2015 Nominee for the EAUN Board

Following a thorough selection process, the EAUN has nominated a candidate that will help support the EAUN Board. The candidate presents here her motivation, view and plans on how to help the EAUN implement its core mission and development plans. The candidate will be present and formally confirmed during the AGM at upcoming EAUN International Meeting in Madrid in march 2015.

I am Corinne Tillier. Since July 2012 I work as clinical nurse specialised in oncolog-urology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.

I studied law at the University of Bordeaux (France) when I was in college, but my ambition was to become a journalist or police inspector! During my second year, my best friend told me she wanted to be a nurse. In France if you want to be a nurse you must take an exam and the best are chosen to continue their study. Since my friend was hesitant to take the exam on her own she asked me to take the exam with her. I passed the exam and to my surprise I placed third in a group of 600 examinees! I told myself it was a good start and if ever I lost interest I could always decide to discontinue my studies.

The first lesson was fortunately something that fascinated me, and since then I knew it would be my passion and chosen career. In 1992 I had my first job as a nurse at the Cancer Institute in Bordeaux (France). In November 1999, I moved to the Netherlands and I had to learn Dutch to work as a nurse. After temporarily working in catering to support my study, I was delighted to be employed as a nurse! To live and work in the Netherlands gave me opportunities to learn a lot and specialise.

In 2004 I received a diploma as an oncology nurse and I work in urology since 2007. The education of nurses is one of my interests and priority since what we learn will ultimately benefit the patient. It is important for us to be skilled in new technologies in urology, but we also have a crucial role in disease prevention, patient education, particularly in the psycho-social aspect of patient care.

My aim is to forge strong links with our colleagues from southern Europe since we can learn a lot from each other. I write, every three months, a column in a French magazine for oncology nurses (BIC), which consists of a summary of published studies (in English) in nursing research. Proficiency in English language is still a challenge for many French nurses, but it is improving. Thus, my goal is to assist or contribute to efforts in knowledge-sharing.

Since October 2011 I was assigned as chairman of the Nurses Working Group in Urological Tumours (IKNL) and my task is to listen to the needs of nurses. During our meetings we share ideas and in every meeting we always have very enthusiastic, successful exchanges.

Research is also one of my passions. In my pursuit for answers, I make sure that I focus on the evidence. I was a member of the Dutch guidelines for renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer, and for the kidney cancer guidelines, I examined the role of nurses as a fixed contact person for kidney cancer patients. One of the findings was that patients prefer a nurse as a contact person. This is now a recommendation in the Dutch guidelines for kidney cancer management!

My aim to join as an EAUN board member is to pursue my passion in nursing education and research in the Netherlands and France. To reiterate my personal motto: – ‘Knowledge is power, and evidence-based study is strength.’

I look forward to the election in March with the hope that I can be of service to the EAUN Board.

Corinne Tillier
Clinical Nurse Specialist Uro-oncology
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
c.tillier@nki.nl