Tag Archives: healthcare

Jessica Presta: Module 2, Post 4

My research into why Indigenous people are under-represented in healthcare as professionals has taken me down a path of understanding the institutionalized racism that exists in our healthcare system in BC. It comes as no surprise that our colonial history has led to powerful systemic structures that perpetuate racism towards the Indigenous people of our province. Understanding this history was the first step to uncovering some of the barriers which discourage Indigenous people from seeking out healthcare education. Then I looked at the education system, specifically nursing education, to get a sense of how these systems are also deeply colonial and what work is being done to decolonize these spaces. I came across this webinar hosted by The Center for Nursing Philosophy on the topic of decolonizing nursing. They had an expert panel of speakers representing research on decolonization in nursing from around the globe.

The first speaker is Dr. Lisa Bourque Bearskin, associate professor and Inaugural BC Research Chair in Indigenous Health in Nursing at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada, who introduced the concepts of decolonization and truth and reconciliation. She begins at 6:49 min and speaks for approximately 15 minutes. A notable takeaway for me was learning about Indigenous nurse pioneers such as Mary Seacole, Edith Monture, and Mary Mahoney who had a great impact on the profession and who are left out of nursing academia. Rather, we are taught about Florence Nightingale, a Caucasian woman of English decent who is coined the founder of modern nursing. These expert panelists call for the decolonization of nursing academia to enhance the success of BIPOC students.

Jessica Presta: Module 2, Post 1

As per Professor Hardman’s suggestion, I read through the In Plain Sight report as a starting place from which to launch my research from for the final project. This report was very challenging to read at times and caused me to feel a sorrow and heartache I was not expecting. The stories told by survey participants were wrought with racism and prejudice. Indigenous specific racism in healthcare across BC is indisputable. The IPS report summarized their findings into 11 categories:

  1. Widespread Indigenous-specific stereotyping, racism and discrimination exist in the B.C. health care system.
  2. Racism limits access to medical treatment and negatively affects the health and wellness of Indigenous peoples in B.C.
  3. Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately impacted by Indigenous-specific racism in the health care system.
  4. Current public health emergencies magnify racism and vulnerabilities, and disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples.
  5. Indigenous health care workers face racism and discrimination in their work environments.
  6. Current education and training programs are inadequate to address Indigenous-specific racism in health care.
  7. Complaints processes in the health care system do not work well for Indigenous peoples.
  8. Indigenous health practices and knowledge are not integrated into the health care system in a meaningful and consistent way.
  9. There is insufficient hard-wiring of Indigenous cultural safety throughout the B.C. health care system.
  10. Indigenous roles in health leadership and decision making – both through Indigenous health governance structures and the health care system as a whole – need to be strengthened.
  11. There is no accountability for eliminating all forms of Indigenous-specific racism in the B.C. health care system, including complaints, system-wide data, quality improvement and assurance, and monitoring of progress.