| Policy: | Designated Clinical Placement Procedure for Indigenous Students |
|---|---|
| Effective Date: | August 1st, 2024 |
| Revised Date: | July 1st, 2024 |
| Review Date: | August 2029 |
Policy and Procedure Statements
Preamble. The University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Midwifery Program (BMw) and its Internationally Educated Midwives Bridging Program (IEMBP) are jointly referred to as “UBC Midwifery.” UBC Midwifery follows all UBC regulatory requirements.
Background. Designated Clinical Placements for Indigenous Students will be prioritized for Midwifery students who
have self-identified as Indigenous to UBC Midwifery. This designated clinical placement is in
response to an identified need to support culturally appropriate learning environments for Indigenous students, in addition to meeting Indigenous-specific educational needs.
The Designated Clinical Placement speaks to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #23, which states:
23. We call upon all levels of government to:
i. Increase the number of Aboriginal professionals working in the health-care field.
ii. Ensure the retention of Aboriginal health-care providers in Aboriginal communities.
iii. Provide cultural competency training for all healthcare professionals.
Clinical Placement Priority
In response to the need to restore Indigenous Midwifery within Indigenous communities, and as an act towards reconciliation, Indigenous students will be prioritized for placements that are available within their Indigenous territories and as close as possible to their Indigenous communities, as requested. UBC Midwifery will make every effort to pair the students with a placement that meets their learning goals and ensure there is a plan in place that will satisfy educational requirements.
Policy
The following criteria will be used to approve Designated Clinical Placement Sites for Indigenous Students:
- All members of the practice group have taken Cultural Safety Training and can provide documentation of completion (required for all designated Indigenous placements) and;
- The designated Midwife or a minimum of one preceptor on the team is an Indigenous Midwife with an interest in precepting Indigenous Midwifery students and/or;
- The designated Midwife, Midwifery team or practice takes active steps to include Indigenous clients in their care and can describe these actions. Designated practices will provide statistics on the proportion of clients who are Indigenous, striving for that statistic to match or exceed that of the local Indigenous population.
Preceptor Expectations
Additionally, all preceptors of a Designated Clinical Placement for Indigenous students will be expected to:
- Promote Indigenous-specific education by supporting students to attend Indigenous learning opportunities, community and cultural gatherings including but not limited to events coordinated by UBC, The National Council of Indigenous Midwives, Midwives Association of BC Committee for Indigenous Birthing, and the local Indigenous communities.
- Acknowledge that time off for community and cultural gatherings as above is a fundamental part of Indigenous life and education and that time off required for events is in addition to allocated protected time off as per UBC placement policy. The preceptor will team with the student and course tutor to ensure their placement requirements are met.
- Encourage students’ self-integration into the community to which the student is both interested and comfortable.
Indigenous Student Expectations
Indigenous students will notify the clinical course tutor and the primary preceptor during the first week of the term of any planned cultural and community activities that will take them away from the regular academic schedule. Should students be required to attend unexpected ceremonies or significant community events, they must notify the clinical course tutor and the primary preceptor as soon as possible. Indigenous students will work with the primary preceptor to adjust clinical placement hours around cultural and clinical activities so that the student meets course competencies.
Indigenous students with questions about Designated Clinical Placements or needing information or support are encouraged to contact the UBC Midwifery Indigenous Student Coordinator.
Term
The Designated Clinical Placement Procedure for Indigenous Students document will be revised collaboratively every 5 years or as needed by the roles and committees listed below:
- UBC Midwifery Indigenous Student Coordinator
- Other Indigenous advisors or Elders appointed to a review committee
- UBC Midwifery Clinical Placement Coordinator
- UBC Midwifery Undergraduate Program Lead
- UBC Midwifery Program Director
Changes to the procedure require the approval of the UBC Midwifery Faculty. Midwives and midwifery teams are not required to become a Designated Clinical Placement for Indigenous Students, rather those that are interested and meet the criteria are encouraged to come forward to the Placement Coordinator to be included on the list.
The development of the Designated Clinical Placement for Indigenous Students was released in July of 2018 as a collaborative effort by:
- Misty Wasyluk, RM, UBC Midwifery Program’s former Clinical Placement Coordinator Jessica St-Jean, former Indigenous Representative of the UBC Midwifery Student’s Association & Midwives Association of British Columbia Committee for Indigenous Birthing
- Evelyn George, RM, Indigenous Lead of the Midwives Association of British Columbia
Revised November 2021 by Evelyn George, UBC Midwifery Indigenous Student Coordinator Midwifery Faculty Review and Approval: 24 December 2021
July 2024, Katia Mordak, UBC Midwifery Indigenous Student Coordinator reviewed and endorsed.