Located in Victoria, BC, the University of Victoria (UVic) is one of Canada’s leading research-intensive universities. At UVic we combine three elements: dynamic learning, vital impact and our extraordinary academic environment. Together, these three elements nurture an environment of discovery, innovation and creativity. This fortifies our work in sustainability and healthy societies. It shapes our world view with diverse perspectives, including those from Indigenous and international communities. It fuels our commitment to economic well-being, technological advances and social justice.

At the UVic School of Nursing, we are committed to our students’ success. Our flexible, hands-on programs, research-inspired teaching and collaborative partnerships will accelerate your personal growth and prepare you for a successful career. Nurses are shaping the future of health care as the largest group of health care providers in Canada. We tackle the essential issues that matter—to people, places and the planet. As a nurse, you’ll have the chance to directly influence the health of individuals, families and communities.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Are you passionate about health care? UVic’s BSN nursing program will prepare you to make a difference in the lives of patients and communities every day. At the UVic School of Nursing, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills necessary to excel as a registered nurse through dynamic research-inspired teaching and diverse practicum placements.

Practice information

Nursing practice experiences (practica) in health agencies are an integral part of the BSN program. You’ll work with practica coordinators to arrange practice experiences to assist you in meeting course requirements, enhance integration of theory and practice, and foster your career interests. Practice experience gives you the opportunity to put theory into practice. During this time, you’ll get a sense of the real-world responsibilities you’ll face after graduation.

Undergraduate (BSN) Partnership Program

The University of Victoria, in partnership with Camosun College (Victoria, BC), Aurora College (Yellowknife, NWT), College of the Rockies (Cranbrook, BC) and Selkirk College (Castlegar, BC) offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) using a partner-wide shared curriculum. In Victoria, students attend Camosun College for the first five semesters of the program, and transition to the UVic campus in Semester 6. In each of the other partner sites, students complete the BSN through full-time, on-campus study in their local community.

We collaborate with Camosun College by co-offering an Indigenous Initiatives Committee to align our efforts and support Indigenous students and all students with Indigenous learning. Students and UVIC elders are invited members of this committee.

School of Nursing Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Strategic Plan 2023- 2027

Our Strategic Priorities (one of six)

Advance EDI, Decolonization, Indigenization, and Accessibility 

Goals 

• Attract, support, and retain talented students, faculty, and staff who reflect the diverse communities we serve. 
• Provide an environment that addresses barriers to inclusion and success for groups that have historically been marginalized. 
• Create environments that foster engagement with local Indigenous communities. 
• Provide equitable learning and working conditions. 

Other Initiatives:

We are one academic partner in a BC provincial initiative to deliver a graduate MN Indigenous Stream program. This program launched this fall. 

We also continue to recruit Indigenous nursing faculty to our School. We currently have five Indigenous and Metis nursing faculty members. 

University of Victoria

Indigenous Focus

UVic is committed to reconciliation. We’re building better and meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities. We’re working to bring our university into better harmony with Indigenous cultures, beliefs and ways of being. Indigenous people and communities are an important part of building our university for the future. In alignment with the Indigenous Strategic Plan (2017–2022), the “Seats for Indigenous Students” plan will mean the faculty will “Increase the number of Aboriginal professionals working in the health-care field (2017–2022, p. 3)”.

UVic Indigenous Plan 2023

Xʷkʷənəŋ istəl | W̱ȻENEṈISTEL | Helping to Move Each Other Forward

UVic’s Indigenous Plan 2023 represents an essential foundation for UVic’s future, alongside UVic’s new Strategic Plan and other institutional plans. This plan weaves together our shared responsibilities to the local Nations, Indigenous students, staff and faculty through local laws and philosophies. Our approach to engaging the UVic community and drafting the renewed Indigenous Plan was purposefully connected to align with the process of creating the UVic Strategic Plan (2023 Forward). 

Goal

All members of the university community understand and demonstrate how to live, learn and work in right relationships with local lands, waters and laws. To live this teaching and accomplish this goal, our priorities are to:

• People
• Learning and teaching
• Researching and re-Searching
• Governance and Operations

View a summary of the plan framework

Call to Action # 24

We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Mandatory Course: Yes

NURS 484 Understanding Indigenous Health and Well Being

Develops student understanding of the socio-cultural history and current context that shapes the lives of Indigenous people and their communities’ health in Canada. We enter into a ‘relational space’ through the use of storytelling, self-reflection, and experiential learning methods, and engage a critical social lens that explores power, white privilege, racism and culture. Embedded in this course are the strengths and gifts of Indigenous knowledge and teachings.

NURS 484 course content includes discussion of self-determination and UNDRIP.  

Johnson, H., Smith, D., & Beck, L. (2022). Systems innovation through First Nations self-determination.  In Greenwood, M., deLeeuw, S., Stout, R., Larstone, R., Sutherland, J. (Eds). Introduction to Determinants of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people’s Health in Canada. (pp. 251-263). Canadian Scholars.

Course Descriptions: see course listing here

School of Nursing Commitment to Call to Action # 24: 4.5 out of 5 = 90%

1. Aboriginal health issues
Yes. See mandatory course description.
2. The history and legacy of residential schools
Yes. See mandatory course description.
3. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Yes. See mandatory course description.
4. Treaties and Aboriginal rights
Limited. Not in-depth, but addressed in NURS 484. When we discuss the Indian Act in class, we also speak to Treaties that exist in different parts of the country and the ‘medicine chest clause’ and resulting connection to Indian Hospitals.
5. Indigenous teachings and practice
Yes. See mandatory course description.

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing’s “Statement” of apology for colonial harms resulting from nursing education

Dec.11, 2023: CASN apologizes to Indigenous Peoples of Canada for Colonial harms resulting from nursing education…CASN is committed to a process of self-reflection, learning, and transformation. We will take the following steps to address the harms:

1. Anti-Racism, Cultural Safety, and Humility: Promote education, resources, and practices that address anti-Indigenous racism, supporting decolonization, cultural humility, and cultural safety for nursing faculty, staff, and students. Promote institutional policies and processes that address systemic racism to foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment
2. Curriculum Revision: Promote a review of nursing education curricula to ensure a strengths-based focus and trauma-informed approach, the inclusion of content on the continued impact of colonialism and racism on Indigenous health, as well as Indigenous perspectives on health and well-being.
3. Community Engagement: Establish meaningful partnerships with Indigenous organizations and communities to ensure their voices are heard in shaping nursing education policies and practices.
4. Recruitment and Retention: Promote strategies that create culturally safe and supportive learning environments including pre-admission supports, in-program supports, and services that are developed in partnership with Indigenous communities.
5. Ongoing Accountability: In collaboration with Indigenous partners, establish mechanisms to monitor progress and address concerns raised by partners, Indigenous nursing students, and faculty.

Land Acknowledgement: 

Located on the School of Nursing Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027 and the  UVic Home Page 

Territory acknowledgement

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The University of Victoria School of Nursingreviewed and approved the document. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Research Assistant:  Timothy Maton