Dean’s Message June 2022
Dean’s Message: June 2022
June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to recognize the impact and achievements of Indigenous People, and a time to reflect on the many ways in which the Indigenous community continues to face systemic discrimination particularly in health care settings.
The Healing the Hurt Campaign, co-developed by Assistant Professor Amy Wright, is intended to share with health care providers the first-hand experiences of racism and discrimination experienced by Indigenous women when seeking health care. As we at Bloomberg Nursing commit ourselves to educating the next generation of nurses about Indigenous health and trauma-informed care, I invite you listen to these stories as we move towards better relationships with Indigenous members of our community.
June is also Pride Month, and we celebrate the many different LGBTQ2S+ communities across the city. The University of Toronto Student Union has a series of Pride events for the final weeks of June, and you will find a few listings in this month’s newsletter.
Summer is now fully upon us. We have had a busy Spring term, with Alumni Reunion (you can see our fabulous photos here), and a return to in-person convocation celebrations. I’m pleased to share we had four new PhD students graduate this June including Laura Buckley, whose research on pediatric nurse burnout has helped foster some early system change on her unit.
As our academic term comes to a close, Bloomberg Nursing students continue to illustrate the Faculty’s commitment to excellence in research, education and practice. I’m very pleased to share that BScN student Vonnie Lee is the recipient of UHN’s Sopman Humanitarian Award, recognizing her profound compassion and impact on patients as a student nurse. You can read more about Vonnie’s journey and the ways in which her resilience and fortitude have helped her during a tumultuous year.
Basnama Ayaz a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Sioban Nelson, is a 2022 recipient of the Margaret McNamara Education Grant. This prestigious award will help further fund Basnama’s integral research which focuses on health policy in Afghanistan, with a goal of increasing the number of females in the nursing profession.
Finally, a few reminders as we head into the summer months and what is hopefully a time of rest for many of you. U of T will be ending its mask requirement as of July 1, 2022. Masks will still be required during certain times and in certain areas of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. Given the sim lab, and related learning activities are designed to model a clinical environment, students will continue to be required to wear a medical-grade mask during any sim lab-based instructional activities in the Fall. Please remember to visit our COVID-19 Info page for the latest up-to-date information about health protections and policies.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer.
Stay well.
Sincerely,
Linda Johnston PhD FEANS FCAHS FAAN
Dean and Professor
Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing