Maskwacîs Health Services (MHS) and the University of Alberta are partnering to strengthen medical care in the community while providing better training to family doctors.
Family medicine residents now have an opportunity to spend six months of their two-year residency in Maskwacîs, thanks to a new memorandum of relational understanding signed at a ceremony held earlier this month.
"It's so important to have young doctors working and learning in our communities," says Randy Littlechild, chief executive officer of MHS. "They will not only learn about First Nations culture, traditions and language, but also about the wider scope of diversity in society today, which will serve them well in a multicultural society."
MHS serves the four nations of Maskwacîs - the Samson, Ermineskin, Louis Bull and Montana Cree Nations - located about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton.
"Empowering our community with health care will benefit the greater whole," says Bonny Graham, program manager for Maskwacîs community health. "If we have physicians and health care providers that understand Indigenous people, respect our culture and traditions, I think that will be the biggest benefit."
Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn, dean of both the U of A Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the College of Health Sciences, says the goal is to put truth and reconciliation into action.
"This agreement recognizes the trusting relationship that has been built between Maskwacîs Health Services and the Department of Family Medicine, and that took courage," Hemmelgarn says. "I credit the willingness and openness of the community to welcome our learners and build a partnership in which, together, we can provide service and care for patients."
Dr. Lawrence Cheung, professor and associate dean of postgraduate medical education at the U of A, Ermineskin Cree Nation councillor Nina Makinaw, and Randy Littlechild, chief executive officer of Maskwacîs Health Services, were part of the signing ceremony held on July 7. (Photo: Christy Dean)
The first six-month residency at Maskwacîs starts this summer. The first resident will go through the usual clinical family medicine training, and also spend time with Elders, participate in cultural opportunities and attend community events.
"That cultural integration is not separate from their training, it is the learning," says Dr. Cayla Gilbert, Indigenous physician lead for family medicine.
Gilbert, who is Métis, did her own medical training at the U of A about 15 years ago, and now works as a family doctor in Ponoka and Maskwacîs.
"When I started medical school there were very few Indigenous mentors or leaders in medicine," Gilbert recalls. "Now you can see Indigenous physicians delivering that culturally safe, humble care of Indigenous people.
"We want to show this new generation that an important part of medicine is relationship and love and care of each other, and that's something that the Indigenous perspective brings to the table that really isn't a part of most other medical training."
The agreement with MHS is the culmination of a concerted effort by the Department of Family Medicine to engage with Indigenous Elders, physicians, resident physicians and medical students to improve care for Indigenous communities, family medicine faculty and learners. The hope is to eventually turn the six-month pilot residency into a full two-year program for more learners.
The department is also working with other First Nations communities to augment Indigenous training experiences, including in Fort Chipewyan (Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and K'ai Tailé Dené or Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Saddle Lake Cree Nation and Bigstone Cree Nation.
