Assist Prof Didem Yüksel

Atilim University Health Sciences Faculty, Turkey

Title: First-Year Nursing Students' Perceptions of the Nursing Profession: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study

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Biography

Dr. Didem Yuksel graduated top of her class from Baikent University’s Nursing Department with a 3.35 GPA. She began her career at Bakent University Ankara Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where she served as both clinical nurse and head nurse over four years. While working, she earned a master’s degree in Pediatric Nursing from the same university with a 3.44 GPA, graduating with honors. She completed internships across diverse medical departments, including Neonatal Intensive Care, Pediatric Oncology, and Organ Transplant Units. She later worked as a Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Training Nurse at Innovex Health and spent six years in Clinical Neuroimmunology Units at Hacettepe and Ege University Hospitals. She also served three years as a research assistant at Ufuk University and one year as an Assistant Professor at Near East University. In 2022, she completed her PhD at Ege University, focusing on pediatric multiple sclerosis—a previously unstudied area in Turkey.

Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at Atilim University, Faculty of Health Sciences, where she leads academic research in pediatric nursing, coordinates educational programs, supervises postgraduate theses, and conducts clinical training.

Abstract