Johnson & Johnson Scholarship to support Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility Award
In 2021, I moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario during the height of the pandemic, where I lived with family. Though a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, I had never lived in Canada before and felt I had a lot to learn about my new home. Having studied and worked as a Health Educator in the northern state of Alaska, I felt an affinity for health advocacy and equity for underserved populations. Thus, after moving to Thunder Bay, I decided to enrol in a graduate program at Lakehead University where I completed my Master’s in Health Sciences, focusing on Indigenous and Northern Health. Through this program, I researched and defended my thesis which focused on understanding health professions students’ experiences when learning about social responsibility and social justice. It was my hope that I could better understand how our educational systems were impacting the safety and care of tomorrow’s healthcare workforce, though I got much more from it than that. While researching my topic, I interviewed nursing, medical, and paramedic students, and I now find myself in their shoes, studying in the very nursing program that I was studying this time last year. While my publications are in the works currently, it is my hope that I can continue this work by advocating for improved curriculum surrounding social responsibility and social justice for health professions students, so that our community members entering the healthcare system can receive the upstanding care that they deserve. As a future nurse, I also hope to further this work by being the boots on the ground and making a difference in patients’ lives through my patient care, interprofessional diplomacy, and knowledge of the healthcare system.