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The Canadian Black Nurses Alliance U of T Chapter on advocacy and speaking for change

27 January 2025

It has been almost two years since the launch of the first-ever Canadian Black Nurses Alliance U of T Chapter. This student-led initiative has engaged nursing students and other health professions across campus making huge strides in creating a sense of community for Black nursing students and other underrepresented groups. The club has also worked to advocate for more opportunities for nurses to help build an equitable health care system, starting in the classroom.

Morayo Aladejana and Stephanie Asah-Ofori, BScN students and president and vice-president of the CBNA U of T Chapter respectively, have sought to advocate for a better understanding among their peers and faculty, about the disparities faced by Black patients. In the past year they hosted the Emerge Symposium, which featured discussions about the different health care concerns facing the Black population, including how symptoms can present differently for Black patients with disease such as hypertension and diabetes.

“Representation in nursing is so important, it was one the reasons I wanted get involved in the CBNA U of T Chapter,” says Stephanie Asah-Ofori.  “Having someone who looks like you care for you, creates an instant connection with a patient and with our peers. It allows us to be advocates for them, and to ultimately be speakers of change.”

Aladejana was similarly drawn to her leadership position because as both a patient and former employee within the health care sector, she saw the disparities and discrimination faced by patients and new nurses alike.

“I wanted to help improve equity and create a sense of community where nursing students feel supported coming into the accelerated program at U of T, and more broadly within the nursing profession,” says Aladejana. “I know what it is like to feel excluded, or to feel like you have no one to ask questions or voice your concerns. We want CBNA U of T to provide this sense of community for all nursing students.”

 Aladejana and Asah-Ofori along with members of the CBNA U of T have already been successful in increasing the group’s membership and have also seen a lot of interest from prospective nursing students. They recently worked with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) to speak to high school students who self-identify as Indigenous or Black African, Black Caribbean, Black North American, and multi-racial, about their journey into nursing school and the health sciences.

“You can see it in their faces that they are a bit in awe that you are not only excelling at U of T but in a health profession. Being able to show them that they can achieve this too, that they deserve to be and belong here too, is a rewarding experience,” says Aladejana.

With current nursing students, the CBNA U of T Chapter continues to build a strong sense of community through various events, and their online presence, credit for which they give to their fellow executive team members. Asah-Ofori says that they want to increase their presence across campus, and to engage with students in other health professional faculties such as the Black Medical Students Association on advocating for a more diverse health education curriculum, particularly in noticing different symptoms on darker skin.

“We also want to increase resource opportunities for students that would be beneficial to their nursing careers, from scholarships to a dedicated mentorship program, all to ensure our students feel well-supported in their professional endeavours,” says Aladejana.

For Black History Month, the CBNA U of T Chapter are looking forward to hosting a variety of different events, including CBNA Movie Hangout: Black Excellence on Screen and Black History Month at the AGO with CBNA. During the month of February they ill also feature a weekly takeover series on their Instagram @cbna.uoft with a focus on elevating Black health care voices.

Acknowledging the importance of representation, Asah-Ofori also notes it is one of their goals to have the CBNA U of T Chapter more well-known across Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.

“Any time we volunteer at an admissions event or at orientation, students see that U of T and Bloomberg Nursing is diverse, and it makes them want to apply, because I know historically it has not always been this way,” says Asah-Ofori.

“Coming into this program can be daunting but knowing that there is someone who likes you who has already done it, and seeing nurses out there in the workforce, can be so impactful,” adds Aladejana.

Learn more about joining the CBNA U of T Chapter, by following them on social media @cbna.uoft or joining their WhatsApp community