In this class, I've learned about many of the soft skills, hard skills, theoretical and hands-on clinical knowledge needed to be a good healthcare professional. Not only have I studied the functionality of a healthy workplace, leadership within healthcare, and information systems that function in day-to-day life, but I've also had the opportunity the explore the role of ethics in providing effective healthcare, equality and equity, communication, and collaboration skills that reflect on a nurse's ability create a healthy work environment and benefit overall patient experience.

One specific aspect of this course and the beginning of my degree I'd like to reflect on is the impact that hands-on lab experience has had on my education. During COVID-19, it was very difficult for me, a hands-on learner, to not be able to attend school in person. Part of the reason I chose Nursing as a degree profession is due to how tangible and hands-on the career is.

During my Nursing 1001 Labs, I've had the ability to actually practice the concepts that have been theoretical for such a long time with online school. Being able to dive into, and practice real-life nursing skills has been the most exciting part of my entire program thus far. Every time I step into labs, I gain new skills to add to my very limited nursing expertise, which makes me feel that much closer to doing what I work so hard to be able to do, every day. So far during labs, I have learned to take SPO2, blood pressure, axillary temperature, heart rate, and other vitals. I have learned how to effectively don and doff personal protective equipment to ensure my safety and the safety of patients when I enter highly-contagious clinical settings. Lastly, and likely most importantly, I have also learned to collaborate with other nursing students in a semi-professional context, so we can help one another gain the skills we need to thrive in the program.

I know that, though theoretical nursing knowledge is a foundational building block to having the luxury of participating in real practice, the skills that I learn in labs will be the most valuable and applicable to my future clinical experiences, both in university and beyond. That is why I ensure I am well prepared for every Simulation experience in the TFSON, and that I take away a new skill every time I do so.

My Issue with Healthcare; Indigenous Holistic Care

One issue facing not only healthcare but society overall is the treatment of Indigenous People. Healthcare received by Indigenous populations often lacks both adequacy, cultural relevance, and traditionality. In doing research, I confirmed what I thought to be the truth in that Indigenous and non-Indigenous people do not receive the same level and standard of healthcare, nor do nurses and most healthcare workers know exactly how to approach caring for an Indigenous person holistically while treating them. Most importantly and alarmingly, however, many Indigenous populations lack access to proper healthcare; regardless of the fact that the care is of good quality or not, the lack of access to such services is a major threat to the health of Indigenous populations. Healthcare must be equitable in order to be ethical; we are willing to adapt our care, as nurses, to individuals based on their personalities, tastes, and values, therefore we also need to also be extremely cognizant of different cultures and how they're acknowledged and practiced in a healthcare context. Without consistency in the level of treatment across minorities, or adaption towards practices of other cultures, nursing can never be the truly caring and empathetic profession it claims to be.

Furthering my research, I have found statistical analysis proving that the needs of Indigenous people's wellbeing in healthcare are not being met and that many do not get the type of holistic treatment needed for thriving. It is the belief of many Indigenous cultures that wellbeing is more than physical wellness; the needs of their health are emotional, spiritual, and dive much deeper than the physical ailments that are magnified in Western medicine.

Interestingly enough, one my the articles I analyzed mentions, "In the context of working with Indigenous peoples, cultural competency and cultural safety should be rooted in an awareness of the impacts of colonialism" (Hunt, 2015 as cited in Leclerc & Rivard, 2020). This component of the reading stood out to me, as we learned about both cultural competency and cultural safety during Module 7 -- Health Disparities. According to Potter and Perry's "Canadian Fundamental's of Nursing", cultural care is when a healthcare worker does their best to work holistically in the realm of a certain patient's cultural or spiritual values, and cultural safety is when a nurse/healthcare worker must put their differences aside from their given patient and in doing so provide equal and individually-adapted care for the safety and well being of the patient (Potter, Perry, Stockert, et. al., 2019).

Since I grew up in a northern rural area, I've had the opportunity to be more immersed in Indigenous culture than most. I have seen, with my own eyes, the discrimination, cultural appropriation, and daily struggles they face. Though facing cultural biases and racism is inexcusable, the fact that their health is at risk because of this mindset is extremely dangerous and threatening to their wellbeing. As I am, one day, planning on being a rural nurse, I want to work with many of these at-risk communities to be the best nurse I can possibly be in providing ethical, empathetic, therapeutic, culturally competent, and culturally safe nursing. As I care for many of these people in highly Indigenous-populated areas, I want to gain a deep understanding of their culture before and during my time working with them, so I can help advocate their culture, holistic approach to healthcare, and natural medicines. For me, as a nurse, to gain an understanding of the use of natural medicines in Indigenous contexts would be a step in the right direction towards the proper treatment of being a minority in a highly-Westernized healthcare system. Finding ways to integrate natural medicines into modern healthcare systems would not only bring cultural recognition and healing to Indigenous communities but could also naturally revive countless patients without the use of chemically-formulated prescription drugs.

At the end of the day, I recognize that I, myself, am only going to graduate as one registered nurse. However, it only takes one individual to inspire others to make an impact, which can truly make a difference for some. Through the knowledge that I gain from nursing in Indigenous communities, I want to be able to advocate for the Indigenous populations and bring awareness to the health disparities that face them. I want to encourage Indigenous communities to educate Western societal healthcare workers on traditional Indigenous medicines, and how we might integrate them into our practice to create a breadth of treatment options available for Indigenous patients in hospitals. I believe this is an attainable goal, and that I can be one nurse that promotes this inclusivity and integration of multi-cultural practices, by getting the education, educators and resources needed to make this possibility a reality in Northern rural Indigenous Communities.