An Interview Between a Professor and a Nursing Graduate Student on the Current State of Post-secondary Student Mental Health in Ontario, Canada

A number of recent suicides by post-secondary students have drawn public attention to unmet mental health needs in post-secondary institutions. The dialog narrated below is between a post-secondary professor (NK) and graduate student (BS), who is also a registered nurse, completing a thesis study (Shanmuganandapala 2019) on youth mental health. The narrative explores possible reasons for the increased demand for mental health services, contributing systemic factors, and reasons why the issue is especially concerning for this age group. The dialog concludes with current government action, and recommendations.