The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), in partnership with the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association (CINA), are pleased to announce the commencement of a new project titled Creation and Launch of an Annual Indigenous Nursing Student and Faculty Survey.
This goal of this project, funded by Indigenous Services Canada, is to create and launch an Annual Indigenous Nursing Student and Faculty Survey of self-identified Indigenous nursing faculty and students in Canadian schools of nursing. CASN and CINA will jointly initiate the planning and implementation of this survey in order to collect and disseminate high quality, longitudinal evidence that would allow the recruitment and retention of Indigenous nursing students and faculty to be assessed and monitored across the country.
In 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was officially established to inspire a process of restored relationships and reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples and Canadians, based on mutual respect and understanding.[1] The TRC published its final report in 2015,[2] with nursing education directly implicated in its Calls to Action.[3] As nursing is the largest health profession in Canada, schools of nursing have an important role to play in responding to the TRC report.
CASN and CINA have worked together for over a decade to promote the integration of cultural competence and cultural safety in schools of nursing in Canada. This proposed project would build on what has been initiated by CASN and CINA, including the publication, of the Framework of Strategies for Nursing Education to Respond to the Calls to Action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2020).
This project is being carried out in two phases, with an initial preparatory phase to be completed by April 2021 and an implementation phase expected to be carried out over one year (tentatively from April 2021 to March 2022).
If you are a faculty or administrator who is familiar with the National Student and Faculty Survey and would like to participate, or receive more information about this project, please contact Julia Thomas, Education Policy Coordinator at jthomas@casn.ca.
[1] Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (n.d). FAQ’s. http://www.trc.ca/about-us/faqs.html
[2] Government of British Columbia. (n.d). Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-calls-to-action
[3] Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. (2020). Framework of strategies for nursing education to respond to the Calls to Action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. https://www.casn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/EN-TRC-RESPONSE-STRATEGIES-FOR-NURSING-EDUCATIONTRC-Discussion-Paper-Revised-Final.pdf
