Inside the fight to reform Indigenous health education in Canadian medical and nursing schools – TVO
Aug 17, 2023
It’s been eight years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called on Canadian medical and nursing schools to help advance reconciliation — here’s how far they’ve come
For Jayelle Friesen-Enns, a fourth-year Indigenous student at the University of Manitoba, applying to medical school was one challenge after another.
“When I wrote the MCAT, I was working nearly full time,” says Friesen-Enns, adding that, unlike their more privileged peers, they couldn’t afford prep courses or new textbooks. “That’s the position a lot of Indigenous people are in.”
Those lucky enough to make it often face a hostile admissions process, Friesen-Enns says: “Even if you do get an interview, the traditional admissions format isn’t looking for an Indigenous person. They don’t want to hear your experiences in an honest way, that you have a negative view of medicine or care work. But, as an Indigenous person, a lot of us have seen the worst of it.”
