Rate My Professor Apsara Ahir Tharu

Apsara Ahir Tharu is a Lecturer in Nursing within the School of Health at the University of New England. A passionate Registered Nurse and educator, she brings over 15 years of diverse clinical experience across medical, surgical, and community nursing in Nepal, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Her professional journey includes serving as a Registered Nurse in an Aboriginal Health Service in Australia, delivering high-quality holistic nursing care and advocating for the health and well-being of First Nations people. Additionally, she worked as a Health and Nutrition Officer and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Officer in the Nepal Earthquake Disaster Response Humanitarian Project with Save the Children in 2015, focusing on resuming basic health services, preventative health care, hygiene promotion, early outbreak detection, and risk communication. She also completed a year of clinical placement in antenatal, childbirth, and postnatal care in midwifery.

Apsara's academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of New England (2018), a Bachelor’s degree in Hospital Nursing from Tribhuvan University, Institute of Medicine, Nepal (2014), and a Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the UK (2012). She is registered as a nurse in both Nepal and Australia. Since joining the University of New England in 2018, she has taught across 20 different undergraduate and postgraduate nursing units from first to third year, including HLTH103 Communication for Health Professionals and HLTH102 Interprofessional Practice in Health and Social Care. Her research interests encompass international nursing students’ experiences in caring for older adults during aged care clinical placements, Indigenous family and child health, and nursing education. Apsara has earned unit commendations for Foundation of Nursing Practice (HSNS171, first-year unit) and Integrated Nursing Practice 2 (HSNS363). She maintains a strong commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing education and the profession, helping students master complex concepts and develop into competent, compassionate nurses.