Conférence – Care in Times of Crisis: Resilience, Social Transformation, and Lessons from Nursing Practice Under Occupation

Résumé

What does it mean to care for others when your own world is under siege and being attacked? Based on Dr. Sana Al Aqqad’s experiences as a health professions educator and Dean of Student Affairs at Nablus University for Vocational & Technical Education (NUVTE) in the West Bank, Dr. Al Aqqad explores how Palestinian nursing students and faculty maintain – and sometimes transform – the practice of nursing in the face of occupation, checkpoints, limited resources, and personal losses, all while remaining teachers and caregivers. The talk is grounded in a Palestinian philosophy of steadfastness and resistance through everyday actions (sumud) and acknowledges the fatigue and burden that resilience places on communities facing structural violence on a daily basis.

La conférencière

Dr. Sana’ Al-Aqqad is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at Nablus University for Vocational & Technical Education (NUVTE), Palestine, since 2016, teaching and conducting research. She has earned a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy from Universiti Sains Malaysia (November 2014), master’s and bachelor’s degrees in pharmacy from An-Najah National University, Palestine.

Her research is deeply dedicated to fostering health equity and social justice, especially for vulnerable and marginalized populations. She has been involved in and led studies investigating workplace violence (WPV) against female nurses in Palestinian government hospitals, perinatal and maternal health issues during conflict, and the social and psychosocial burden, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women diagnosed with breast cancer. Her continued focus on women’s health and reproductive rights in the context of occupation and structural inequality is reflected in her work on breastfeeding practices among Palestinian mothers.

In addition to her research, Dr. Al-Aqqad has held the position of Gender Focal Point at NUVTE (2021-2025) and as Dean of Student Affairs (2022-present), where she has been actively involved in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in Palestinian higher education.