The conference on “Being a volunteer nurse worldwide” was held

Director of IGU the School of Health Sciences Asst. Prof. Dr. A. Yüksel Barut, Head of Department of Nursing in English Asst. Prof. Dr. Funda Karaman, Head of Nursing Department Asst. Prof. Dr. Canan Örüklü, the faculty members of the Department of Nursing and the students who are prospective nurses attended the event. The opening speech of the conference was given by the Head of Department of Nursing in English and Consultant of Nursing Club Asst. Prof. Dr. Funda Karaman. Attending Nurse Mülkiye Okyay shared her work with the participants, who serves as a nurse at Eyüp State Hospital.

After completing her high school education at Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan Health Vocational High School, Okyay studied her undergraduate degree at Atatürk University the Faculty of Health Sciences the Department of Nursing and her master's degree at Okan University the Graduate School of Health Sciences the Department of Surgical Diseases. Between 1993 and 1994, she worked as a nurse in Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan Vakıf Gureba Hospital 2nd Surgery Clinic and in 1994 in Florence Nightingale Hospital Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Since 1994, she has been working as an operating room nurse at Eyüp State Hospital.

She received many certificates of achievement from the Governorship of Istanbul and Eyüp District Governor's Office, and certificates of appreciation from the Istanbul Health Directorate, as well as many certificates of achievement in Turkey and the international area. In 2011, the Ministry of Health selected her as the ‘Nurse of the Year’.

Ms. Okyay served as a volunteer nurse in flood disaster in Pakistan, Kenya Dadab Refugee camp, Philippines typhoon disaster, Indonesian Orphan Project and in many countries such as Sudan, Niger-Morocco, Somalia, Chad, Syria, Bangladesh, Uganda. At the same time, she served as a volunteer in the in the Marmara earthquake, the Van Earthquake, the explosion at Atatürk Airport in Turkey. Okyay participated in many national and international scientific education and conferences and gave seminars at many universities.

Mülkiye Okyay, who thought that life in the Marmara region was almost over, told the 1999 earthquake with the following words: “There was a terrible darkness everywhere. Communication and transport facilities were broken. Children were crying and waking up with fear from their sleep, their mothers' cries of help were creepy. I learned that Gölcük was in much worse condition and that there was a lot of help needed and I said I needed to help them. I wanted to join the help team, but they told me there is no need for an operating room nurse, but I couldn't just stand there. I went after the ambulance to go to Gölcük. And I'm glad I went. Because Gölcük had been destroyed and I stayed there voluntarily for 3 months. That's how my journey began.”

MÜLKİYE OKYAY'S JOURNEY TO AFRICA AND HEALTH CONDITIONS IN AFRICA

Stating that seeing African people in need, Africa became a love for her, Mülkiye Okyay talked about health condition of African people: “There's not even a hospital in Africa. While we were leaving, we prepared dozens of parcels from surgical equipment to toilet paper and went to Africa because there is no way we can provide it. For example, we created our own facilities, such as the old abandoned shed, which we used as a hospital, where we used this as an emergency place outside the shed, under the trees and trees where we hang serums, although we did cataract surgeries there. We've taken tumors up to 9.5 kilograms. We circumcised children who were not circumcised. I hear you say, “How did you achieve sterility in the operating room?”. It wasn't easy at all! We were providing sterility with bleach. Of course, we couldn't cure everyone. The number of AIDS patients was very high, and if we could not cure if there was no fatal disease”

MÜLKİYE OKYAY'S MOST EMOTIONAL EVENTS IN AFRICA: THE BABY MÜLKİYE

Mülkiye Okyay was deeply affected by the joy and tears of the mother of the 11-year-old child, who was born with a cataract and was visually impaired, when she met her mother after the operation.

When the baby of the mother, who was struggling for hours at birth, was born still, Mülkiye Okyay run to save the baby. She recounted those moments: “They were so accustomed to infant deaths in Africa that they said that the baby was not breathing very comfortably and did not intervene properly. I immediately took the baby, feeling a very weak pulse, but I couldn't predict whether it was the pulse of my finger or the baby's pulse. As a result of the interventions, the baby started to cry and I heard the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. So they named the baby Property. It was an unspeakable bliss for me.”

Okyay told nursing students how to go if they want to go. Mülkiye Okyay stated that there are related associations for volunteers, and added: “You became volunteer and experienced at the same time. After being experienced, you say 'I can go' and apply to the association. When the association says ‘OK’, it goes to the relevant ministry and is approved. TIKA also supports it. They provide flight tickets with material facilities”.

In the Conference hall, Director of the School of Health Sciences Asst. Prof. A. Yüksel Barut and Head of the Nursing (in English) program and the adviser of Nursing Club Asst. Prof. Fuda Karaman presented a plaque and Certificate of Appreciation to Mülkiye Okyay.