Nominating Organization: RAD-AID
Promoting Women’s Health and Expanding Access Through Nursing Education: Meenakshi Verma Masoun
Meenakshi Verma Masoun has touched the lives of more than 16,000 women in her career, through her work with the Asha Jyoti program in Chandigarh, India as an active expert and advocate in women’s health in communities for decades. Asha Jyoti means “Ray of Hope” in Hindi.
She intertwines patient education into her clinical practice, educating women on self-care and sexually transmitted diseases, self-breast examination and personal hygiene.
She intertwines patient education into her clinical practice, educating women on self-care and sexually transmitted diseases, self-breast examination and personal hygiene.
Meenkashi earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the National Institute of Nursing Education in Chandigarh, India in 2002, going on to work for PGIMER (Post Graduate Institution for Medical Education and Research), on a Pediatric Emergency unit for 10 years and as a staff nurse in Labor and Delivery for 3 years.
She earned her certification in VIA cervical screening in 2012, and has steadfastly supported the advancement of women’s health through her work with the Asha Jyoti program, overseeing cervical, breast and osteoporosis screenings for women who live in the surrounding communities of Chandigarh, India where there is little or no access to radiology.
Through this program, jointly sponsored by PGIMER, RAD-AID and Philips Corporation, Meenakshi endures long and demanding workdays on the imaging van, oftentimes in extreme heat and requiring travel to overnight camps in remote villages.
In addition to her ongoing managerial and clinical duties, Meenakashi works tirelessly to increase public health awareness focused on the early detection and screening for cervical and breast cancer. Her work plays a critical role in saving lives in India where there is a high mortality rate for breast and cervical cancer due, in part, to no national screening programs and limited radiology services for many remote communities.
A natural leader, Meenakshi oversees the daily management of nursing and technology services delivered on the van while also assisting in performing thousands of colposcopies and VIA based cervical screenings.
Meenakashi’s commitment to education extends to her mentorship of nursing students from the National Institute of Nursing Education as they undergo community health and oncology clinical rotations on the Asha Jyoti van.
Topics of clinical training include history taking and patient triage, cervical and mammography screening skills, and developing appropriate patient care plans.
To enhance her own, ongoing skills and experience, Meenakashi trains weekly with the PGIMER medical team in assessing abnormal clinical cases, developing differential diagnoses and determining follow up care for her patients.
Her future educational goals include participating in both hands-on and online continuing education courses to advance her colposcopy skills and knowledge base in women’s health.
Meenakashi’s dedication and commitment to promoting women’s health in India is truly inspiring for all nurses, and we are honored to share her story as one of the recipients of the first annual International Nurses Day award from Nurses With Global Impact, supported by our partners at Life Is Great Global Foundation, RAD-Aid and Philips Corporation.
With gratitude,
– Deb
