It Starts with Me: Tools and Resources for Self-Reflection, Change and Transformation

March 1st, 2017

Faculty/Presenters Disclosure: Faculty/Presenters: Charis Alderfer-Mumma, Dr. Sarah de Leeuw, and David Loewen. No Commercial Interests. No Conflicts.

Presenters

David Loewen Lead: Community Engagement, Education, and Evaluation Aboriginal Health – Northern Health

Sarah de Leeuw Northern Medical Program, UNBC, Faculty of Medicine, UBC Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar

Charis Alderfer-Mumma Health Arts Research Centre, NMP, UNBC Two Rivers Art Gallery

Creating Space for Self-reflection

Life Experiences

Assumptions and Biases

Position in the World

Reflection…

Use your book, pages and materials provided to: • Visually represent how your life experiences,

assumptions, biases and position in the world influence how you understand and interact with Indigenous peoples.

• Write about what you learned about yourself and your understanding of the experience of others through exploring your “incident”.

Gather your things and thoughts!

Journey Cultural Safety in the north

Aboriginal Health in NH

Critical self reflexivity

Aboriginal Health Activities

Aboriginal Health Improvement Committees Northern First Nations Health Partnership

Committee Joint Project Board partnership projects Granting Activities Aboriginal Patient Liaison Program (support)

Aboriginal Health Resources

8 Aboriginal Health Improvement Committees (AHICs)

Aboriginal Health Improvement Committees (AHICs)

“If I were a new health practitioner coming to your community, what would you like me to know?”

Declaration of Commitment to Cultural Safety and Cultural Humility

Cultural Safety

“You people talk about legal safety, ethical safety, safety in clinical practice and a safe knowledge base… but what about Cultural Safety…” -first year Maori nursing student in 1989

Cultural Humility

Reflection, Creative Expression, Cultural Safety

Sharing Bioethics – Lisa Boivin, Dene

Searching for Answers in the Garden of Bioethics - Lisa Boivin, Dene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX_TlFeVxGk

Gregory Scofield: The act of witnessing, for me, is a sacred act. It involves the ceremony of our eyes and ears, the ceremony of connecting to what is in front of you. This act of witnessing can be both painful and magical, but … we learn to move our minds and bones differently….[it is] highly important because it enables us to connect with the things we find incomprehensible and fearful, yet it enables us to connect with the things we find comforting and familiar. The amazing thing about literature and art is that is provides a space for us to explore ourselves more deeply. It allows us to enter into ceremony with our unconsciousness and the darkness we are so often afraid of.

It’s also important to differentiate reflection from rumination. Both involve thinking about our past experiences. But while reflection involves looking for different ways to remember something by noticing assumptions we might have made and choices we might have missed, rumination involves repetitively re-experiencing something the same way, over and over. Unlike reflection, rumination is distinctly unhealthy, and can predispose to mood disorders. Claire Sauvé, Physician Health Program BC

Reflection…[includes reflecting on] the conditions we are in,

including how we are perceived by others and what our position

in the world might be…entails considering a number of factors –

personal biography, social situation, political and cultural

values, relationships and assumptions, and positions of

authority or lack thereof. It can produce a much fuller and richer understanding of self, of others,

and of the situations we are all in.

(from Matt Turner in The Dictionary of Human Geography. Blackwell Publishers)

“Facing uncertainty as a medical student—A qualitative study of their reflective learning diaries and writings on specific themes during the first clinical year” M.K. Nevalainena, b, , , T. Mantyrantac, K.H. Pitkalaa, b

Uncertainty is a major cause of mental strain for medical students, particularly fear of making mistakes….. Reflective writing showed to be an effective means for the students…expressing and dealing with uncertainty…and…with the difficult and the pleasant feelings & experiences students had with their first patient contacts. (2009)

Reflection…

Use your book, pages and materials provided to: • Visually represent how your life experiences,

assumptions, biases and position in the world influence how you understand and interact with Indigenous peoples.

• Write about what you learned about yourself and your understanding of the experience of others through exploring your “incident”.

Want to share?

Thanks and contact…

David Loewen • David.Loewen@northernhealth.ca

Charis Alderfer-Mumma • Charis.Alderfer-Mumma@unbc.ca

Sarah de Leeuw • deleeuws@unbc.ca UNBC Health Arts Research Centre