Reclaiming and Recovering Indigenous Knowledge in Graduate Nursing Education: Intergenerational Learning with Communities
The IGEN Project is an Indigenous-led collaborative of diverse people and institutions, Indigenous communities, and supporters seeking to collaboratively develop, implement and evaluate an Indigenous Master of Nursing education specialty stream for Indigenous nurses and nurses working with Indigenous People in British Columbia.
Project Overview
The BC Indigenous Health Nursing Research team is in collaboration with five post-secondary institutions in British Columbia to research and develop this collaborative program. This Indigenous-led project is a response to calls for meaningful community engagement with healthcare systems with the intention of co-creating multidisciplinary teams that yield applied outcomes with Indigenous communities in an ethical way that advances Indigenous health sovereignty.
Our overall aim is to support the development of wise practices in nursing, specifically to improve the health of Indigenous Peoples through educational research. Within a broader context of establishing a collaborative intergenerational Indigenous wellness graduate nursing pathway, this action-oriented research aims to:
1) Identify optimal learning processes and outcomes during an Indigenous-focused education, training, and mentorship experience;
2) Explore with a cohort of graduate students the aspects of education, research, and mentorship in Indigenous health most effective in supporting their development as proficient nursing leaders;
3) Develop, monitor, and evaluate curriculum, a range of experiential learning and Indigenous community placement opportunities offered in the program;
4) Engage the cohort of students, community mentors, and faculty in co-creating knowledge exchange activities and providing intergenerational mentorship to support nurses in their communities and students in their Schools of Nursing;
5) Implement the most beneficial evaluation processes and tools for supporting graduate students in achieving their career goals.
Governance Model
Working Group Infographic: This model shows the collaborative and interdependent relationship among all five named institutions. Each institution is reliant on the other for a steady flow of information and collaborative support represented by the blue circle behind all. The brown sections in the inner circle list the active working groups that are representative of the various sources of input for both structural and institutional support (Deans and Directors, External organizations, faculty leads) , and community/user group advisors (Indigenous nurses, community member circles, and students). All working groups bring insight and development support from their various perspectives, to both the development of the program and input into the research process.
Guiding all of the work is the vision, grounding and guidance of the Grandmothers Wisdom Council, represented by the purple background circle.
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Illustrated by Nikki Hunter-Porter
The Generative Vision illustration represents the overall collaborative and generative relationships involved in co-creating and supporting the development of the IGEN program. Within the image there are many elements of symbolism rooted in Indigenous Knowledges, such as spirit, language, land, water, air, and animal relatives. The principles of respect, relationship, reciprocity, and responsibility are embedded within the illustration to uphold the self-determination, sovereignty, inherent rights, and strengths of the Indigenous communities co-leading the research process.
Me7 knucwentwécw-kp – Help One Another
Jennifer Jones
Lyackson First Nation
Doreen Peter
Cowichan Tribes
Tracy Underwood
Tsawout First Nation
Barb Hulme
Métis Nation BC
The Community Home Circle of local advisor is comprised of members of the local Indigenous communities that provide input and recommendations for development of the course curriculum development, MN Indigenous stream program and research work. Members reflect their field of expertise in nursing and community knowledge and support our local site work as we develop our nursing program and research strategies. In the governance model above, this committee is represented by the Home Fires illustration.
Community Circle Advisors
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