Module1WebSites

This cyber-traveller is starting in  her own backyard.

Site #1. The Cowichan Tribes are a strong presence in the Cowichan Valley but through sheer laziness, I do not know much about their culture.  The opportunity is there but until now, I never investigated. It pays to snoop around. Their website is well laid out with general information about their history, tribe, government, and education, last updated 2010. There seems to be a couple of  scholarships for medical education. http://www.cowichantribes.com.

Site#2. The Province newspaper featured an article by Suzanne Fournier on May 24, 2012. She featured Dayna Briemon, one of the twelve First Nations physicians graduating from the UBC Medical Program this year, the “largest number of First Nation graduates in the history of the UBC faculty, and possible in all of Canada”. It is a light article, serving as introduction to the topic.  http://www.theprovince.com/business/First+Nations+doctors+going+rural/6670603/story/html.

Site#3. There is an Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (http://www.ipac-amic.org/). On their site, a section on becoming a doctor, very general, very vague.

Site 4. The IPAC did, however, host the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors’ Congress (Pridoc) at Whistler, B.C. in 2010.  Their entire proceedings are available online: http://www.pridoc.org/2010presentation1.aspx. Since one day’s presentation concentrated on the education of indigenous medical students, I felt it was a goldmine of information. I will return!

Site 5. There is an Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, founded in 1975. Sadly, their 2012 National forum was cancelled due to budget cuts. In 2007, only 8 schools had aboriginal specific access/bridge way/transition program to encouragement enrollment in nursing. Nevertheless, the number of Aboriginal nursing students in Canada increased from 237 to 737 within the past five years (posted 2006). http://www.anac.on.ca/