I have been pondering the idea of what we as nursing educators are doing to encourage more indigenous students into the profession. We need to look at barriers that indigenous students face, not only to completing their high school education, but also barriers to entering post secondary.
There is a poor history of indigenous people and the health care system in Canada, and while there are many people working on this issue both inside and outside of the health care system, there is not enough indigenous health care professionals to help guide the way to better understanding and respect towards indigenous people accessing the system. Having more indigenous nurses and health care professionals working in the system can help foster positive change.
Here is a report, published November, 2020 as part of an independent review commissioned by the BC Government, on addressing racism in the Canadian and British Columbia health care system.