CASN/ACESI (Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing/Association canadienne des écoles de sciences infirmières) is the national voice for nursing education, research, and scholarship and represents baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in Canada.
Nov., 2020 – Created in partnership with the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association and with cross-country input. It identifies two calls to action that schools of nursing can make a reality:
- increasing in the number of Indigenous professionals working in health care and
- creating a requirement for nursing and medical students to take a course on Indigenous health issues, including the legacy of residential schools, treaties, rights and Indigenous teachings and practices.
The document states that many universities and colleges in Canada have already begun to respond to the TRC’s calls to action and that nursing schools are “well positioned” to address and accomplish these goals. (University Affairs: – “Canada’s nursing programs address racial prejudice in the profession”: Jan. 15, 2021)
The purpose of this discussion paper is to provide national support for reconciliation by fostering reflection related to decolonization and Indigenization, and by offering direction to schools of nursing in responding to the TRC Calls to Action. The background context of decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation is presented first, followed by a review of responses to the TRC among post-secondary institutions in Canada. The paper concludes with a framework of strategies to address the TRC Calls to Action in nursing education.
Initiatives underway to respond to the TRC in nursing education can be grouped into the following:
- Foundational strategies supporting reconciliation
- Strategies focused on the recruitment and retention of Indigenous students
- Strategies targeting the curriculum and pedagogy of the program
Taken together they offer guidelines for schools of nursing to support reconciliation.
Foundational Strategies
Foundational Strategies
Foundational strategies being implemented provide a supportive base for both the recruitment and retention of Indigenous students and program changes that the TRC has called for. They include:
- Partnerships
- faculty and staff training
- institutional respect, and
- a welcoming environment.
Recruitment and Retention Strategies
Social, cultural, and economic factors are often barriers to the successful recruitment and retention of Indigenous students. Strategies being implemented to facilitate admission into nursing programs and program completion include:
- designated seats
- pre-admission outreach
- transition support
- cultural support, and
- distributive program delivery.
Curricular Strategies
Call to Action 24 of the TRC specifically highlights a need for curricular strategies in nursing education programs in order to address issues related to health care delivery to Indigenous Peoples. Initiatives to respond to this Call to Action have included:
- having Indigenous teachers in the program
- welcoming Indigenous pedagogy in the classroom;
- incorporating Indigenous community placements
- teaching students about Indigenous history, knowledge, and culture; and
- incorporating anti-racism and cultural safety in the curriculum.
Summary and Conclusion
CASN member schools unanimously supported a motion for nursing education to respond to the TRC’s Report. As a result, a task force was struck, chaired by the CEO of CINA, with the goal of supporting decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation in nursing education. To this end, a framework of foundational strategies, recruitment and retention strategies, and curricular strategies for nursing education has been developed to advance responses to the TRC.