Finding her voice in nursing and policy

Growing up, Siham Dahir understood the scarcity of medical care in crisis situations as both of her parents were refugees from East Africa.

That understanding fostered an interest in serving in health care.

“Having family members die of causes that are preventable made me really interested in wanting to learn more about different conditions, gain knowledge to bring back home and make an impact in the future,” Dahir says.

In high school, she volunteered at a hospital delivering things like magazines and games to patients. The experience opened the door to the impact nurses can have on patients’ wellbeing. 

“I would spend time with assigned patients on the unit and was able to observe the nurses spending the most time with patients. The patients spoke so highly of the nurses,” Dahir says.

Today she is a student in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, studying on the University of Minnesota Rochester campus and completing a minor in public health. The location in Rochester allowed Dahir to maintain her volunteer status throughout the program — most recently in the Patient Communication Center at Mayo Clinic. The Rochester campus, she says, is “a supportive environment, especially for growing as a student and as a leader.”

The proximity to Mayo Clinic has proven to be invaluable during her time in the BSN program. Dahir participated in the eMERGing Leaders Mayo Clinic Employee Resource Group Mentorship Program, a program offered by Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota Rochester. Dahir’s mentor introduced her to nurses at Mayo Clinic, a unique opportunity to learn outside the classroom.

“I didn’t really know what kind of nursing I want to go into, so it’s really nice to — outside of clinicals — have contact with people in nursing who work in all different fields,” Dahir says.

During her second year in Rochester, Dahir joined the RISE for Youth Program, a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Rochester’s branch of the NAACP. The leadership and professional development program taught her about positions at Mayo Clinic beyond nursing, an experience that expanded Dahir’s understanding of patient care and interprofessionalism. Through the program she’s served as a panelist at the RISE for Equity Conference, an encouraging environment where she connected with other health care professionals and students.

Dahir has also grown her leadership skills through two transformative opportunities offered by the School of Nursing: the Minnesota Nursing Student Board (MNSB) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Student Policy Summit. As the MNSB Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity Director, Dahir collaborated with her fellow nursing students on a resolution on culturally sensitive dietary recommendations for the National Student Nurses Association Conference, which passed at the conference.

In a course on public health and policy, Dahir was introduced to policy’s impact on health care. The AACN Student Policy Summit further deepened her knowledge of policy’s role in nursing, how it can address the problems nurses face and the power of nurses’ voices in policy conversations.

“I learned that there are three nurses in Congress,” Dahir says. “As a student nurse and as future nurses, we have experiences that can drive policy change.” 

One lesson from the conference that stuck with Dahir is “numbers numb, stories sell.” Dahir remembers her first day of the summit, when students learned about the policies they’ll advocate for with congressional staffers on the second day, and being surrounded by fellow nurses and nursing students.

“Being in a classroom full of empowered individuals sharing their stories left me feeling really inspired, like I can do anything I put my mind to,” Dahir says.

Dahir appreciates the variety of the opportunities at the School of Nursing that have pushed her outside of her comfort zone, which she’s realizing is when she learns the most.  This year as a senior will be no exception. She is spending her fall semester studying abroad in Limerick, Ireland, where she hopes to grow her global health perspective.

“I’m really looking forward to having my clinicals over there and seeing how their health system works and how nurses’ level of autonomy might change depending on the setting,” Dahir says. “I think it will strengthen my cultural competency, being able to work with people with different beliefs and practices. It will make me a stronger nurse coming back.”

As she continues in the BSN program, Dahir looks forward to seeing “the pieces of the puzzle start coming together” from her different nursing experiences. She expects her post-grad trajectory to most likely relate to public health, in a role where she can connect communities to resources and knowledge crucial to their health and wellbeing. As a student, Dahir had the opportunity to shadow a public health nurse as she delivered presentations to middle schoolers and answered their health-related questions.

“It was pretty unique and not something you think of when you think of nursing,” Dahir says. “Being able to work in the public health world, and familiarize yourself with resources and connect those who need it — that’s a great thing.”