Elijah Strickland, a former Oklahoma Christian University nursing student, took advantage of the relevancy of the social injustice discussion by hosting a new chapel called “Racism and Injustice in the Healthcare Workplace” for current Oklahoma Christian nursing students.
Strickland spoke and took questions regarding the subject and his purpose in creating the chapel.
“I really enjoyed my alma mater looking into racial injustice and wanting to have the conversation,” Strickland said.
He said that current events have brought more awareness to the topic of injustice. He wanted to further focus on how these injustices affect healthcare and how they affect him and others personally.
“With everything going on, people want to come together as a whole for a common goal of equality,” Strickland said.
Strickland said he personally enjoyed sharing his experiences from the nursing field since graduating from Oklahoma Christian. His experiences include racial profiling and discrimination.
“During a job interview I was told I can’t wear durags and ear piercings,” Strickland said. “If I have to think about racial profiling, that’s a problem. … Especially in healthcare, we put a label on somebody without really knowing. It’s natural, but we need to get away from that.”
Strickland said his goal was not to change people’s minds or to convert them to his personal beliefs.
“I wasn’t trying to change their mind, but bring a mindset of sympathy or empathy and bring more awareness,” Strickland said.
Strickland thought his message was very well received by students, especially since he spoke from a Christian background.
“I came at it from a Christian point of view, and they listened from a religious background,” Strickland. “I think that helped them understand. … People are leaning toward wanting to have the conversation.”
Tanner Wade, an Oklahoma Christian nursing student who attended the event, agreed, saying it was powerful.
“I knew about the stuff going on in the world, obviously, but to hear about it coming from the field I want to go into hit me close to home and opened my eyes,” Wade said.
Wade also said the event made him a better nurse.
“I’m going to try to be more aware of racial profiling and putting a label on someone right when I walk into the room,” Wade said.
According to Wade, the event had this effect on many others who attended.
“We are still talking about it,” Wade said. “It’s a few days after and me and other nurses are still wanting to have the discussion, which was exactly his goal.”
Wade said he likes the idea of having a follow-up discussion in the coming weeks.
“I definitely have questions and thoughts I would like answered,” Wade said. “I want more stories, but also want advice on how to personally avoid it.”
When asked if he is going to do another discussion, Strickland said he definitely wanted to continue the conversation.
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