Nursing Student Leadership Conference

For nearly a decade, the toxic drug crisis has profoundly affected British Columbia, with over 16,000 deaths since the public health emergency was declared in 2016. Rural communities, including Trail, BC, have felt the devastating effects profoundly due to the lack of services and support. Economic, social, and systemic factors, including stigma and discrimination, have disproportionally affected individuals who are unhoused and use substances. Through outreach placements, significant gaps and barriers faced by individuals experiencing homelessness in Trail were identified. This prompted further inquiry into how a Community Connection Center could address gaps and enhance support for the unhoused population of Trail.

This leadership project explores the development of a low-barrier Community Connection Center in Trail, BC. Guided by community and human rights lenses, the project emphasizes collaboration, equity, and a shared vision, highlighting the potential benefits for both unhoused and housed community members in the Trail area. Through community engagement, key gaps and strengths were identified, leading to the creation of a professional report. The report presents data and community insights to inform recommendations and next steps towards implementing the Community Connection Centre. Findings will be carried forward by community partners, creating opportunities for future student engagement.

Building Belonging is an initiative based on insights from Selkirk College’s Bridging Rural Homelessness and Well-Being project which identified persistent stigma as a key barrier to social inclusion. Additionally, the Castlegar Integrated Services Collaborative voiced that appropriateness of emergency service use should be explored.

After consultation with emergency and community services in Castlegar, an infographic was developed to encourage reflection while providing practical communication tools to help residents respond to scenarios encountered with vulnerable community members. The resource invites viewers to examine how stigma and fear continue to hinder social well-being within Castlegar. 

Building Belonging adopts a strengths-based, arts-driven approach grounded in community health nursing principles. Using participatory visuals and discussion prompts, the infographic models empathetic communication. A child-friendly engagement tool, a community-themed colouring sheet, was also created to reach a broader audience and promote early awareness among younger residents. Both resources, developed in collaboration with nursing and social work students, have been showcased at Castlegar Community Connect Day to engage community members in open dialogue. 

Using participatory arts to foster empowerment, connection, and dignity, we aimed to amplify marginalized voices. Ultimately, this project reframes community narratives, promotes collective responsibility, and cultivates a sense of genuine belonging.

Have you ever walked into a clinical placement and wondered, “What exactly am I doing here?” This has been the experience for many third-year nursing students placed at the Kootenay Columbia Learning Centre (KCLC), an alternative high school where youth navigate trauma, neurodiversity, and mental health challenges. Without clear guidance, students often feel unsure of their role, expectations, and purpose, leading previous cohorts to describe the placement as unstructured and overwhelming. This lack of clarity impacts confidence, increases stress, and makes it difficult to apply trauma-informed and relational skills in practice.

This leadership project responded to these gaps through the development of a practical, trauma-informed guidebook designed to support future nursing students at KCLC. The hybrid (digital and printable) resource provides clear expectations, communication and boundary-setting strategies, health-promotion teaching templates, orientation checklists, and reflective tools that bridge theoretical learning with community-based youth work. Developed collaboratively with KCLC staff and refined through stakeholder feedback, the guidebook aligns with Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) competencies by supporting leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and trauma-informed practice.

The guidebook will be implemented for the Winter 2026 cohort to enhance clarity, preparedness, and confidence. Overall, this project strengthens student learning and supports safe, relational, and effective nursing practice in alternative school settings.

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious and often misunderstood mental health conditions that affect individuals across all ages and backgrounds. Despite being among the most fatal of all mental illnesses, with mortality rates second only to opioid use disorder, EDs remain vastly underrecognized and underdiscussed within both healthcare and the general public. Many nurses and healthcare providers report limited training in supporting people living with EDs, contributing to ongoing gaps in care, understanding, and compassion.

This leadership project aims to bridge the knowledge gap by targeting student nurses before they enter the workforce. We have developed a lesson plan informed by lived experience to be integrated into the refreshed Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum at Selkirk College and to be made available for use across the University of Victoria and its partner BSN programs.

We conducted interviews with individuals who have lived experience with EDs to gather personal insights to guide the creation of a trauma-informed lesson plan. From these interviews, we have selected audio clips to be incorporated into class content to amplify the voices and perspectives of those with lived experience within our curriculum. This presentation will discuss our development process, key lessons learned, and the positive impact of integrating lived experience into nursing education.

Across our local communities, toxic drug poisonings are a persistent reality, and when they occur, a skilled, timely response can save a life. Outreach nursing, especially in rural settings, requires situational awareness, adaptability, and a trauma-informed approach to harm reduction. To help navigate limited resources, unfamiliar spaces, and complex relational and systemic realities, we are developing a virtual simulation to aid Health and Human Services (HHS) students in strengthening their recognition and response outside of traditional clinical environments.

Co-shaped with community partners and people with lived or living experience in the West Kootenays, the simulation aims to build learners' confidence in assessing safety, recognizing opioid toxicity, and responding with clinical skill and human connection in the first critical minutes of care. As a Selkirk College legacy initiative, this work supports ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration and advances sustainable, student-led innovation in nursing education. Please join us in bringing this simulation to life as we outline the project’s conceptual design, the process of integrating community and evidence-informed perspectives, preview the current build, and share how you can help shape the next steps.

Our leadership project focused on addressing substance use-related knowledge gaps within the high school demographic. Recent surveys on high school students in Canada demonstrate significant knowledge gaps regarding the perils of commonly used substances including alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, and opioids. Providing education about the common risks of using these substances is a valuable upstream approach which may correct misconceptions, reduce substance-related harms and emergency visits, and empower students to engage in informed decision-making regarding substance use. We provided a 75-minute educational session to four high school classes and described the effects and risks associated with each substance, as well as how to recognize and respond to an overdose of each. Students who participated in sharing written feedback unanimously expressed the belief that substance use education should be shared with more students. 

Currently, the British Columbia high school curriculum remains vague in its competencies regarding harm reduction education in relation to substance use. We hope that future nursing students will continue to address systemic barriers and misconceptions surrounding harm reduction education by engaging in meaningful discourse with community members, including parents, teachers, and school board members.

This leadership project focuses on developing an Open Educational Resource (OER) designed to enhance the learning experience in the nursing skills lab. OERs are free teaching and learning materials that anyone can use, adapt, and share. These could include videos, textbooks, and lesson plans that support flexible education. In previous years, the nursing program requested that students purchase several learning tools for the nursing skills lab. However, based on feedback gathered from the different cohorts, there were many negative reviews regarding these programs, including difficulty in navigation, discrepancies in content, and the hefty cost of these programs.

The OER created in this leadership project advocates for students and instructors for a centralized, user-friendly, and accessible resource. Students and field guides in this project collaborated to develop a free platform that meets the needs of all users by ensuring ease of navigation, high-quality content, and different learning options. This project aims to support nursing students in the skills lab by providing free, engaging materials that cater to diverse learning styles and enhance competence in nursing skills. Additionally, it seeks to create a cohesive, instructor-developed learning platform that ensures consistency, reduces confusion, and eliminates discrepancies in course content for students and faculty. 

In response to the retention challenges widely documented within emergency departments across British Columbia, this leadership project focused on gaining perspective and examining the factors influencing the transition of early-career nurses into specialty areas of practice, such as emergency care. Specifically, efforts aimed to understand the barriers, supports, and perceptions that shape preparedness, confidence, and integration into the specialty of emergency nursing. In collaboration with Emergency Care BC (ECBC), a provincial health improvement network, a descriptive survey was designed and distributed to nurses currently working in, or transitioning into, emergency departments across the province.

The survey explored nurses' perspectives on post-training organizational supports, professional development opportunities, and potential barriers. The goal was to highlight key areas for improvement and provide ECBC with actionable recommendations to inform recruitment and retention strategies for emergency nurses. By amplifying the voices of early-career and practicing nurses, these efforts contribute to a deeper understanding of the specialty nursing transition process, offering evidence-informed recommendations to promote sustainable and supportive emergency department practice environments throughout British Columbia.

Content Warning: This presentation discusses topics related to sexual assault, trauma, and survivor support. While these themes are addressed respectfully and from a healthcare perspective, some material may be emotionally triggering. 

While this content is meaningful and important, we encourage everyone to prioritize their well-being when engaging with these sensitive topics.

This leadership project addresses the ongoing need for accessible, trauma-informed, and survivor-centered care for individuals who have experienced sexual assault in rural communities. Inspired by Chloe Hunt, founder of Fourwords Solutions, and driven by our shared commitment to advocacy and health equity, we aimed to address gaps in follow-up care for survivors. Through extensive research, community interviews, and engagement with regional professionals, we identified inconsistencies between the health authority, non-profit organizations, and community services. These gaps stem from limited collaboration and inconsistent government funding, resulting in fragmented post-assault care and support pathways.

In response, we developed a consolidated online resource and community flyers to improve access to accurate information about local psychosocial and medical services, reporting options, consent, disclosure, and trauma responses. This presentation outlines the project’s development, including our rationale, planning process, and collaboration with healthcare and community partners. By attending, students will gain insight into how we gathered and organized information to create a trauma-informed resource. Additionally, supporting nursing students, healthcare professionals, survivors, and their support systems in responding to and learning about sexual assault in rural communities.
 

Throughout their four years in the nursing program, Robin and Sarah noticed a lack of opportunity for peer collaboration and support. Peer mentorship was something they identified as having the potential to create opportunities for students to build mutually beneficial relationships, develop skills, gain confidence, and foster a supportive community. This led Sarah and Robin to pose the question, “What characteristics and organizational structure do Selkirk College Nursing Students feel are essential for meaningful and effective peer mentorship?”  

They chose to explore this question from various angles. This involved examining the research on peer mentorship styles and their implementation in other undergraduate nursing education programs, distributing a survey to students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Selkirk College, conducting a series of drop-in mentorship sessions, and exploring online platforms that could be utilized as an information-sharing tool.  

Did they find the answer? Join them to learn more about peer mentorship, the exploration process, the answers they found from their research, and hear the recommendations they have for what could come next.  

Student participation in academic governance is essential for fostering inclusive decision-making and cultivating future leaders in post-secondary education. Our leadership project aimed to increase awareness and engagement among Selkirk College students regarding available student seats on governing committees and councils throughout the college. Despite these opportunities existing, many students are unaware of their purpose or how to get involved.

            Through collaboration with faculty members and college leadership, we conducted an “environmental scan” of existing governance structures and committee engagement. We then developed and began to implement awareness strategies, including informational resources, class presentations, and open-attendance sessions to highlight the importance of student representation on policy and curriculum development.

            Our project emphasized the value of shared governance and student empowerment as central to professional growth and leadership development. We hope to hear feedback showing increased understanding of the governing process and a greater interest in student involvement.

            This project demonstrates how student-led leadership initiatives can strengthen equity in institutions through transparency, communication, and collaboration with the student body. By engaging students in academic governance, we contribute to a culture of advocacy, accountability, and empowerment; skills that are essential for leadership, both in education and in nursing practice.

Access to safe, inclusive, and sanitary community washrooms is a fundamental public health need that impacts the entire community. In Trail, BC this lack of reliable facilities creates health, social, and equity challenges that extend far beyond inconvenience. Individuals experiencing homelessness, older adults, families with young children, and even tourists struggle to find accessible spaces, while local businesses often become the default restroom providers. This shortage contributes to preventable health concerns such as dehydration, urinary tract infections, and environmental contamination, while reinforcing stigma and a lack of equitable access. 

This leadership project explores the benefits, risks, and public health implications of establishing a community washroom in Trail, BC. Working collaboratively with local business owners, residents, public health professionals, and city representatives, we examine the barriers, needs, and potential solutions to improve restroom access. 

By approaching this issue through a public health lens, our project emphasizes that a community washroom is more than a convenience. It is an investment in collective health, inclusivity, and civic well-being. Our leadership project aims to enhance the overall health of the city by promoting wellness, improving walkability, and strengthening community resilience. We hope that this will then create a more welcoming place for both residents and visitors. 
 

Our leadership project ‘Indigenizing the nursing lab’ aims to incorporate and honour Indigenous ways of knowing alongside Western knowledge systems, a process otherwise known as two-eyed seeing. As an initial step toward Indigenizing the nursing lab, we brought together community members and Indigenous knowledge holders to create a communal medicine wheel. The collaboratively created beaded Medicine Wheel, displayed in an area of the nursing lab, represents the interconnections between well-being, spirituality, emotions, mental health, and physical health in each quadrant. The beading invites learners to engage in self-reflection and cultural awareness. The project will provide a lasting visual and educational tool for ongoing reconciliation within healthcare education.

The vision of the medicine wheel was inspired by the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Throughout this process, we also introduced curriculum changes, for instance, including cultural and spiritual components within the head-to-toe assessment in first-year practice, shifting away from linear models of learning. In contrast, our project challenged that by emphasizing learning, healing, and growth are not linear; they are circular. With that, the growth of improvement through the first-year head-to-toe assessment to further acknowledge the calls to action became an addition to the changes brought forth. Overall, our goal of Indigenizing the nursing lab involves not only reconciliation and decolonization but also promoting self-development for nursing students, to reflect on knowledge gaps and biases, thus influencing systemic change.