The NSO invites nursing students to a conversation about shaping the future of health care, realizing our shared vision, and developing concrete strategies to improve our communities. Nursing students are frequently encouraged to be advocates for their patients, yet often lack the frameworks to translate that mandate into action in a rapidly changing world. This event is your opportunity to acquire established methods for impactful advocacy and securing real change. We are facing a rapidly changing world with multiple urgent challenges: unaffordable housing, food insecurity, climate change, and global conflict. However, a better world is possible when people come together with shared goals. Through community building, solidarity and effective advocacy, positive change is possible. You will learn:
- Transformative advocacy: Distinguishing between advocacy that addresses root causes versus surface-level initiatives.
- Dynamics of power: Understanding power dynamics, mobilizing community strength, and running campaigns that achieve measurable results.
- Strategic engagement: How to partner with advocacy groups, effectively dialogue with policymakers, and utilize media to amplify your message.
Speakers include:
- Dr. Kim English is an award-winning educator who has taught nursing at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels since 2002. Her work is rooted in an anti-colonial and anti-oppressive lens, drawing from her clinical experience in acute care and her extensive collaboration with Indigenous nurses, elders and rural communities. Kim has a particular interest in addressing racism in health care to serve as an ally to Indigenous populations. Kim is a member of the Canadian Association of Rural and Remote Nurses and the Global Rural Nurse Exchange Network.
- Andrew Marciniak is a fourth-year nursing student and the Policy and Political Action Network Officer for the NSO. In his former life, he was a community organizer for a non-profit who helped shepherd numerous campaigns to victory through developing community leaders and building power door-to-door in low income communities. He is dedicated to bridging the gap between clinical advocacy and structural change, helping students acquire the practical tools needed to translate their nursing mandate into measurable social impact.
Date: March 10, 2026
Time: 6 - 7:30 p.m.