Students to consider what they want to do ‘Before I die’

Published On Thu 24 Apr 2014 by Grant Hill

Photo opportunity: 12-1pm on Monday, 28th April. Students will be adding their exhibits to the wall.

With more and more people compiling bucket lists – personal ambitions to fulfil before shuffling off this mortal coil – nursing students from the University of Dundee will take part in a global art project encouraging them to reflect on the nature of life and death.

Wall space at the University’s Dalhousie Building will be used to allow the third-year adult nursing students to share their own ambitions for life as part of a module exploring nursing care in the community at the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill on Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th April.

‘Before I die ______’ was initiated by artist Candy Chang following the loss of a loved one to allow people to reflect on their lives and share their personal aspirations in public space. She painted the side of an abandoned house in her neighbourhood with chalkboard paint and stencilled in a grid inviting anyone walking by to reflect on their lives, and complete the prompt by detailing what they hope to achieve before death.

The original experiment caught on and 425 ‘Before I Die ______’ walls have now been created in more than 60 countries, including Kazakhstan, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Iraq, Argentina, and South Africa.

The project dovetails with the ‘Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief’ initiative that encourages people to talk more openly about death in order to help the grieving process. The students have been asked to consider how organisation’s message and work can enable them to help patients and their families.

Lynn Griffin, lecturer in the University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, said, “The students will be creating their own wall as part of a national project to encourage people to talk about death and dying.

“The project is also in line with the palliative care content of a module that our students are currently undertaking and we will be encouraging students to put notes on the wall in the Dalhousie Building to share their own thoughts about life and death and how this impacts upon their role as nurses.”

A 'virtual wall' will also go live on Monday 28th April at http://padlet.com/wall/hvip0q0od6.     

Dr Linda Orr, module leader, added, “We would be delighted if students and staff from around the University, as well as visitors, were to join in too, by either adding to our wall space or posting on the virtual wall.”

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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
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