Monday, September 30 is both Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. It is an important date for health-care providers to acknowledge. The day honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots initiative intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools. The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

The Engaging Physicians in Indigenous Cultural (EPIC) Safety Task Group works to prioritize and advance Indigenous cultural safety in health-care settings; its purpose is to engage medical staff in the co-creation of education resources and learning opportunities around Indigenous cultural safety principles and how these can be effectively implemented. The task group includes six VPSA members along with representatives from Indigenous communities, VCH Indigenous Health leadership, the First Nations Health Authority, and the UBC Digital Emergency Medicine interCultural Online Health Network (iCON). 

Dr. Kendall Ho is the EPIC Task Group co-chair; he is joined by VPSA members Dr. Susan Burgess, Dr. Stefan Finke, Dr. Junella Lee, Dr. Jay Slater, and Dr. Shannon Turvey. Elder Glida Morgan and Indigenous patient partners Cooper Jackson and Cherie Mercer make significant contributions to the committee, as do Dr. Terri Aldred from First Nations Health Authority and Co-chair Cathy Almost, Director of VCH Indigenous Cultural Safety. They are supported by iCON’s Dr. Betsy Leimbigler, Alex Fung, and Puloma Gupta.

“Our Indigenous Health Rounds and the resources created from these promote a thriving and healthy work environment, learning from our Indigenous Elders, practitioners and patients to provide culturally safe care and eliminate racism, thereby enhancing the well-being of VPSA members,” said Dr. Ho. “With a membership composed of Indigenous leaders and VPSA members, we establish meaningful partnerships, obtaining invaluable insights and input from our Indigenous task group members to improve member engagement and influence with VCH leadership.”

You can register now for the next Indigenous Health Round, which is planned for November 27. More information is available here.