Clinical partners’ reflections on Indigenous curricula in health education and the development of a pre-clinical placement student toolkit

ABSTRACT

Indigenous healthcare models are intergenerational, holistic, culturally appropriate and tailored to the needs of individual communities. To ensure that students working in Indigenous communities can engage appropriately and respectfully, they may require additional support for that learning. This study explores the recommendations of Clinical Partners based on their reflections and experiences working with Indigenous communities to outline inclusions and resources for Indigenous curricula, and the development of a toolkit designed to support students on clinical placement. A 45-min focus group or online survey (for remote participants) was conducted with clinical partners (n = 14) across seven health disciplines. Data were analysed thematically. Academic clinical partners reflected at length on challenges and triumphs they had embedding Indigenous knowledge and having students engage with it. Clinical partners from practice highlighted the need to ensure students had opportunities to engage with and learn from Indigenous people. Exploring the recommendations of clinical partners, who currently work with students attending placement in Indigenous communities provided valuable insights into what additional support students may require. Further work involved reaching consensus on the draft WRAP (Working Respectfully with Aboriginal People) Toolkit inclusions in consultation with Indigenous Elders.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective practice
• health education
• indigenous studies
• indigenous environments
• cultural learning
• cultural safety

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all Clinical Partners including Clinical Educators/Academics and Clinical Supervisors from the disciplines of: Indigenous health, pharmacy, physiotherapy, genetic counselling, orthoptics, clinical psychology and speech pathology who volunteered their time to participate in this study.

The authors would like to extend a special acknowledge the two academic colleagues who also generously shared their expertise in Indigenous health, namely Professor Megan Williams (MW), The University of Sydney, Australia and Ms Sally Fitzpatrick (SF), Western Sydney University, Australia for their valued contributions to the focus group discussion.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Maridulu Budyari Gumal, The Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise Grant (SPHERE): Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Stream- Small Grant Program (PRO1040052).

Notes on contributors

Cherie Lucas

Dr Cherie Lucas, Senior Lecturer, pharmacist and Clinical Education Manager (Clinical Placements) for the Master of Pharmacy degree, UTS. Her research expertise includes reflective practice. She has led teams in developing tools, assessment strategies and curricula resources to enhance students’ reflective capacity. Dr Lucas’ work and collaboration in the area of reflective practice has been awarded two international awards: Best Full paper, International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 17), Canada, 2017; Teaching Innovation Award, International Pharmacy Education Symposium, Italy 2017; and is the recipient of four University Teaching awards: 2020 Dean’s Academic Excellence Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning; 2020 UTS Learning and Teaching Citation as Team leader for the RIPE-N (Reflective Interprofessional Education Network) project; 2018 UTS Learning and Teaching Citation honour as Project lead; and a National recognition: 2019 Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation- for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.

Mariyam Aly

Mariyam Aly is a community pharmacist and PhD student at the University of Technology Sydney, supervised by Dr Cherie Lucas. She has extensive community pharmacy experience in Australia and the United Kingdom. Her research interests include pharmacy education, community pharmacy services and public health.

Tamara Power

Dr. Tamara Power is a Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Health at the University of Technology Sydney. She is a descendent of the Wiradjuri people. Tamara has led multiple teaching and learning projects and been awarded citations and awards for innovative teaching methods, including a team, Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation- for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, focused on developing Indigenous professional capabilities. Tamara’s research interests include diabetes in Aboriginal communities, cultural safety and racism in healthcare and undergraduate education. Professional affiliations include the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association (ADEA).