NLN.ON/CNF Nursing Leadership Award

My name is Nhi Nguyen, and “Nhi” means “little one” in Vietnamese. My journey to becoming a nurse started in my childhood. I often heard stories from my mother about accessing healthcare as a refugee here in Canada and my NICU stay as a tiny baby. This passion for nursing stems from wanting to make a difference in healthcare and volunteering at an early age. I decided to enter nursing after going on an international medical mission in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and obtained my BScN at York University. Since then, I have worked at SickKids and decided to return for my combined Masters of Nursing with a primary healthcare nurse practitioner certificate after witnessing gaps in healthcare for the marginalized population. I have volunteered with the homeless, refugees and immigrants at the Canadian Centre for Refugees and Immigrant Healthcare and saw how nursing could make a difference. Throughout the pandemic, I continued to work and provide nursing care. I am pursuing my degree to become a nurse practitioner to improve primary healthcare and become a transformative leader. After this, I hope to obtain a certificate in mental health, pursue a Ph.D. and teach the next generation of nurses. I am thankful for this scholarship and the support to help make my future dreams come true.