UCalgary Nursing’s statement on racism in health care

The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Nursing joins with the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association (CINA) in condemning the dehumanizing and racist treatment of Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old woman from the Atikamekw community of Manawan, Quebec, by nursing staff  at a hospital in that province.

We know this is not an isolated incident, but stands as yet another example of racism in our country, examples that we know must change. As Canadian nurse educators, we support the UCalgary statement that implicit bias as part of  systemic racism results in differential health outcomes and requires more than institutional messages, statements and letters; it requires listening, learning, compassion and a commitment to change, followed by action.

In 2017, UCalgary Nursing followed up the TRC’s Call to Action and created its own Indigenous Initiatives portfolio with cultural competency education for all as its backbone. All UCalgary nursing instructors/professors must take cultural safety training and practice these principles. We teach our students to uphold principles of respect, justice and equity in their practice through the inclusion of clinical placements at four First Nations locations, incorporating the Kairos blanket exercise into the curriculum and featuring talks from Indigenous leaders and elders, among other examples. We acknowledge that these steps are just a start, and we will continue to work with our community of students, educators and partners to address systemic racism in health care and academia.

Post-Secondary Institutions Anti-Racism Statement

The Faculties, Schools, and Departments of Nursing in the Province of Alberta, along with the Colleges offering the Practical Nurse Diploma program, join the Canadian Nurses Association and the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association in condemning the racist, unjust, and dehumanizing treatment that Joyce Echaquan from the Atikamekw community of Manawan, Quebec experienced from nursing staff at a hospital in that province.  

We acknowledge that racism and systemic bias in healthcare is a pervasive issue, and that as educators we must take concrete steps to not only condemn this behaviour, but to address it. The differential health outcomes experienced by the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) community as a result of systemic racism requires us, as nurse educators, to first commit to change, then to action.

All post-secondary institutions in Alberta with Practical, Psychiatric, or Baccalaureate, or Nurse Practitioner programs are acting to address racism. Initial actions include:

• the creation of Indigenous Initiatives portfolios with cultural competency education for all students;
• cultural safety training for all instructors and professors; increasing culturally diverse practicum placements;
• incorporating talks from Indigenous leaders and elders throughout nursing curricula;
• promote and engage in anti-racism dialogue between faculty, students, and members of the BIPOC community;
• developing and incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing and being into core curriculum courses;
• collaborating with elders in the development and delivery of these courses and others;
• introduce and/or better integrate anti-racism concepts throughout the curriculum.

We acknowledge and commit to these statements of action, including the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and will continue to work with our community of students, educators, and partners to address systemic racism in health care and academia. This includes continuing the actions we have committed to, enhancing curriculum and instruction, with plans to further support learning that promotes social justice.  As educators of the largest healthcare profession, we recognize that it is our professional and social  responsibility to stand in solidarity against all forms of racism and prejudice.