by Shelley Francis, Coordinator, ANI

While we realize that there is a pressing moral and social obligation to address the disparaging health, social and economic inequities experienced by First Nation, Inuit and Métis people of Canada, we see that many of our People continue to suffer the negative consequences of their circumstances. This consistent inclination towards ill physical, social, spiritual and emotional health is becoming a norm in our communities and we need to take action immediately to correct this trend. Nursing in a First Nation community is a challenging yet rewarding career for many of us who have had the honour to provide nursing care and service to our communities. Nursing is an opportunity to assist our People in emerging from their lives of health disparity and rise above to lead healthy, productive lives. Unfortunately, there are not as many Aboriginal nurses as we need to fulfill the expectations of our Elders that we deliver culturally competent care to our People. Despite the explosion of the Youth generation, we are not seeing as many Aboriginal students enrolling into health careers. These youth are a valuable human resource to the future health of our People, and we need to challenge them to utilize their resilience, knowledge, life experiences and compassion to help lead Aboriginal people into a healthier way of being.

The Aboriginal Nursing Initiative (ANI) is a project aimed at increasing the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal Nursing students at the Faculty of Nur ...

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