Getting to know the team!

Bio: April Ambalina is an Associate Professor of Nursing with a Master's in Health Sciences Education  and over 10 years of nursing education experience. She has taught and mentored nursing students and nurses internationally, including a community health clinical course in the Dominican Republic. April is an avid international traveler with a strong foundation in intercultural awareness. During the pandemic, she created innovative ways to bring lab work and skills testing to students virtually, using YouTube and social media to increase engagement and build community.  

Relational Dialogue Project Description: Firstly, the project successfully incorporates dialogue into a medical-surgical nursing classroom to address health inequities. The process begins by introducing discussions on the relationship between systemic racism, bias, and health disparities. Additionally, storytelling is utilized as a powerful tool to illustrate the impact of health inequities on real individuals and their experiences. Throughout the classroom discussions, students are actively encouraged to share their personal experiences. This inclusive environment fosters a sense of safety and support, ensuring that all perspectives are valued and respected.  The ultimate goal is to empower future healthcare professionals to provide equitable care to all patients, thereby working towards reducing health inequities.

Content

Dr Shadi Kanan joined Bellevue College as full-time faculty in the HSEWI Division / Nursing Program. Shadi  Joined Bellevue College directly after he got her doctorate degree in Nursing from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio in the Summer of 2020.
Shadi started his nursing career after he got his bachelor's degree of nursing  BSN from Jordan University of Science & Technology/ Jordan in 2001. He also went on to receive his  Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in Nursing from the same university in 2005. Shadi's nursing career began on a cath-Lab unit, but the majority of his experience has been spent in nursing education in several Universities and colleges . Shadi believes that delivering nursing care to a person is an honour and that teaching future nurses of tomorrow is a blessing. He is excited to apply this principle to his teaching role to help shape the next generation of Bellevue College nurses.

Bio: Dr. Li Liu is a full professor of Communication Studies with a Ph.D in Intercultural Communication from University of Washington, after she received Master of Art in International Communication from Peking University in China. She has 15 years of experience teaching courses such as Intercultural Communication, Intro to Communication and Interpersonal Communication. Dr. Liu also serves as Co-chair at the Washington Community College Consortium of Study Abroad (WCCCSA) and represents Bellevue College at the consortium. 

Relational Dialogue Project Description: one of the following pages, Let’s Get onto the Stage: Unpacking Prejudice through Narratives, introduces to you my relational dialogue project. You can find sharable material to conduct a workshop, teach a lesson, or go through individual learning, regarding prejudice. What's unique is that the learning takes place through skits: preparing for the skits, acting out in the skits, and later reflect upon the experience. You would also navigate with a spirit of Dionysius, the ancient Greek god for theatre, and practical tools such as Relational Supportive Dialogue (RSD). We hope you enjoy the content!