Işıl Işık

Lecturer/Koç University School of Nursing 
Academician/SANERC

I was born in 1979 in Kayseri. After completing an undergraduate degree in Akdeniz University School of Health, I received a Master's degree in Psychiatric Nursing from the same university. Between the years 2002-2004 I worked as a research assistant at Akdeniz University School of Health. In 2005 I joined a PhD program in Psychiatric Nursing at Marmara University, Institute of Health Sciences.

How did you meet the Vehbi Koç Foundation?
I became acquainted with the Vehbi Koç Foundation during my undergraduate studies. In those days it was very difficult to find a reference book in the nursing field published in Turkish. When I was a nursing student, the students benefited thoroughly from the reference books printed by The Vehbi Koç Foundation on various subjects such as Psychiatry Nursing and Public Health Nursing.  As a lecturer at the Koç University School of Nursing, an institution aiming excellence in nursing education, I can say that identifying the needs of the employees and supporting them in their work is considered to be essential for the School’s success.

In year 2010, we received support from the Vehbi Koç Foundation’s Nursing Fund for a research project we were working on. I sincerely believe that the support given to research projects in the nursing field will tremendously contribute to the development of nursing services in our country.

Your future plans?
I believe more work needs to be done to meet the psychosocial needs of cancer patients in our country. In this context, I plan to focus my future research work in the field of psycho-oncology, and I wish to contribute to the nursing practices in this area. I wish to succeed in my future research projects with Vehbi Koç Foundation's continuous support and guidance.

February 2013