York is a top international teaching and research university and a driving force for positive change. Located in Toronto, York is empowered by a welcoming and diverse community with a uniquely global perspective, we are preparing our students for their long-term career and personal success. Together we are making things right for our communities, our planet, and our future. York University named as one of the world’s leading universities in the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

At York University’s Faculty of Health, we are striving in all we do to be leaders and partners for a healthy and just 21st century world. Our degree programs — Global Health, Health Studies, Health Policy, Management & Digital Health, Kinesiology & Health Science, Neuroscience, Nursing and Psychology — expand our understandings of health, bring innovations to health education, and contribute to the wellbeing of people and communities all around the world. Through our teaching and research excellence, and with our community partners — locally and globally — we are acting every day to build a healthy world for all. Because we believe health is a fundamental human right. For everyone.

School of Nursing

York’s School of Nursing offers three BScN options, all at York’s Keele campus: a 4-year Direct Entry program, a 2nd-Entry program, and a Post-RN Internationally Educated Nurses program. Our programs develop reflective and socially responsive practitioners to ensure health for all through nursing excellence. Students learn to collaborate in an interprofessional team, advocate and lead in the provision of care though opportunities that foster in-depth knowledge, critical thinking and lifelong scholarship.

York’s Nursing programs use transformative teaching/learning strategies that blend theory and practice, culminating in a final practicum experience. Hands-on learning is at the core of the Nursing program and integrated through practicum field placements for all students with health care providers, and through our Nursing Simulation Centre, Nursing Skills Lab and Computer Simulation Lab. Graduates receive a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree enabling graduates to write the registration exam approved by the CNO. 

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

4-year Direct Entry Program

The School of Nursing’s stand-alone 4-Year Direct Entry Program, which has received preliminary approval from the College of Nurses of Ontario, offers all four years at York’s Keele campus and is designed for students who have no previous nursing education. The program uses transformative teaching/learning strategies that blend theory and practice to develop intentional, reflective and socially responsive practitioners to ensure health for all through nursing excellence. Interprofessional thinking and collaboration are integrated throughout the program, culminating in a nursing capstone course which aligns with a final practicum experience. Students learn to partner, advocate and lead in the provision of care through opportunities that foster in-depth knowledge, critical thinking, lifelong scholarship, and professional development.

2nd Entry BScN Program 

The School of Nursing’s 2^nd Entry Program, which is approved by the College of Nurses of Ontario, builds on prior university learning and is available to students who have completed a university degree in any discipline or have 60 credits or more toward a university degree. The program builds on this prior university learning thus enabling students to complete the program in two calendar years through concentrated and continuous learning in six-semester. See above as well.

School of Nursing Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025

The Priorities

The School’s Srategic Plan outlines six intersecting priority areas which are paramount to establishing the highest standards of academic excellence in teaching, learning and research, and for continued growth for the next few years. Aligned with York University’s University Academic Plan (UAP) 2020 – 2025, the School’s strategic plan further calls to action for faculty, students and staff to contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) which comprise of 17 interconnected global goals to “achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” and to intensify our efforts to address systemic racism (black, brown, Indigenous) in nursing education, nursing practice and the healthcare system.

• 21^st Century Learning: Diversifying Whom, What, and How We Teach

…The Canadian Council of Registered Nurses Regulators’ cyclical review (every five years) of the entry-to-practice competencies has led to changes in the entry-to-practice competencies. Now, the various roles that  nurses assume in the provision of safe care, and in the context of changes in healthcare environments emphasizes knowledge of continuous quality improvements and recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. Consequently, new registered Nurses (RN) entry-to-practice competencies were launched by CNO in September 2020. All our undergraduate programs have undergone major modifications to respond to requirements of these new national entry-level competencies….

4. Living Well Together: Excellence Through Engagement and Collaboration

The School envisions a strong sense of community, connection, inclusion, and wellbeing among faculty, staff and students. The School embraces the UAP’s unifying concept of the gift of Mino Bimaaddiziwin or The Good Life which is an Anishinaabe teaching. We will make a conscious effort to support and promote the development with each other of respect, sharing, kindness, kinship, and humility in our relationship with each other to reconcile our difference, support each other’s success and balance individual interest with those of the School.

York University

Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-2028

York’s vision for an equity strategy is based on a commitment to decolonizing, equity, diversity and inclusion (DEDI) and the fundamental belief that everyone should be treated fairly and equitably, with respect and dignity.

Reconciliation

In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC, 2008 2008-2015) reconciliation has come to have specific reference to a process of building and sustaining respectful, ethical relationships between Indigenous peoples and the rest of Canada, based on mutual understanding and respect.

Truth and reconciliation in education includes acknowledging and responding to the ongoing legacy of colonialism on post-secondary institutions, the violent impact of which has produced the need for decolonization, equity, diversity and inclusion. York is committed to the work of truth and reconciliation, to recognize and redress how academic institutions perpetuate colonialism, and to explore ways of transforming the University.

Call to Action # 24

We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Mandatory Course: Yes. Multiple courses.

York University’s School of Nursing (SON) is committed to a philosophy and curriculum centered around York University’s goal of promoting a culture of respect, equity, diversity and inclusivity where we value each other’s differences and exercise our strengths.  At present, York’s SON explores the 5 issues in Call to Action #24 across our programs in a variety of mandatory courses. This is to ensure these issues are at the forefront and relevant to students throughout their education, rather than only focusing on content addressing Indigenous people, their histories, experiences, and knowledge in one course. Examples of Indigenous content and learning activities in different courses in our programs related to the 5 issues listed in Call to Action # 24 are identified in the table below. The examples provided are not an all-encompassing list of Indigenous content within our nursing programs.  

Course description: See Academic and Supplemental Calendar pg. 41 for Required Courses 

HH/NURS 2514 Introduction to Social Justice and Advocacy in Nursing Practice

 This course focuses on Indigenous health issues. This course is offered in the second semester of our undergraduate nursing programs and introduces and explores the concept of social justice and the practice of advocacy, with related issues of equity, rights, structures, oppression, exclusion, bio-power, neoliberalism, moral courage and the social determinants of health. The content from the Indigenous Health and History elective course will be embedded in this course. Topics and learning activities will focus on cultural safety, humility, group action plans regarding care with Indigenous peoples and communities, media and group discussions in areas such as strength-based programs, harm reduction, mental health care and chronic disease, TRC and Calls to Action and justice, and MMIWG. Students will also engage with local communities, urban and university Indigenous events, programs and resources and examine Indigenous ways of knowing and being, languages and traditions, and decolonization. Our plan is to offer this revised course in the Winter 2025 term. 

Elective course

HH/NURS 4370 3.00 The History and Health of Indigenous Individuals, Families and Communities

Analyzes the impact of the history of Indigenous Peoples of Canada from a nursing perspective. Studies colonization, the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRCC), and other relevant materials to inform and provide context to the examination of topics related to Indigenous Health. Explores meaning of traditional healing, cultural safety and nursing praxis in Indigenous communities.      

School of Nursing Commitment to Call to Action # 24: 4.5 out of 5 = 90%

1. Aboriginal health issues
Yes. Aboriginal health issues are explored in the first year’s introductory course on reflection and relational practice.  In this course students learn of interpersonal communication in partnership with Indigenous peoples.  Other courses examining Aboriginal health issues are in the Mental Health Across the Lifespan course that examines Indigenous trauma, slavery, and effects of colonialism on mental health. This is in congruency with the school’s philosophical core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. In the nursing course focusing on individuals and families in child settings, students learn in their first week that reading a land acknowledgement is not enough. Instead, students are required to reflect on actions that can be taken as an individual and collective toward Truth and Reconciliation and that we all have a role to play to address racism towards Indigenous peoples and societal inequities. Students also learn of the determinants of health and health inequities in Indigenous populations, generational impact of residential schools, and how collective resilience and self-governance can contribute to addressing the lasting impacts of colonialism in Indigenous communities. In Week 7 of the course students discuss Jordan River Anderson’s story and the development of Jordan’s Principle.
2. The history and legacy of residential schools
Yes. Teachings related to the history and legacy of residentials schools is explored when teaching family centered care and the importance of being aware of how previous experiences, racism, and trauma of Indigenous peoples by healthcare providers and systems, influences how nursing care needs to be provided and how this care may be perceived. In the mandatory course on the Canadian Health Care System, Indigenous Health, the TRC & allyship are examined and discussed.  In the Leadership course’s section on power, students view the video “Powerless” by the group Classified that highlights the prevalence of child maltreatment, violence against women and Indigenous people, and the national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).  The purpose of this video and it being shown in the class on power is to honour these lives and legacies, learn more about the issues and importance of advocating for those whose voices are not heard and are made to feel powerless. In the Advanced Professional Issues course, one of the assignments is for students to write a letter to the federal Minster of Health (2-3 pages) about the health rights and needs of Indigenous people in Canda by reviewing the TRC Calls to Action, choosing one that addresses the health of Indigenous peoples and provide 2-3 recommendations to address this health concern.
3. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Limited. Children’s rights involving children and family in decision making are examined in the Child Health course. In the Indigenous Health & History elective course discussions relevant to health, culture, land and water are included. The students also participate in a live webinar on UNDRIP.
4. Treaties and Aboriginal rights
Yes. In the Global Context of Nursing course, students learn about the treaties through land acknowledgements. At the beginning of the semester, students are asked to learn about the land they live on since York students commute from a variety of places. Each week they are asked to share what they learned at the beginning of the class about the treaties and other land agreements that relate to the land on which they live.
5. Indigenous teachings and practice
Yes. In the Mental Health course, Indigenous understandings of health and wellbeing are introduced to students as are connections between ceremony, health and well-being. The Evidence Informed Nursing Practice Research course includes Indigenous research methodologies.

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing’s “Statement” of apology for colonial harms resulting from nursing education

Dec.11, 2023: CASN apologizes to Indigenous Peoples of Canada for Colonial harms resulting from nursing education…CASN is committed to a process of self-reflection, learning, and transformation. We will take the following steps to address the harms:

1. Anti-Racism, Cultural Safety, and Humility: Promote education, resources, and practices that address anti-Indigenous racism, supporting decolonization, cultural humility, and cultural safety for nursing faculty, staff, and students. Promote institutional policies and processes that address systemic racism to foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
2. Curriculum Revision: Promote a review of nursing education curricula to ensure a strengths-based focus and trauma-informed approach, the inclusion of content on the continued impact of colonialism and racism on Indigenous health, as well as Indigenous perspectives on health and well-being.
3. Community Engagement: Establish meaningful partnerships with Indigenous organizations and communities to ensure their voices are heard in shaping nursing education policies and practices.
4. Recruitment and Retention: Promote strategies that create culturally safe and supportive learning environments including pre-admission supports, in-program supports, and services that are developed in partnership with Indigenous communities.
5. Ongoing Accountability: In collaboration with Indigenous partners, establish mechanisms to monitor progress and address concerns raised by partners, Indigenous nursing students, and faculty.

Land Acknowledgement: 

The Faculty of Nursing makes no explicit Land Acknowledgement

Located on the York University Home Page 

We recognize that many Indigenous Nations have longstanding relationships with the territories upon which York University campuses are located that precede the establishment of York University. York University acknowledges its presence on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations. The area known as Tkaronto [Tig-ar-on-toe] has been care taken by the Anishinabek [Nish-na-bek] Nation, the Haudenosaunee [Ho-dee-no-sho-nee] Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat. It is now home to many First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities. We acknowledge the current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region.

NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The York University Faculty of Health School of Nursing reviewed and approved the document. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Research Assistant:  Timothy Maton