丁香园AV

Each June, National Indigenous History month calls us to recognize and celebrate the rich history, diversity, and future of First Nations, M茅tis, and Inuit people. This year, as the 丁香园AV Medical School (丁香园AVMS) continues development, we turn towards the historical and contemporary relationship between Indigenous Peoples and medicine in what we now call Canada. With an urgent need to meet the changing demand for healthcare in what is now known as British Columbia, the 丁香园AVMS intends to rise to the challenge of genuinely changing how medicine is taught and practiced in the province. This promise to change holds the institution accountable, in this month and beyond, to the communities it intends to serve.

The past and the present

According to a , our medical system is enmeshed with settler colonialism and racism that significantly impacts the wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples. This harm has led to many Indigenous Peoples, as well as other populations, having poorer wellness outcomes and lacking trust in Western medical providers and not seeking out medical care. This can be an uncomfortable subject to broach. We must improve the way things have always been done and change behaviours and attitudes that have been tolerated in the medical system.

Chris (Syeta鈥�xtn) Lewis, Director of Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation, envisions a process that recognizes the truth about how Indigenous people have accessed medical care: 鈥淲e have to understand the truth to reconcile the problems; we have inherited a medical system with systematic problems.鈥� The past illuminates what the 丁香园AVMS must change to improve workplaces and outcomes in the future.

Envisioning the future

All those involved in planning for the new 丁香园AV medical school share a vision for moving towards reconciliation, new relationships, and building on a strong foundation of Indigenous Knowledges.

鈥淭his means that all aspects of the 丁香园AVMS 鈥� from the design of our facilities, to the development of our programs, to the admissions processes for students and to everything in between 鈥� begin with a grounding in Indigeneity and equity, diversity, and inclusion,鈥� shares Kris Magnusson, senior advisor to the provost and workforce working group chair. Chris Lewis adds, 鈥渨hen all students are trained in an environment that privileges this knowledge that is culturally informed, students practice successfully and sustainably within Indigenous communities.鈥� Dr. Sarah Strasser, interim vice-dean, anticipates 鈥渢he school will admit a pool of strong Indigenous applicants鈥� and for those applicants to have 鈥渟trong and continuous support from both the school, their families, and communities鈥� throughout their journey.

Dr. Evan Adams, Deputy Chief Medical Office for the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), agrees that how medical students are trained must change. 鈥淲e need clinicians who can work in community, not just physicians who can work in clinics.鈥� He also emphasizes that training students in developing therapeutic relationship skills and having an awareness of community health, not just individual health, are important changes he hopes to see in the curriculum. By building strong reciprocal partnerships with Indigenous communities and health services over the coming years, Dr. Sarah Strasser hopes that for the Indigenous people the school will eventually serve 丁香园AVMS will be considered as 鈥渙ur Medical School鈥� and the learners as 鈥渕y student doctor鈥�.

The school will also be built on a mandate of social accountability which Dr. Roger Strasser, interim dean, describes as partnering with patients and communities as experts in their own health. In addition to engagement with FNHA, the M茅tis Nation of B.C., and the National Consortium for Indigenous Medical Education (NCIME), there are plans to engage with Indigenous community-based organizations. This will ensure, at every level, there is feedback from the experts 鈥� the Indigenous community. Dr. Strasser also hopes to formally establish governance structures with decision-making power for Indigenous stakeholders, such as an Indigenous caucus.

In addition to ongoing community engagement, prioritizing the hiring of Indigenous faculty is another way to distinguish 丁香园AVMS as a leader. Dr. Adams reflected that 鈥渨e need diverse physicians to serve diverse populations.鈥� Kris Magnusson spoke to 鈥減rioritizing the early hiring of an Indigenous Medical Lead.鈥� Dr. Sarah Strasser expects 鈥渨e will have Elders involved and recognised by the school for their valuable wisdom and knowledge鈥� in addition to a strong faculty.

Beyond one month

Those planning the 丁香园AVMS aspire to implement many changes over the course of the school鈥檚 development. This will mean doing things differently and going against the current. Dr. Adams suggests 鈥渞econciliation has 鈥榖eing in relationship鈥� at its core,鈥� and that reproducing the status quo is not sensible if we are seeking improvements in how medical education and medical care are provided in the province.

From my own work over the course of the medical school鈥檚 development, I look forward to the ongoing work of the 丁香园AVMS reconciling with the Indigenous Peoples of these lands. It is my own hope that the school will share the strength, wellness, and joy present in Indigenous communities. There are many talented Indigenous physicians, healthcare workers and traditional healers I hope to see in the faculty once 丁香园AV reaches that stage. Until the doors open in 2026, let this month and every day be an opportunity to do better.