Bianca Moyo

Education saves lives

Imagine facing a life and death situation and not being able to communicate properly with the person providing your care.

NorQuest College practical nurse grad Bianca Moyo understands the importance of good intercultural communication skills. Growing up in Zimbabwe, where there are 16 official languages, you would think that her abilities to relate people’s needs and understand their concerns would come from her homeland—not entirely.

Now a full-time employee of the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Moyo graduated from NorQuest’s Practical Nurse program in 2009. It was the most diverse learning environment she had ever been part of.

“At NorQuest not only did I get an education, but it taught me to be world-ready and ready for the workplace. When I was in class I had students from all over the world. So when I graduated I was able to articulate and empathize with people from everywhere.”

Empathy. Another quality most would associate with good nursing. Moyo knows how hard it can be to empathize and take the proper courses of action with someone whose culture, language, or medical expectations differ from her own.

“I can relate to almost anybody,” she says. “I now understand so much about the local Indigenous culture, I know about Columbia, I know about Nigeria, and I know about Canadians who were born and bred here. And that is thanks to NorQuest College.”

At the Glenrose, Moyo’s managers and coworkers see firsthand the value she brings to the hospital.

“Nurses like Bianca play a key role in building a therapeutic relationship with our patients and their families to improve their rehabilitation, health, and well-being,” says patient care manager, Michelle Wallace. “Bianca’s training and experience are helping her understand our patients, and have given her the skills to communicate with them, their families, and the inter-professional care team.”