A3
Concurrent Session A3
Empowering Student Voice and Agency
Session Details
Time: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: DCC 707
Navigating Clinical Errors Through Poetry: Amplifying Nursing Students’ Voices
This session will explore the use of poetry as an innovative approach to help nursing students manage the anxiety and stress associated with clinical errors. Nursing students often face significant emotional challenges when making mistakes in clinical practice, which can hinder their learning and development. Drawing on reflective practice theory, this session will demonstrate how incorporating poetry into nursing education helps students express complex emotions, build emotional resilience, and foster a culture of openness around error-making.
The session will draw upon a real case study from a nursing student’s clinical placement. During clinical placement, a nursing student observed a senior nurse provide regular water instead of thickened fluids to a stroke patient, leading to aspiration. The senior nurse managed the situation in-the-moment, but the student, aware of the potential severity of the error, felt a strong sense of responsibility and unease. Despite concerns, the student hesitated to challenge the senior nurse, unsure of how to navigate the power dynamics in the clinical environment. Later, when the patient’s condition worsened, the student was deeply affected by feelings of guilt and self-doubt, questioning their role in the situation and their ability to advocate for the patient.
This case highlights students' emotional experiences when managing clinical errors and underscores the need for nursing education to provide better support for students in processing these experiences. By integrating poetry into the curriculum, educators can create an environment that encourages self-reflection, emotional resilience, and empathy. This approach can enhance students' reflective skills and prepare them for the emotional demands of their future careers while fostering a more supportive learning environment. Additionally, it provides a platform for educators to address complex topics like resilience, burnout, and role conflict, improving students’ ability to engage with and understand these themes.
Presenters
Dr. Kateryna Metersky is an Assistant Professor in Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Dr. Metersky also maintains her nursing practice in General Internal Medicine at Toronto Western Hospital – University Health Network (UHN). Dr. Metersky's program of research focuses on: 1.) international and cross-national collaborations and partnerships; 2.) persons with social, economic and health challenges; 3.) nursing and interprofessional practice and education; and 4.) intersectionality and positionality in population-centred care.
Dr. Metersky is a member of the manuscript review board of peer-reviewed journals and on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Health Trends and Perspectives and the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. She sits on TMU's Research Ethics Board as a Reviewer and is the vice-chair of University Senate. She also co-chairs the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s redevelopment of the Person and Family-Centred Care Best Practice Guideline. Finally, Dr. Metersky sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative, is a patient-partner in education with Centre of Advancing Collaborative Healthcare and Education at UHN and is an Affiliate Scientist with the Centre for Immigration and Settlement at TMU as well as with The Institute of Education Research at UHN.
Asmaa Ahmed is a third-year nursing student at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she has developed a strong passion for both healthcare and community service. Her commitment extends beyond academics, as she actively participates in mentoring youth through the YMCA Black Achievers Program. In this role, Asmaa helps guide young individuals by providing them with the support and tools they need to achieve their personal, academic, and professional goals. Asmaa also serves as the Executive Student Liaison for the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario Nursing Research Interest Group, where she promotes research opportunities, helps students get involved, and is a member of the Nursing Research Interest Group Awards Committee. Additionally, Asmaa is a Research Assistant, further developing her skills in research and academic inquiry. Through these roles, she is dedicated to supporting the growth of nursing students, and contributing to the advancement of nursing research.
Yusra Syeda is a final-year student at the Collaborative Nursing Program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Currently, she is completing her consolidating placement at the Toronto General Hospital’s Emergency Department. She is passionate about emergency medicine, patient advocacy and public health. Beyond clinical work, Yusra is engaged in research on safety culture in nursing and is exploring poetry and aesthetics as innovative tools in nursing education under the mentorship of Dr. Kateryna Metersky. She has also investigated GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss, as well as adverse child experiences and ADHD, published in Hindawi, Qeios, and Mental Health Science respectively. She currently volunteers the Centre for Safer Sex & Sexual Violence Support at the Toronto Metropolitan Student Union as a helpline volunteer. With plans to pursue postgraduate education, Yusra is committed to lifelong learning, improving patient outcomes, and advancing the nursing profession through research and advocacy.
Dr. Areej Al-Hamad is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University with expertise in health policy, nursing, and social justice research. She holds two PhDs: one in Rural and Northern Health (Health Policy) from Laurentian University (2019) and another in Nursing from Western University (2021). Her research focuses on food insecurity, women’s health, marginalized populations, immigrants, refugees, intersectionality, and social justice.
Dr. Al-Hamad has diverse clinical and teaching experiences in Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, receiving the Teaching Excellence Certificate from Western University (2015/2016). She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and received multiple research grants, including the SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Grant and SSHRC Insights Development Grant.
She has been recognized with several awards, including Best Oral Presentation at the Joint Mental Health Research and Innovation Day (2020) and selection of her PhD dissertation as one of the most impactful at Western University (2021-2022). Currently, she leads interdisciplinary and international projects on food and housing insecurity among Syrian and Ukrainian refugee women and aging migrant populations. Dr. Al-Hamad is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary (Canada and Qatar).
Dr. Laura Istanboulian is an Assistant Professor at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at TMU where she teaches undergraduate nursing pathotherapeutics. Her program of research focuses on health equity and safety of adult patients across the critical care continuum from admission to post discharge. Dr. Istanboulian is also a practising Nurse Practitioner at Michael Garron Hospital, working with adult patients with complex respiratory conditions.
Dr. Hasina Amanzai is an emerging scholar and a nurse practitioner with diverse experience in working with the immigrant population. Dr. Amanzai has been working with South Asian and Central Asian immigrants for nearly two decades. She has also been part of various studies focusing on aging, immigration, chronic conditions, and gender roles. Dr. Amanzai has experience in data collection, analysis, and dissemination and has contributed to studies on aging and immigration. She has extensive experience in recruitment and mixed-method data analysis. Dr. Amanzai is fluent in five South Asian languages including Hindi, Farsi, Pushto, Urdu, and Punjabi. She is able to assist with recruitment, data collection, analysis and manuscript writing.
Student Perspectives on CMN 231: Communicating with Comics
As well as being artifacts of popular culture, comics are powerful tools for education, persuasion, and exploration of identity. Iconic graphic communication overcomes linguistic and emotional barriers. Using critical examination, my undergraduate course, CMN231: Communicating with Comics, shows students how comics can be used to explore personal identity and their own place in society.
Based on McCloud’s Understanding Comics (1993), theory is augmented by articles on narrative, gender, race, disability, and graphic medicine. Students are also exposed to a broad variety of challenging comics and graphic novels. Examples include, Alan Moore’s Watchmen (1986-7), Ellen Forney’s Marbles (2012), and Shobo and Shof Coker’s New Masters (2019). Class discussions explore both the stories and how these comics create meaning.
As a lower-level liberal, writing is a core component of this course. In addition to two essays requiring the application of theory to comics of their choosing, students also write a series of discussion board posts and responses prompting them to consider how theory might be applied to their favourite comics. Additionally, students are trained in correct APA in- text citations and references.
As a capstone assignment, students create their own comic script and a 16-24 panel comic book using the medium or software program of their choice. Using professional concepts of comic scriptwriting, student scripts include descriptions of each panel, note the action, and include the monologue or dialogue. Students are asked to consider questions such as, What story do you want to tell? Is there a conflict and a resolution? Why is this story important to share? What do you want readers to learn or reflect on from this story? Persuasive storytelling is an important professional skill in the workplace.
Having been exposed to such a broad variety of comics, students see the potential for using comics to tell a broad range of stories, and are given permission to be daring in their comic creation. They rise to the occasion, taking risks by exploring personal territory and exposing their own vulnerabilities.
Presenters
Catherine's medical humanities research includes an exploration of the medicalization of comic book superheroes. She has presented this work at a number of conferences and recently published a chapter on Jessica Jones (2024). Catherine completed her PhD in the joint Communication and Culture program at TMU and York. She is a Contract Lecturer in Professional Communication in both day school and continuing education programs at TMU, as well as serving as the President of CUPE 3904. Her superpowers include time manipulation, empathy, and precognition.
Living in Transition: Weaving International Students into TMU Life Through Communal Spaces
This proposal submitted by a thesis student and her supervisor investigates to learning conditions of international students at TMU. It proposes the creation of spaces for living, working and sharing that would provide an opportunity for international students to become integrated into the TMU community.
The thesis student, Farjana Rahman, is formerly a teacher in architecture at Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology in Dhaka Bangladesh, and currently a Master’s student in architecture. She brings her knowledge of architectural design to the problem of accommodating the needs of our international students.
Presenters
Farjana is a M. Arch. graduate student in the Department of Architectural Science.
George is a Professor in the Department of Architectural Science.
