First Nation communities in Northern Ontario are piloting the Adopt-a-Faculty program in order to increase knowledge and cultural sensitivity for Northern Ontario School of Medicine faculty members.
Thomas Terry, technical support and co-ordinator of the pilot program, said they everyone is quite happy so far with the results of the pilot.
Dr. Greg Ross, NOSM's associate dean of research, spent two weeks in April with the Muskrat Dam First Nation, 370 kilometres north of Sioux Lookout.
He found the experience enlightening and was amazed at the busyness of the community.
"I learned a tremendous amount," he said. "What really struck me were the beautiful, beautiful people. They were so kind, friendly, gentle and giving. Every person I met was so generous with their time and wanted to talk about how and why they would do things. It was remarkable!"
From a researcher's perspective, Ross said being on the reserve for two weeks helped provide some insight into why certain studies may or may not work with First Nation groups.
Terry said the pilot has already generated international interest from institutions outside of Canada, but he cautioned they are introducing the program slowly by working with the 30 partner communities that host medical students for a one-month placement, part of NOSM's first-year curriculum.
"That experience in many ways has been a cornerstone of the NOSM Honour Graduate program for the last five years," Terry said, explaining that many of the students gain a profound learning experience and understanding that faculty members cannot relate to. The Adopt-a-Faculty program was a way to increase the cultural competency of NOSM staff.
The host community must show a willingness to "adopt" a faculty member, have suitable housing, and recognize the adoptee's informal membership in their community with a small feast or similar event. They must have immersive activities for the adoptee as well as identifying how the community would like to benefit from the visit.
"We hope for and work with the communities to provide cultural experiences for the people from the medical school...these can include activities on the land, harvesting, hunting, fishing, or shadowing a support worker who is making a home visit to an elder," Terry said, explaining there is value and profound learning that occurs just from observing and talking with other people.
Some of the cultural activities may include time spent with a healer, talking about the role of elders, traditional healers and the medicines they use.
Muskrat Dam First Nation chose to participate in this project because it is a partner community for NOSM medical students and it has experience in hosting individuals from outside of the community. As well, community members felt they could provide some experiential learning, said Virginia Beardy, local community co-ordinator for the pilot project. "It is a friendly, outgoing community and a good place to start a pilot project."
Conversely, the ideal adoptees should be NOSM faculty interested and willing to spend 10 to 12 days living, learning and sharing as an adopted member of an Aboriginal community. They must identify personal and professional skills and knowledge they have to offer that could benefit the host community and they are expected identify the knowledge and skills they'd like to gain from the experience.
"We believe the faculty has something to offer these communities," Terry said. "These are highly-motivated, educated and experienced faculty members from the medical school. ... So we appreciate there is huge value for the visiting people from the medical school in contributing some of their knowledge and expertise."
At the time of the interview in mid-May, another "adoption" was under way at the Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island with Jonathon Friesen, co-ordinator, program evaluation, Undergraduate Medical Education at NOSM's west campus. This community's request was that Friesen would assist them with reconciling their evaluation tools for their local health programs.
During Ross' visit, he participated in a variety of community activities such as loading and unloading freight at the airport, clean-up days, interviewing elders and participating in a regional workshop with the Aboriginal Health Authority.
"He made a great impact in the community because he was out there walking around visiting and talking with people," Terry said. "The willingness and personal characteristics of the adoptee will make a difference. It is about matching the right faculty member with the right community."
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