at Koç University School of Nursing, Turkey’s first and only nursing faculty with international accreditation, where both academic and administrative colleagues produce quality work.

As the professional perspective in nursing changes and develops, students are affected also. It is well known that students’ perceptions of professionalism are affected by their interactions with their school, their clinical experience, and their working groups. In our faculty, we teach our students the value of human life and bed-side nursing care by taking examples from the world’s leading nursing faculties to prepare our curriculum according to their standards, and through evidence-based applications in our simulation laboratory which is equipped with world standard technological devices. With our international connections, we encourage our students to gain knowledge and experience in different countries. As a part of our school, SANERC (the Semahat Arsel Nursing Education and Research Center) helps keep the knowledge and skills of Turkish nurses up to date. We serve society with award winning projects such as EÇADEM (the Center for Support for Mothers with Disabled Children) and we are a model for other nursing faculties.

Our mission is to seek excellence in nursing training, research, and practices, and to advance scientific knowledge while training nurse  leaders to make meaningful contributions to individual and public health. Ms. Semahat Arsel’s support for the nursing profession and our faculty has been a great factor in our success. We are always thankful to her in the name of our faculty and Turkish nurses.

The School of Nursing Department is comprised of both nationally and internationally recognized faculty members. Our faculty  take a leading rolein teaching and encouraging students to do research by elevating discussion in many topics related to the protection and improvement of health, treatment of diseases, and rehabilitation. As an academic working at Koç University School of Nursing, and also a graduate ofthe school I have benefited greatly from this strong staff. Following my graduation from the undergraduate program, I was accepted to the graduate school with the highest score.. I completed my PhD at the University of Washington, one of the best universities in the field of nursing, and came back to Turkey. I believe that I studied at thethe best national and international schools and have come to this point in my career thanks to what I learned in the various humanities courses I took during my undergraduate studies. And now, I share everything I learned in classes, laboratories, and different practical areas including society with my students. I encourage my students to question, research, and produce innovative ideas to solve problems in the classroom so they can become leader nurses that are open to cooperation in the future. I introduce them different approaches to try and improve their academic identities. In addition to my educational activities, I involve in my work different disciplines such as sociology, psychology, medicine, and computer engineering in order to ensure gender equality, prevent violence against women, and protect and care for the health of disadvantaged groups.

I was accepted into Koç University’s School of Nursing Department with a full scholarship and I graduated as the top ranking stundet in my class after four years of education. I was offered a job as soon as I graduate Koç University – I started to work as a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit of the American Hospital a month after my graduation, and I worked there for three years. In the second year of my working life, I started my graduate studies on Nursing Management at Koç University Health Sciences Institute. It was tiring to have both a busy working life and continue my education at the same time, but I needed to take this step in order to advance in my profession as a nurse. In the end, I left the clinic to be an academician. I am currently continuing my PhD studies and work as a faculty member at the university.

I have worked and continue to work with the very successful academicians from Koç University School of Nursing. Koç University taught me that you can have a big family both at school and at work. If you graduate from Koç University, you will prove the world that nursing is not merely giving injections, but that you have the undeniable power to improve human health. I believe in the starfish effect, and I strive to be a model to my students with this hope.

I had many options when I graduated from medical vocational high school in 2000 with my “Nursing Diploma”. I could have been a successful nurse and immediately started to practice the profession I had always dreamed of, or I could take the foreign language exam and apply to an English language department for a year of preparatory school combined with four years of vocational training. But I thought it was more rational and attractive for me to earn an undergraduate degree and practice my profession to become a head nurse and make a difference in the field. Koç University, with one of the best undergraduate nursing programs in Turkey, was the first school on my list due to its strong academic staff, international curriculum, its goal to train social and intellectual nurses, its English language and computer-based education, the opportunities for students, its scholarships, and job opportunities. But there was something else in addition to these logical reasons. I was also emotionally interested in this school. When I was a senior at high school, I visited Istanbul during National Nurses Week and saw that the Koç Foundation had put up many giant billboards in the city that mentioned, “Nursing is a scientific art: nurses see with the mind, feel with the heart and give life with their knowledge”. From this, I understood how the Koç Foundation valued the nursing profession. I felt that they would always contribute to it and that made my decision simple. In addition to an intensive and strict academic 4-year program to become a nurse who makes research, thinks and produces, the school provided me with the opportunity to also serve as the Chair of the Student Nursing Club and as an editor of the Nursing Journal. I attended student congresses and took part in social projects. Being rewarded for my efforts increased my will and motivation to succeed. 8 semesters of Vehbi Koç Honorable Mentions, the Siemens Perfection Award, and the 2004 First Place Award are only a few of the awards I received for my efforts… In addition to the professional training at an international standard I received at school, the courses in the fields of human behavior and psychology and other elective courses that improved my social and intellectual aspects made a difference in my professional life, so I could take larger steps more quickly in my career. As soon as I graduated from Koç University, I started to work at an accredited institution, American Hospital, and the experiences I acquired there are invaluable. I am currently serving at one of the most prestigious healthcare organizations in our country as the manager of the nursing department and I believe this success story was possible because of my first steps and decisions.

The companies and industries above mentioned involves current and possible examples of Koç Üniversitesi School of Nursing Graduates are currently working / continuing their education.

Possibilities are not limited within the list.