This week Diversity Magazine success story focuses on Dr. Bukola Salami, an award winning researcher in the field of nursing. On a phone interview with Diversity Magazine, Dr. Salami, the first Canadian to receive the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society 2018 Emerging Nurse Researcher Award in advancing health, celebrating nursing excellence, had this to say, “It’s awesome the biggest for anyone within the first five years of their career. As the first Canadian, it sets me apart and shows that I’m doing a great work…”
Dr. Bukola Salami is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta. Prior to her academic career, she was a Registered Nurse and subsequently an Inter-professional Educator on immigrant child health and cultural competency at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Windsor, her Masters of Nursing from the University of Toronto, and her PhD in Nursing from the University of Toronto. During her doctoral program, she completed certificate programs in International Nursing, Critical Qualitative Health Research, and an (equivalent) graduate diploma in Health Service and Policy Research.
Her doctoral work was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Her main area of research is immigrant’s health. Over the last 4 years, she has been involved in over 35 funded projects in the area of migration and/or health, including over 15 as lead. She has conducted studies on the well-being of temporary foreign workers in Alberta, the influence of diverse health determinants on the mental health of immigrants in Canada, the perspectives of employers of migrant caregivers, the migration of nurses to Canada to work as lower skilled care workers, the parenting and mental health promotion practices of African immigrants, the mental health of immigrant children and access to healthcare for immigrant children. Her research has been disseminated through publications and presentations in multiple venues, including around 30 peer reviewed publications with another 10 in the publication process.
At the University of Alberta, she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on: 1) Immigrant’s Health; 2) Public Policy and Nursing Leadership; 3) Community Health and 4) Global health. She is involved in several volunteer capacities including as Public Member on the Council of the Alberta College of Social Workers and grant reviewer for Edmonton Community Foundation. Previously, she was a Council Member and Research Committee Co-chair of the Edmonton Local Immigrant Partnership and a Board member of Africa Centre.
In 2018, she was recognized by the main nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Thau International Honor Society of Nursing, as the 2018 Emerging Nurse Researcher. She is the first Canadian nurse researcher to hold this recognition and award. In the same year, she was recognized as among 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Woman. In 2016, she was named by Alberta Avenue Magazine as Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40. She is originally from Nigeria.
