Tzu Chi University Nursing Department Secures Career Counseling Funding from the Ministry of Education to Enhance Students’ Workplace Competitiveness

Tzu Chi University’s Nursing Department has received career counseling-related funding from the Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education for its project “Post-Pandemic Nursing Era – Nursing Information Leading Voices.” The project aims to increase nursing students’ workplace competitiveness by training them to produce radio programs and improve their communication skills. Project leader and faculty member Anqi Ouyang highlighted that many people in Taiwan struggle to understand health information, and this project seeks to provide accurate health information through broadcasting.

Now in its fifth year, the project has introduced a different theme each year to help students develop cross-disciplinary skills and discover their strengths and interests. This year, the project collaborates primarily with Tzu Chi University’s Department of Communication Studies and Radio Station, offering broadcast workshops and radio programs.
Anqi Ouyang explained that by hosting radio programs, students must collect, analyze, and transform information, then communicate it in an easily understandable manner. This skill is what the project hopes students will acquire.

The Nursing Department and TCU Radio Station jointly held the “Tzu Chi Life Force-Podcast Workshop,” which covers various aspects of podcasting, such as understanding the current situation, conceptualizing programs, planning, and positioning, and uploading procedures. A nursing program produced by first-year nursing student Sheng-Chun Zhou is currently in the works.

Sheng-Chun Zhou shared that as a freshman, many professional terms are unfamiliar to him. He must present complex concepts simply, but not in an oversimplified manner. It took him four to five days to prepare a 30-minute program. The program also invites Nursing Department alumni to share their experiences, helping students better understand future job tasks and workplace situations.

Nursing faculty member Yen-Fan Lee, who assists in producing the radio program, said that people now obtain information from sources like YouTube, podcasts, and other media. Through comments and interactions, they can better understand the public’s health information needs. Lee believes that students can learn valuable communication skills through producing the program, such as interviewing people, setting topics, and creating an interview atmosphere. In the future, they will need to communicate with patients and their families, colleagues, and supervisors, understanding their responsibilities and roles when expressing opinions.

Anqi Ouyang hopes the project will help students find their passion in the nursing field and develop their professional strengths, guiding them in their search for their future career paths and interests.