ETEC521 Statement connecting weblog to research interests.

Statement Connecting Research Interests and Weblog

A cursory search of the internet reveals low numbers of indigenous people involved in medicine. In an effort to invite more to the study of medicine, colleges have offered scholarships and entry programs with some success but the question remains, what else can be done to increase interest in a vital discipline? How best to retain the students actually enrolled? And how best to reflect native traditions within a curriculum that must teach what it must teach?

The healing arts would seem to offer groundedness and a sense of community for the indigenous but maybe their tradition of healing takes a different path than the Western tradition. Can the paths exist side by side, learning from each other, or must the streams be separate in a yet unthought version.

So far, my search of health care providers reveals indigenous nurses and doctors but veterinarians and veterinary technicians are less represented. My research will focus on the former with an eye out for the latter. I have worked as a veterinary technician for 37 years and can see a place for indigenous workmates. It is worth a look.