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.