Two nursing students embrace leadership and advocacy in new roles with CNSA

Fellow nursing students Jingyi He and Eyasu Yakob met in debate club. “I was surprised a fellow nursing peer was as interested in debating as I was,” recalls He with a laugh. Nowadays, they’ve replaced spirited sparring with collegial collaboration, together embracing the challenges and rewards of national student-body leadership. 

As of March 1, Yakob is president of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) and He is vice-president. We caught up with them both to find out a bit more about their backgrounds, why they consider the University of Alberta the best destination for nursing education, what led them to pursue these leadership roles, and their goals as they lead with purpose both within the association and as future nurses. 

What inspired you to study nursing?

Yakob: I originally was thinking of pursuing medicine, but my mind was changed thanks to the WISEST Summer Research Program, which is an initiative here at the University of Alberta that introduces high school students to fields where their gender is underrepresented, which for me was nursing! In the summer of 2020 my WISEST placement put me with professor Dr. Bukola Salami, and she helped introduce me to the diverse world of nursing, with activities such as research, health promotion and leadership in the community. I continue to work closely with her today.

What made the U of A’s Faculty of Nursing the perfect choice for your education?

He: Due to the pandemic, I was always doing rotations in hospitals, and lectures and assignments at home. I wish I could have experienced more university life! But the Faculty of Nursing is a great community. Students are friendly, and there is a great sense of camaraderie. I have learned something new about nursing and life from every one of my instructors; they are all wonderful people and truly care. I also find the program so well designed to help us become leaders, innovators and thinkers. Outside of rigorous academic training, I also cherish the lessons I've learned about systems thinking, design thinking, leadership and management in health care, and the evidence base behind nursing research.

I have really enjoyed being in the honours program. The smaller seminars create a close kinship with peers, something you don’t always get in large classes with 200 students. 

Yakob: The U of A’s Faculty of Nursing is Canada’s top nursing program. The many dedicated and passionate professors help make the educational experience so enjoyable for students, going the extra mile to see their students excel in nursing practice, clinical skill set, and research abilities. I have experienced this throughout my time here in my long-running mentorship relationship with Dr. Salami. In high school, she hired me as a research assistant and I continue to work with her team — the Health and Immigration Policies and Practices Research Program — conducting literature reviews, participant recruitment, social media management, and academic writing on papers. 

This culminated with me taking on my own project during a summer research internship, a scoping review to identify the interventions that exist to improve the mental health of Black youth. Together with researchers from Dr. Salami’s team, I screened thousands of studies, finding only 11 articles that were specifically about interventions to improve the mental health of Black youth. There is clearly a serious lack of research in this area, and much more needs to be done to develop more tailored interventions to support the mental health needs of Black youth. 

What made you want to be part of the CNSA?

He: I have been fascinated by the work CNSA does since the first week of nursing school. I thought it was a great opportunity to unite the voices of nursing students across the country while building a community of caring, compassionate and brave individuals. Being able to work with someone as competent as Eyasu was the second reason. He is eloquent, thoughtful and very passionate about advocacy. 

Yakob: I know firsthand many of the struggles nursing students face, so I wanted to advocate to bring policy change that will improve the experiences of nursing students across the country. For too long, students have been calling for the introduction of paid preceptorships and other means of financial relief as a way to address how costly and inaccessible nursing school is. Many students have also expressed interest in seeing their schools incorporate more elements of EDI and cultural safety into their instruction, and I want to help make these goals a reality. With its vast resources, close to 30,000 members, and long-standing connections to other national nursing organizations, I believe the CNSA is perfectly situated to advocate for these issues to decision-makers in schools and government, and by being president I can help co-ordinate this important work. 

What can you tell your fellow students about what the CNSA does for them?

Yakob: The CNSA advocates to advance the rights and interests of nursing students across the country. With seats in large national organizations such as the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, and attendance at provincial and federal health meetings, the CNSA can bring student concerns directly to the decision-makers in schools and government. 

There are also plenty of opportunities to connect and collaborate by getting involved with the CNSA. There are so many working groups and caucuses within the organization, so I encourage my fellow students to join us. If there is something you are passionate about, like making education more affordable or addressing health inequities, for example, there is a home for you in the CNSA to collaborate with other like-minded nursing students and bring about change!

What was your very first order of business as part of the CNSA?

He: We started even before we took on these new roles, when I was the official delegate representing the U of A and Eyasu was associate delegate. We worked together on two resolution statements that will guide our work. The first focused on improving equity, diversity and inclusion as nursing students. The second focused on bringing awareness to the mental health of nursing students and advocating for paid practicums to alleviate financial hardships. Both resolution statements are very close to my heart, but as I was the lead author of the first resolution statement — which received unanimous support from students across the country — I would like to discuss it a bit more. 

As a first-generation immigrant to Canada, I had a difficult time dealing with racism and ostracization growing up in a predominantly white community. The intersectionality of poverty, race and language barrier exposed my family to various hardships as we struggled to find our new home in Canada. Caring for various marginalized populations in nursing allowed me to hear the stories of many patients still experiencing the same. I heard their unspoken longing for acceptance and belonging. Our resolution calls for us all to work together to advocate for minority and marginalized peers, patients and community members to be treated with sensitivity and heartfelt respect. This resolution statement will guide our national body to create programs that support marginalized populations in society, advocate on national boards to premiers on the matter, and develop scholarships for supporting increased equity, diversity and inclusion in nursing.

What are your long-term goals as part of the CNSA?

Yakob: One of my biggest goals as CNSA president is to improve advocacy in the organization so the needs of nursing students reach the ears of policy-makers. I would like to conduct research to hear from nursing students about the challenges they face, then deliver recommendations for policy changes such as paid preceptorships to decision-makers in universities and government. I would also like to increase awareness of the CNSA among nursing students. 

I am also excited to work with Jingyi on our resolution calling on schools to integrate elements of EDI and cultural safety into nursing education.

He: My biggest goal is to give back to students. Due to the pandemic, much of the CNSA’s $20,000 in annual scholarship money has gone unclaimed. As vice-president, it is my responsibility to connect students with more scholarship opportunities and make sure the application process is clear. I want to make the process equitable and just by setting up teams of diverse individuals to help me develop inclusive and equitable selection criteria. I want to ensure we are being transparent with how many scholarships we are delivering, the criteria that are being used and the selection process. 

Where do you see your career paths going when you graduate from the Faculty of Nursing?

He: I am graduating this spring, and I would like to join the workforce and help our provincial health-care system recover after the ravages of the pandemic. Taking on leadership roles to improve the nursing curriculum, especially in the area of equity and diversity, would also be exciting. I see myself in the future as a researcher, advocate, and someone who can't stop wanting to lead change. 

Yakob: I am currently finishing my second year, but eventually I plan on pursuing a master’s and PhD, with the goal of becoming involved in public-health research. I am very interested in research and public policy, so I believe going to graduate school would equip me with the skills necessary to take up greater leadership roles in the future. The state of Canada’s health-care system has recently been a major issue on the news, so I hope with more education and experience, I will be able to be a strong advocate and researcher who can contribute to the discussions on health-care reform from the valuable perspective of a nurse.

The University of Alberta is the top institution in Canada for nursing and ranked fifth worldwide according to the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject. Our world-leading Faculty lead cutting-edge research and teaching that's changing the face of global health.  Learn more: https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2023/03/u-of-a-leads-the-nation-in-nursing-and-petroleum-engineering-based-on-latest-qs-subject-rankings.html