Beyond the Textbook: What Future Nurses Learned AboutHousing, Hope, and Care

In a typical nursing placement, students learn to check vitals, dress wounds, and administer medication. For Lena, Katelyn, and Kourtni (three 4th-year nursing students from Algonquin College) their recent placement at the Ottawa Mission taught them to diagnose a different kind of condition. 

In the last three months, students moved from clinic, to frontlines, to advocacy. We interviewed each of them and asked about their journey and their thoughts about the future of care. 

For Katelyn, witnessing the social determinants of health up close transformed her understanding of care.  

The placement was an eye-opening encounter with our city’s reality of homelessness. A reality that bears little resemblance to the common myths. 

“While shadowing at the clinic, I met a client who said he works all day… but he’s been sleeping on the street overnight.” Katelyn shares. The realization that a full day’s work doesn’t guarantee a safe place to sleep was a pivotal moment.  

“That was very eye-opening for me,” she says. “To imagine working an 8-12 hour shift and having nowhere to return to, nowhere that feels safe to decompress and relax.” 

For Lena, the placement revealed the profound power of care when it is accessible and compassionate.  

She references her time at the primary care clinic, observing the Mission’s nurse practitioner with a long-term client who was now “back on his feet” – housed, employed, and sober. 

“The nurse practitioner knew exactly who he was… and how proud she felt to see his progress,” Lena recalls.  

“It exemplified the value of primary care access for the health of the [overall] community. Through low-barrier access… he was able to get his needs met and now had a calm confidence and positivity about him.” 

For Kourtni, the placement offered her an opportunity to re-evaluate what it means to be a care provider.  

It’s not just about clinical intervention, it’s about understanding the life the patient returns to when they leave. Kourtni takes this further, arguing that a discharge plan cannot simply end at the hospital doors. For her, effective care requires a continuum of support that treats the patient’s circumstances as well as their condition. She notes that without these fundamental pillars, medical treatment is merely a temporary pause in a cycle of illness, rather than a path to recovery. 

“I have often cared for homeless patients in a hospital setting,” Katelyn joins, “but now I feel as though I have more insight into what goals should be implemented prior to discharge, and how to provide them with more long-term support.” 

This wrap-around approach to healthcare also demonstrated to the students the resilience and determination of clients despite facing stigma and systemic barriers. 

“They are subject to such stigma… and still they continue to show up and try,” Lena says. “That’s far beyond what I imagine I could do in the same circumstances, and I feel it deserves the highest degree of respect.” 

Students didn’t just witness the problems, they stepped up to be part of the solution. 

During the Ottawa Mission’s recent advocacy workshop, The Home Stretch, the students went from learners to leaders. They facilitated conversations about the importance of advocacy with concerned community members. Most importantly, they shared their own pitches that advocate for preventative upstream solutions. They demonstrated that advocating for a patient’s health means advocating for their housing.  

Meeting basic human needs is the most effective healthcare policy we have. 

As they prepare to enter their nursing careers, we hope they carry with them a toolset that widens the impact of their care.  

“You don’t have to change the world,” Lena concludes, “but you can change someone’s life with a moment of kindness, compassion, and empathy.” 

Katelyn agrees, “Everyone has their own role, but everyone comes together with a common purpose… creating a positive impact.” 

In closing, Kourtni reminds any hesitant advocates that championing our neighbours in need is easier than we think, and that action creates confidence.