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'Maybe what I do know is wrong…': Reframing educator roles and professional development for teaching Indigenous health.

Authors
  • Francis-Cracknell, Alison1
  • Truong, Mandy2
  • Adams, Karen3
  • 1 Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. , (Australia)
  • 2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. , (Australia)
  • 3 Gukwonderuk Indigenous Engagement Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. , (Australia)
Type
Published Article
Journal
Nursing Inquiry
Publisher
Wiley (Blackwell Publishing)
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2023
Volume
30
Issue
2
Identifiers
DOI: 10.1111/nin.12531
PMID: 36222233
Source
Medline
Keywords
Language
English
License
Unknown

Abstract

Settler colonisation continues to cause much damage across the globe. It has particularly impacted negatively on Indigenous peoples' health and wellbeing causing great inequity. Health professional education is a critical vehicle to assist in addressing this; however, non-Indigenous educators often feel unprepared and lack skill in this regard. In this qualitative study, 20 non-Indigenous nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy educators in Australia were interviewed about their experiences and perspectives of teaching Indigenous health. Findings from the inductive thematic analysis suggest educators require skill development to: identify their discomfort in teaching cultural safety; contextualise the sources of this discomfort and; reflect on how this understanding can improve their teaching. Additionally, educators require professional training to become practitioners of cultural humility and to be facilitators and colearners (rather than experts) of the Aboriginal-led curriculum. Of relevance to this is educator training in how to decentre non-Indigenous needs and perspectives. Educators can also renew their teaching practices by understanding what a dominant settler paradigm is, identifying if this is problematically present in their teaching and knowing how to remedy this. Crucial to improved cultural safety teaching is institutional support, which includes Indigenous leadership, institutional commitment, relevant policies, and well-designed professional development. © 2022 The Authors. Nursing Inquiry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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