Ankur Patel

Hi Everyone! My name is Ankur, and it is my utmost pleasure to be writing to you from the traditional and unceded territories of the Haisla Nation, colonially known as Kitimat BC. I recently graduated from the University of Northern British Columbia and have had the privilege of serving Canadian nurses and nursing students through various levels of governance and advocacy.

I wear many hats, and I enjoy each of them. But today, I’d like to share two in particular:

1. A friend, to anyone interested what I am passionate about and wants to talk; and

2. The Canadian delegate on the Student and Early Career Nurse Alliance for the International Council of Nurses (ICN).

If you gain nothing further from my writing here, I want you to walk away with this: as a student, new graduate, employee or researcher, your voice matters. The systems in which we seek to thrive need refinement, and there will be no change until we have enough voices to make that change.

Growing up in the rainforests of Northern British Columbia, I found one of my callings in nursing to be Planetary Health. The connection between land and interrelated health systems never ceases to fascinate me; in particular how our toys can disrupt androgens and fetal development, how the methods we use to protect our crops can lead to neurocognitive delays and cancers, how the methods by which we attain fuel causes heart attacks and airway compromise, and finally how the fact that I’ll never be able to hold a Golden Toad (Incilius, periglenes) makes me sad. Planetary Health has become a primary focus in much of my leadership and advocacy.

To give a brief background of my work, I began my journey on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA), serving as Environmental Sustainability Advocate. In this role, I had the pleasure of working with students across Canada and, in tandem with the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE), worked to advance planetary health values and student engagement. Eventually, I served as student representative on the Board of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), joining the board in advancing the profession and procuring more support federally. These experiences set the stage for my current position serving as the Canadian delegate for the ICN Student and Early Career Nurse Alliance.

I must first pause to share what an immense privilege this position is. To serve, represent and advocate for Canadian students and early career nurses on the international stage could not be more exciting or engaging; nor could I feel a deeper sense of responsibility for the position that I hold. This year, the ICN Congress took place in Helsinki, Finland, a global gathering of nurses united to discuss health policy and foster international dialogue. It was an incredible opportunity to witness the collective heartbeat of nursing worldwide; nurses from over 130 countries came to bear witness to each other’s struggles and visions for the future.

Despite differences in geography, language, or resources, we were all facing common crises: the climate emergency, health inequities, systemic burnout, and a demand for deeper, more just leadership. Amid these shared concerns, I had the privilege of presenting two health interventions. The first was a call to action for more robust international information exchange of Canada’s student nurse employment programs, while the second emphasized nursing’s pivotal role in embedding planetary health values at every level of decision-making and practice.

Leaving ICN, I carried a sense of responsibility and gratitude. Throughout my nursing journey, time and again, I have been welcomed to tables with an opportunity to fight for the future of nursing; a gift I do not take lightly. I can only hope to give back as much as I have received. Nursing doesn’t need to wait for change to ‘trickle down’. We are the system. Whether you're a student, a new grad, or years into your practice, you have a seat at the table. If one hasn’t been set for you yet, pull up a chair anyway.

In the months ahead, I’ll continue advancing Planetary Health in every space I’m in, pushing for its integration into policy, education, and practice. I’ll keep showing up for Canadian student and early career nurses as delegate for the ICN Student and Early Career Nurse Alliance because I believe in our ability to lead with clarity, with care, and without compromise.

If you're reading this and wondering where to start, start by speaking. Start by asking a question out loud. Start by knowing your voice is valid, and so desperately needed; the future of health doesn’t get built without us. If you are a student or early career nurse (or any Canadian nurse), take this as a personal invite to reach out to me, tell me what matters to you, what needs to change, and how you want to get involved in shaping our future. Reach out to me at Ankurp20555@gmail.com, or on Linkedin at Ankur Patel