Filipino Stories Abroad
How a Filipino nursing student went from hospital porter to Canada’s national nursing board
The Global Filipino Magazine
31 October 2026
In an emergency department in Terrace, northern British Columbia, a familiar meal made a distant workplace feel closer to home. Between shifts and patient care, Filipino nurses shared pancit and lumpia in the break room. For a nursing student far from the Fraser Valley, those moments offered connection—and a fresh understanding of the profession he was entering.
Ryan Criztoff Tandiama had travelled north for a summer placement as an Employed Student Nurse, working under registered nurses’ supervision. Many colleagues were travel nurses who had arrived from across Canada. On some shifts, it seemed most were Filipino.
Their stories, however, were far from identical.
“Their backgrounds in the Philippines weren’t the same, and neither were their routes into nursing,” he recalls. “These were people I knew by name, and no one story could stand in for all of them.”
That recognition now informs his approach to leadership: listen closely, ask questions and make room for experiences beyond your own.
Learning the hospital from the inside
Born in San Juan, Philippines, Ryan moved to Canada with his family in 2010. He is now a third-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student at the University of the Fraser Valley, expecting to graduate in December 2027. He is the first in his family to study nursing
“I’m the first nurse in my family, but I don’t think the caring part started with me,” he reflects.
His introduction to health care began before nursing school. While still in high school during the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked as a patient screener at his local hospital in Abbotsford. When that temporary position ended, he continued as a porter and health care assistant.
In 2022, he also began volunteering at Abbotsford Regional Hospital. More than 700 volunteer hours later, his commitment has grown into several responsibilities.
Each position revealed another dimension of hospital life. Portering showed him how timely patient movement supports care. Foundation work introduced him to fundraising, equipment priorities and the decisions behind resources clinicians use.
“What gets decided around a board table ends up at the bedside,” he says.
It is a practical insight connecting his early hospital work with his emerging national responsibilities.
A local beginning, a wider contribution
Ryan did not begin with a plan to reach a national boardroom.
“I honestly thought I would spend my whole life involved with my local hospital,” he says. “I started with a local way to help and took on more as opportunities came up.”
Through his regional health care foundation, he led youth and volunteer engagement initiatives supporting fundraising, served on its Board of Directors and chaired the Youth Advisory Committee.
He also joined the hospital auxiliary, where he now serves as second vice-president and website convenor. Provincially, he is Director of Communications for the British Columbia Association of Health CareAuxiliaries.
The work involves connecting people across generations: experienced volunteers who have supported hospitals for decades and younger members discovering how they can contribute.
His first board experiences made governance feel accessible. Preparation mattered. So did asking thoughtful questions and understanding what members were being asked to decide.
“A student can do that,” he explains. “It takes doing the reading and being willing to ask the question nobody else has asked yet.”
Bringing student experience to national decisions
Today, Ryan is Director of Communications for the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association. The role also includes serving as Student Representative on the Canadian Nurses Association Board of Directors.
At CNA Conference 2026 in Winnipeg, he contributed to the planning committee and moderated panels exploring nurse-led approaches to well-being and retention.
These opportunities have expanded his learning network. They have also strengthened his awareness of representation’s responsibilities.
“I can’t speak for every student or every Filipino nurse, but I can share what I’ve seen and ask questions that come from it,” he says.
His Filipino identity shapes his understanding of community, while Terrace reminded him that shared heritage does not mean identical experiences. He wants to understand how national decisions reach nurses working in different settings and communities.
Looking north—and encouraging others forward
Ryan currently works as an Employed Student Nurse in Vancouver Withdrawal Management. His longer-term ambition is to build a career in rural and northern emergency nursing.
His journey offers fellow students a starting point: contribute where you are, learn from those around you and consider opportunities before feeling completely ready.
“Nobody expects you to have your career mapped out before you get involved,” he says.
He hopes more Filipino nursing students and young nurses will put themselves forward for leadership.
“I’d like the names on nomination lists to look more like the nurses on the floor.”
For Ryan, that future begins with an invitation: when the next seat opens, consider taking it.
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