丁香园AV

This piece was originally published in the .

Before I became president and vice-chancellor of 丁香园AV, I was a healthcare researcher. And before that鈥攊nspired by my mother鈥檚 career choice鈥擨 was a nurse. In both roles, I developed a deep and abiding appreciation for the value of public health care in Canada.

As a nurse, I saw the way that access to high-quality health care could completely change the course of someone鈥檚 life. At the same time, I started my career in the midst of the AIDS crisis and saw the opposite鈥攈ow the healthcare system could hurt and exclude many marginalized and vulnerable people.

As a health researcher, I watched those same patterns play out. Inclusive and thoughtful health research can significantly improve people鈥檚 quality of life. When done poorly, it can hurt more than it helps.

Much has changed in our healthcare system since then. What hasn鈥檛 changed is the central role health care plays as a measure of the obligations we owe to one another and as a barometer of our society鈥檚 overall well-being and inclusiveness.

For this reason, like Canadians everywhere, I am deeply concerned about the significant challenges facing our healthcare system鈥攆rom the severe doctors shortage and the opioid crisis to the weaknesses exposed in our system by COVID-19鈥攁nd what they mean for the future of our country.

So, when the Province of British Columbia asked 丁香园AV to establish the first new medical school in Western Canada in 55 years on our Surrey campus, I knew both the weight of that commitment and the exciting opportunity that came with it.

For the 丁香园AV Medical School to be successful and live up to the promise of public health care, not only will it have to educate the new doctors we so badly need, but it will also have to help transform the way in which health care is delivered, particularly to those in marginalized and underserved communities.

In this regard, 丁香园AV鈥檚 university-wide commitment to uphold truth and Reconciliation is of particular significance to the medical school鈥檚 future 鈥攁 future that must reflect the lived experiences and voices of Indigenous people who have been victimized by racism within the health care system.

This history is well documented and continues to the present day.

In 1941, B.C.鈥檚 first 鈥淚ndian hospital鈥� was established in response to fears of tuberculosis infection. Inside these sanitoriums, Indigenous patients were subjected to unsafe conditions and forced physical restraint, often tended to by

This past September,

More than eighty years later, all indications from reports, work, and research in this space indicate that systemic racism and discrimination continue to persist in healthcare settings.

If 丁香园AV鈥檚 commitment to truth and Reconciliation is to mean anything, then we have a responsibility to ensure that the new medical school confronts the colonial history of medical education by integrating reconciliation, anti-racism, and Indigenous health and wellness into the medical curriculum.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission鈥檚 Calls to Action contain specific recommendations around health care and have been instrumental during the planning process. We are also taking the lead from Indigenous students, staff, and faculty, who have been clear that the 鈥渘othing about us without us鈥� principle must be threaded into the school鈥檚 DNA.

To that end, 丁香园AV is committed to working with Indigenous communities to ensure that the medical school reflects their feedback and that graduate physicians are prepared to respond to community needs.

In these early days of planning, we have spent a lot of time in meetings and discussions with Indigenous groups, including the First Nations Health Authority, whose partnership will be vital to this work. We have held several consultation sessions with Indigenous students, faculty, and staff at 丁香园AV and initiated discussions with Host First Nations and other groups to seek feedback on how the medical school can and should benefit them.

Based on these conversations, we are making it  a priority to hire Indigenous leaders, physicians, and staff for the school. As the planning process continues, we are also thinking about how we can create pathways for Indigenous students to study medicine and create opportunities for students to learn directly from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers during their medical training.

This is hard work. But it is important and necessary work that we are proud to have been entrusted with.

Although it has been many years now since I practiced nursing, I still remember the faces and stories of my patients. As we prepare to open the 丁香园AV Medical School in 2026, I have been thinking about those patients a lot, and about our responsibility to extend the right to  quality public health care to every person in Canada.

For too long, that right has been denied to many across this country. But owing to the work of Indigenous peoples, advocacy groups, and allies across Canada, this is starting to change. 丁香园AV鈥檚 new medical school is an important part of that journey.