cnsa POSITION AND RESOLUTION STATEMENTS

Authors: Brooklynn Bellisle, Alisha D’souza, Sierra Punchard, Scarlett Sanabria-Ramos

This position statement affirms that cultural safety and humility are foundational to ethical nursing practice in Canada. CNSA emphasizes that cultural safety must be defined by patients and grounded in awareness of historical, political, and social contexts. The statement highlights current gaps in nursing education regarding minority, cultural, and religious needs and calls for cultural humility to be intentionally woven throughout curricula, leadership, advocacy, and clinical learning. CNSA commits to ongoing accountability and inclusive nursing practice responsive to lived experiences.

Authors: Adam Witbeck, Scarlett Sanabria-Ramos

This statement declares nursing CNSA’s zero-tolerance stance toward violence, bullying, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in clinical placements. Based on a 2025 national survey, it emphasizes nursing students’ structural vulnerability and the need for confidential reporting pathways, protection from academic consequences, trauma-informed supervision, and systemic feedback mechanisms.

Author: Alisha D’souza

This resolution formally supports the UNCRC and recognizes children as rights-holders entitled to health, safety, and participation in care decisions. CNSA calls for child-rights principles, ethical decision-making, and family-centred care to be integrated into nursing curricula and student advocacy efforts.

Authors: Brooklynn Bellisle, Alisha D’souza, Sierra Punchard, Scarlett Sanabria-Ramos

CNSA formally supports Joyce’s Principle in response to systemic racism and discrimination toward Indigenous peoples in healthcare. The resolution commits to advocating for culturally safe, equitable access to care, integrating Indigenous-led practices into curricula, and supporting reconciliation efforts to prevent further harm.

Authors: Brooklynn Bellisle, Alisha D’souza, Sierra Punchard, Scarlett Sanabria-Ramos

This resolution affirms CNSA’s support for UNDRIP and the TRC Calls to Action related to healthcare. It highlights the ongoing impacts of colonialism and systemic inequities and calls for mandatory Indigenous health education, anti-racism training, and culturally safe care competencies across nursing programs nationwide.

Author: Sierra Punchard

This resolution urges Canadian nursing schools to implement mandatory education on recognizing and reporting abuse, including intimate partner violence. It emphasizes that many nurses feel underprepared due to inconsistent training, placing vulnerable patients at risk. CNSA calls for standardized trauma-informed curricular inclusion to strengthen patient safety and equity.

Authors: Scarlett Sanabria-Ramos Director of Communications CNSA 2025-2026 , Alexander May May President AMEENF 2025-2026

This resolution proposes an annual virtual CNSA–AMEENF North American Nursing Student Leadership Summit and Joint Advocacy Framework. It responds to shared workforce challenges in Canada and Mexico and aims to strengthen leadership development, cross-border collaboration, and student-driven policy advocacy across both nations.

Authors: Scarlett Sanabria-Ramos, Raymond Parcels, Jacob Potts

This resolution acknowledges persistent gender-based stigma faced by male-identifying nursing students in clinical education. CNSA calls for equitable, gender-neutral placement policies, consistent evaluation practices, protection from retaliation, and national guidance to reduce bias and promote inclusive clinical learning environments.

Authors: Farah Elgaweesh, Asha Jama

This paper builds on CNSA’s planetary health advocacy by aligning nursing education and governance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It calls for SDG-informed competencies in curricula, Indigenous leadership in sustainability, a planetary health task force, and strengthened interdisciplinary partnerships to address climate-related health inequities.

Author: Sierra Punchard

This position statement highlights major gaps in survivor access to forensic nursing care for sexual and domestic violence across Canada. CNSA supports integrating forensic nursing education into undergraduate curricula to strengthen trauma-informed care, consent, documentation, and evidence-informed survivor support.

Authors: Patrick Stillwell-Brun, Cassandra Cantwell, Hannah Richard

This proposal addresses inequities caused by inconsistent GPA grading scales across Canadian nursing programs. It demonstrates how institutional variation can unfairly impact postgraduate eligibility and calls for a standardized national grading framework to ensure transparency, fairness, and equal academic opportunity.

Author: Alisha D’souza

Summary:
This position statement advocates for the implementation of mandated minimum nurse-to-patient ratios across Canada. Drawing from recent provincial actions in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, it emphasizes strong evidence linking safe staffing to improved patient outcomes, reduced nurse burnout, better retention, and long-term cost savings for healthcare systems. It calls for coordinated action across provinces and territories to protect both patient safety and the nursing workforce.

Authors: Kaitlyn Ghaney, Abigail Ryan-Whiffen, Samantha Wallace, Jessica Gulliver

This statement calls on CNSA to take a firm national stance in protecting abortion access in Canada. While abortion has been legal since R. v. Morgentaler (1988), the statement highlights the lack of federal legal protections and major geographic and systemic barriers to access. It also emphasizes the role of nurses in reproductive rights advocacy and the need for stronger curriculum coverage and federal policy protections.

Author: Keirsten Smith

This statement addresses the challenges newly graduated nurses face during the transition into professional practice, including stress, reality shock, and competency gaps. It advocates for structured residency and mentorship programs, national standards, and collaboration with bodies like CASN, CNA, and CFNU. Mentorship is positioned as a key strategy for retention, resilience, and safe entry-to-practice.

Authors: Shrusti Patel, Brooklynn Bellisle, Ivy Wang

This resolution calls for increased financial and academic support for nursing students to participate in professional development opportunities such as conferences, workshops, and certifications. It argues that continuous professional development begins in nursing school and directly impacts retention, leadership capacity, and quality of care. CNSA is urged to advocate for excused absences and dedicated institutional funding.

Authors: Ankur Patel, Elwad Ahmed, Nolan Lagrisola, Makayla Mantla, Miyansh Jhamb, Kaitlyn Gainey, Haileigh Macleod, Alisha D’Souza

This position statement establishes planetary health as essential to nursing education and practice, emphasizing climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and environmental racism as major health determinants. It calls for integrating planetary health principles into curricula, developing dedicated clinical roles and internships, and aligning nursing leadership with sustainability and Indigenous knowledge systems.

Author: Keirsten Smith

This statement emphasizes that nursing students face unique risks of stress, anxiety, violence, bullying, and trauma in both academic and clinical environments. It calls for mandatory safety and wellness training in curricula, confidential support services, institutional zero-tolerance harassment policies, union advocacy, and government involvement. It reinforces CNSA’s commitment to safe learning environments and student well-being.