Increasing student enrolment from Black communities, promoting a positive experience for Black students, faculty and staff, and reviewing and revising the nursing curriculum are some of the ways in which the Ingram School of Nursing seeks to address anti-Black racism. For the School鈥檚 Office of Social Accountability in Nursing (OSAN) Working Group*, the starting point to all these activities is community engagement. 鈥淥ur goal is to meet with Black communities to hear what they consider to be the current priority issues that need to be addressed and to continue to build these relationships over time,鈥� explains Professor Kimani Daniel, one of the founding members of this working group.听聽
Accordingly, the group received funding over three years from McGill University鈥檚 Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism to engage in consultations with representatives from Black community organizations across various sectors in Montreal. These discussions will inform the development of a preliminary action plan that will be validated and will help guide the work of the new OSAN.听聽
鈥淭his project is aligned with the establishment of the Ingram School of Nursing鈥檚 Office of Social Accountability in Nursing (OSAN), expected to be up and running this May,鈥� notes Professor Sarasua.听 The Office will guide the School鈥檚 Global & Indigenous health, equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism (EDI-A)-related activities, in keeping with the School鈥檚 commitment to promoting social justice and health equity.听聽
*聽Members of the OSAN Working Group include Professors Kimani Daniel, Amanda Cervantes, Irene Sarasua, Jodi Tuck, Catherine-Anne Miller, Fran莽oise Filion, Anne-Laurie Beaubrun, and聽Jayalakshmi Caliaperumal.听