“I see myself in a lot of advocacy roles, pushing for change in nursing,” 2025-2026 Canadian Nursing Students’ Association President Opeyemi Kehinde says of life after graduation.
F-Word (FW): Why did you choose to study nursing?
Opeyemi Kehinde (OK): As a kid, I was quite sick – always in and out of the hospital – and to this day, I have never forgotten the image of the nurses in their white gowns with caps on their heads taking care of me at the bedside. It was at that point in my life that I decided I was going to be a nurse. It’s just the ability to care for others the way I was cared for.
FW: Where do you see yourself after graduating?
OK: I see myself in a clinical setting because I want to be there with the patients. I also see myself in a lot of advocacy roles, pushing for change in nursing.
FW: How does CNSA interact with ONA?
OK: When nursing students in Ontario graduate, they're likely going to end up as members of ONA. So, it's a good integration to be able to work together, to give them an introduction to what ONA is. That way they hit the ground running when they officially join the union.
FW: What's the biggest challenge nursing students currently face across the country?
OK: Financial barriers are always a big challenge, no matter the interpretation. For nursing students, it manifests in many ways, such as simply being unable to go to a desired clinical placement because we can't afford transportation and/or parking. Many nursing students juggle long hours of studying highly technical material and working unpaid, full-time clinical hours, all on top of working an external job to ensure their bills are paid. This creates a lot of stress and makes life much more difficult as a student.
FW: Across Ontario?
OK: Financial barriers and affordability are still the main challenge in Ontario. The nursing shortage affects students across all of Canada as we are used to fill these shortages, unpaid. If I add up the free hours I have put into clinical practice, nursing education owes me $23,000 – just to give you an idea of the hours we collectively put in. The cost of living doesn’t help. It’s difficult to balance being a good student while also affording to live. Some students risk their safety as they have no other choice than to stay in dangerous housing situations because it’s all they can afford. And unfortunately, another example is that my school’s library has now been completely taken away. That’s bad news for me as I rely on it to read textbooks that I can’t afford to buy. There are layers upon layers of financial barriers for nursing students.
If I add up the free hours I have put into clinical practice, nursing education owes me $23,000.
FW: How can ONA help?
OK: Ontario has one of the largest workforces when it comes to nursing. We look to ONA to advocate and stand up for us. We need paid clinical placements. I want to be able to go to clinicals without worrying about finances. One day, I went to my placement and worked eight hours, only to be denied exit from the parking lot because my card was declined. I was that broke. I sat there and started to cry. That was the last straw after a very stressful shift. Thankfully, someone tapped their card for me, and I was able to leave, but we shouldn’t have to face these challenges.
FW: What do you wish practising health-care professionals knew about current nursing students?
OK: I wish they knew how passionate we were to join the field, yet how vulnerable we are. A recent survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) showed that 23 per cent of nursing students across the country (who don’t work outside of school) are considering dropping out or transferring programs. That’s how volatile the situation is. I wish health-care professionals would stand up and advocate for us. Many students struggle with their mental health by graduation and end up falling into addictions as a way of coping.
FW: What are nursing students’ perceptions of private/for-profit care facilities?
OK: For many of us, we see privatization as a barrier to health care, which is already difficult enough to access. We learn about social determinants of health in class, so we understand its importance. Privatization basically says that if you don’t have money, you don’t deserve care. We need universal public health care so those who are too sick to work can have the costs of their care covered, because otherwise they can’t afford it.
FW: How can schools recruit more nursing students?
OK: After COVID, it takes a lot of courage to become a nurse. The pandemic exposed a lot of shortcomings within the health-care sector. So, when schools accept students who want to become nurses, they need to have a proper structure in place to support them, educationally and holistically. Services and facilities need to be accessible to students, such as tutoring, mental health services, health clinics, well-structured libraries, fitness centres and up-to-date labs.
FW: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
OK: The recent cuts to education and policies regarding international students have negatively impacted post-secondary institutions as a whole. Due to lack of funding, the holistic experience, vital services and amenities are being taken away. Students rely on one another to cope through the many stressors they collectively share, but now there is no sense of community. Without these third places [social environments that are neither home nor school/work, which contribute to an individual’s well-being], students are put in an even more vulnerable situation. I really hope more people stand up and advocate for a better comprehensive experience for nursing students across Canada. We look to ONA to help amplify our voices and create awareness of our needs and struggles.
Learn more about ONA’s involvement with nursing students here.
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