By: Mercedes Stemm, Program Assistant, Indigenous Health in Medicine, Dalhousie BSc in Neuroscience/Indigenous Studies Student

Below I will speak about some of the many aspects and initiatives of the IHIM program, although we are currently re-branding our program. Our program shifts with community and is always looking for more ways to engage with communities. We’re currently looking to re-name our program and will be accepting submissions. Get involved with our program and help us re-name it! Follow the link below to our re-branding form. 

https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/core-units/global-health/diversity/indigenous-health/IHIMReBrandingForm.html  

Curriculum Refresh: 

Part of ensuring a world-class education is ongoing review, evaluation and as-needed modification of the curriculum based on emerging trends in medicine and medical education, as well as our annual evaluations. 

To this end, a Curriculum Refresh Committee (CRC) has been formed to assess the strengths and gaps/areas of improvement in our undergraduate medical education program. The CRC will make recommendations to the Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum Committee (UMECC) to ensure students receive the most effective and relevant curriculum for the practice of medicine. This refresh is slated to be implemented by August 2022.  

One of the key themes was Priority Communities, and Indigenous Health became a sub working group from this theme. While working with leaders from Indigenous Communities, Faculty and Staff, several recommendations have been made for the UGME curriculum. Our Indigenous Health in Medicine Program Manager, worked closely with the sub working group to ensure community engagement was authentic and ongoing during the process, and that key focuses were around cultural competencies, Indigenous Health Histories, Treaty Education and Residential School impacts.    

To learn more about the curriculum refresh you can visit https://medicine.dal.ca/for-faculty-staff/ugme-curriculum-refresh-.html  

Town Hall  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vViAJTEdsmE  

Community Engagement: Throughout the years, our Indigenous Health in Medicine Program Manager has stayed connected with communities, including Indigenous communities across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island (PEI). In addition, we stay connected with local high schools and junior high students. We previously did this by visiting and connecting with students in these schools, and we will continue to do this when it is safe to do so. Currently, we hold virtual information sessions and events for these students to replace the summer camps we previously held. These sessions include but are not limited to: admission into Dalhousie University, information on being a doctor, what it takes to be a physician, information on other health programs such as dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing, and plenty more.   

Keep Reading:

Indigenous Health in Medicine seeks input on new name: Part 1

Indigenous Health in Medicine seeks input on new name: Part 2