BIE News BIE News Ireland Division Hi All, I want to thank everyone who attended our last meeting on the 25th July, it was great to see everyone! Mr. Craig Caldwell joined us to give a phenomenal educational presentation on “embalming bone, tissue and organ donation cases”. He gave a great step by step approach to these cases. To say I was blown away is an understatement! Our next meeting is on the 24th October via Zoom for now, we may be able to organise a face to face meeting as we look into the easing of the restrictions. So once again I would really encourage all our members to attend as I can guarantee you won’t regret it! We have had a great year with very interesting speakers and topics, as I’ve said before all ideas are welcome. As Chairperson of the Irish Division I would like to direct my awareness and concern on a specific topic that has been brought to my attention over the last couple of years and also in my own experience during my time so far in this industry. I am shocked to see we are just
like any other industry in the perspective of bullying and mistreatment towards other embalmers. It is real petty behaviour in adults but it does happen! The industry we work within is supposed to be full of empathy and compassion but in certain situations this is far from the case. I’m sure everyone has either experienced bullying at some stage during your life but if you are unlucky enough to experience this in adulthood and in the working world it can be intimidating! In my own experience it took a lot of courage to speak up for myself and unfortunately it didn’t work for me, the only resolution was to remove myself completely from the situation. Thankfully I’m away from that situation and will never allow myself to be in that position again. This may seem like a bit of a ramble but I want to bring awareness to bullying in this industry. As Chairperson I want everyone to be aware and to know that you are not alone, if you ever need a rant or even a bit of advice in confidence my phone
number is on the next page on the list of officers. Also be mindful that the BIE are currently providing “member support & counselling service” available to all our member and students. The details of this service has been sent through via e-mail. On a final note, basically I want to raise awareness amongst embalmers and students, it is a subject that gets to me and people are quick to forget or don’t want to hear it. If I can manage to help even one person it would be a privilege. We will see where our next meeting takes us whether it be via zoom or face to face, I can’t wait to see everyone again. Stay safe. BIE Irish Chairperson Niamh Cusack
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