Honouring Black History Month 2024

CASN acknowledges the valuable contribution that Black nurses and Black nurse educators make to the Canadian health care system. CASN also acknowledges the anti-Black racism that exists in nursing and nursing education. We are committed to being advocates of anti-oppressive and anti-Black racist practices and attitudes in health care and nursing education. As an expression of our commitment, here is a link to the Government of Canada’s tribute to Black History Month.

Interview with Dr. Bukola Salami and Dr. Florence Luhanga

To honour Black History Month 2024, CASN presents the following interview (in English only) with Dr. Bukola Salami, a Registered Nurse and a Professor of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary and Dr. Florence Luhanga, an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Regina discussing anti-Black racism in nursing and strategies for addressing anti-Black racism in nursing education.

Dr. Luhanga is a leading figure in Canada on anti-Black racism in nursing education.  She is currently completing a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded research project on Black nursing students’ experience.

Interview Questions

In the interview video, Dr. Luhanga and Dr. Salami discuss the following questions:

1. What are some examples of current and past research related to Black nursing students?
2. What is the experience of Black nursing students in the educational setting?
3. What are the challenges Black nursing students face in clinical nursing education?
4. What can educators or institutions do to address the experiences of Black nursing students in clinical and educational settings to improve their experiences?
   1. Recognize and acknowledge the racial biases and do more to eradicate them.
   2. Self-reflect about their practice in terms of antiracism and the ability to respond to the antiracism.
   3. Initiate mandatory workshops or training for faculty members, students, and administrators involved both in the education and clinical settings.
   4. Create space and platforms for Black students to talk about their experiences.
   5. Take students’ complaints seriously and provide the support that they need.
   6. Empower Black advisors to advocate for Black students.
   7. Create mentorship programs and support programs.
   8. In the classroom, create more culturally sensitive learning-centred programs.
   9. In the clinical setting, review guidelines which are used on learning contracts for students.
   10. Gain an improved understanding of Black students’ experience which can inform their recruitment and retention.
   11. Support Black students’ success which can potentially improve EDI and the nursing workforce in Canada, in Saskatchewan and Canada and reduce the healthcare disparities in the Black population.

Related resources:

• Luhanga, F.L., Maposa S., Puplampu, V., & Abudu E. (2023). “Let’s call a spade a spade. My barrier is being a Black student”: Challenges for Black undergraduate nursing students in a Western Canadian province. The Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 55(4), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.1177/08445621231198632
• Luhanga, F., Maposa, S., Puplampu, V., Abudu, E., & Chigbogu, I. (2023). “You have to strive very hard to prove yourself”: experiences of Black nursing students in a Western Canadian province. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 20(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnes-2022-0094