CNSA Education & Research Award

My name is Bukama Muntu. I recently graduated in June 2019 from the University of Toronto Scarborough campus with a major in Women and Gender Studies and a double minor in Psychology and English Literature. This June, I finished my first year and will be entering my second and final year at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. I am drawn to the nursing profession for the opportunity to combine evidence-informed practice, advocacy, and interprofessional collaboration to provide optimal healthcare. Additionally, my educational background in Women and Gender Studies enhances my interest by providing me with a comprehensive understanding of the influence of social determinants of health on people’s health. Hence, as a registered nurse I hope to exercise equitable interventions that address health disparities amongst marginalized populations.

Over the course of my bachelor’s and post-secondary education,  I have accomplished being a research assistant in the emergency department at the Hospital for Sick Children, revising a chapter of a mental health nursing textbook with the previous director of the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University and worked on a quality improvement project evaluating the effectiveness of a community health needs assessment (CHNA) in a minority neighbourhood. I am most proud of the opportunity to be given credit within a nursing textbook, because I learned about the importance of using scholarship to guide evidenced-informed nursing practice.

Ultimately, it is with sincere gratitude that I write this letter, thanking you for your thoughtful donation of the CNSA Education and Research Award to me. Your donation proves your confidence in my academic abilities and my capacity to make positive contributions in the nursing profession. Once again, thank you for this generous financial support.