Sharon Nield Memorial Award

My name is Audi, and I am a registered nursing student based in Lekwungen territories/Victoria, BC. As a person with lived experience, including as a trans and queer person, I know first-hand how alienating healthcare can be, especially when your practices, appearance, or core identity is stigmatized by others. I entered nursing so I could use my personal experience to care for folks who have on-going barriers to informed care, and to disrupt the systems that cause trauma for so many of us.  

Nursing not only gives me the knowledge and skills necessary to practice the care I dream of, but it also grants me an institutional privilege– something I’m just beginning to grapple with. I am learning how to use this privilege, with much reflection and learning, to further advocate for others and build care networks across community and professions. Trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and a person-centered approach defines who I am in the world. In short, I entered nursing because I am passionate about health equity, holding space for others, and because I want to give back to the people and places who have held me the most authentically, as I was and as I am. Community is resistance, and a radical practice of love and care!  

Thank you to the Canadian Nurses Foundation for this award, as it allows me to continue my passions without worry. I am honored to be a CNF scholar.