Healthcare students gain hands-on experience to better understand the realities of sickle cell disease.
On Sept. 15, the Queen’s chapter of Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO) in collaboration with the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance (CBNA), Queen’s Chapter (Queen’s CBNA), Queen’s Interprofessional Healthcare Students Association, and Queen’s Nursing Student Society, hosted a simulation of a patient with sickle cell disease.
The two sessions were hosted at the School of Medicine buildings, one from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and another from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. Nursing and medical students were invited to take part in the event, designed to raise awareness about the condition and highlight the barriers patients face in receiving timely care.
Oluwamisimi D. Oluwole, Nurs ’26, one of the co-founders of the Queen’s Chapter of SCAGO, noted in an e-mail to The Journal, that the event was funded through the Government of Canada under the Canada Service Corps program and made available through SCAGO’s youth development program.
For many attendees, it was their first in-depth look at what sickle cell is. The inherited blood disorder causes red blood cells to take on a rigid, crescent shape, which can block blood flow and trigger pain known as vaso-occlusive crises. The condition primarily affects people of African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian descent, and patients often face chronic pain, fatigue, and barriers to care when providers are unfamiliar with the disease.
The event began with a simulated patient who was a lived experience advocate living with sickle cell disease, who portrayed the experience of arriving at a hospital in the middle of a pain crisis. Participants completed pre- and post-surveys and took part in the simulation, learning about both the medical response and the personal struggles patients face when seeking care. Sickle cell experts from Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Lakeridge Health, and Queen’s Health Sciences were also involved.
“The live actor who has sickle cell was able to kind of share his experience, and I feel like that is what helped all the medical students and nurses as well,” Hope Olaniyan, Nurs ’28, the logistics volunteer for SCAGO, said in an interview with The Journal.
For Olaniyan, the simulation was about more than medical training. It was about building empathy and reminding people with sickle cell that they aren’t alone.
“It can be hard at first, but there are people who care. Even if it’s not as much as we want it to be, it’s getting better. People show that they want to learn, and that makes up for it,” she said. “It reminds us that we’re not fighting it alone.”
Olaniyan added that the event was eye-opening for many participants.
“None of them really knew what sickle cell was. They might have heard of it, but they didn’t really know how it affects people day to day. Being in that simulation helped them a lot, and they’ll be able to use it in their training.”
Olaniyan further mentioned that her own experiences motivate her advocacy as she shares a possible barrier to her obtaining health care.
“If I had a pain crisis and I was in the hospital, they wouldn’t really know what to do. They would have to contact Toronto General or bigger clinics in Toronto just to ask what type of care to give me, and it would delay treatment.”
Looking ahead, SCAGO Queen’s plans to expand its work beyond health care students. Olaniyan said the chapter is brainstorming ways to make sickle cell education more visible across campus, from everyday awareness activities to fundraisers like bake sales paired with informational flyers.
SCAGO’s goal is to give all students, not just those in medicine or nursing, an opportunity to learn about the disease and support advocacy efforts.
Corrections
A previous version didn’t include Oluwamisimi D. Oluwole’s involvement with the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO at Queen’sU). Oluwole was the founder of the Queen’s Chapter of SCAGO.
Additionally, funding for the project was provided through the Government of Canada under the Canada Service Corps program and made available through SCAGO’s Youth Development Program. Other student groups involved included the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance, Queen’s Chapter (Queen’s CBNA); the Queen’s Interprofessional Healthcare Students Association; and the Queen’s Nursing Student Society.
The story also misstated Hope Olaniyan role. Olaniyan served as a logistics volunteer, not an organiser.
Incorrect information appeared in the Sept. 26 issue of The Journal.
A previous version of this story identified Oluwamisimi D. Oluwole as the sole founder of the Queen’s chapter of the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario. In fact, she is one of four co-founders.
Incorrect information appeared in the Sept. 26 issue of The Journal.
The Journal regrets the error
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