New at NTF!

It may be the height of summer, but work at Nursing the Future hasn’t paused! We're excited about our upcoming and fresh content as we strive to engage with nursing interest groups and member-identified needs on behalf of new graduates. NTF also remains committed to providing you with outstanding, member-led support! Feel free to contact us if you're interested in contributing to our content strategies, need personal or institutional assistance, or have ideas for new topics. We are here for YOU!

Additionally, we've decided to reinstate our email campaigns to keep our subscribers informed about what's new at NTF. While subscribing is NOT mandatory to access NTF content, we encourage you to subscribe HERE to receive important updates on events and new content so you don’t miss out!

Emerging Career Series

(https://nursingthefuture.ca/emerging-career-series/)

Do you have a passion for business? Have you considered where nursing can take you outside of the traditional setting? What benefits industry standards, budget directives, technology, innovation and workplace health? Occupational Nurses! Read on for an interview of Janelle Steeves, as she describes her inspiring path through numerous iterations of occupational health nursing, including that of independent consulting in novel settings! Janelle’s story highlights the growing opportunities for nurses to continue to meet the needs of Canadians, through increasingly unique and expanding fields!

Book Club

(https://nursingthefuture.ca/book-club/)

“There is nothing more urgent [to our times] than understanding the potential power of nursing right now.” Taken from Sarah DiGregorio’s book, this statement compels the reader to understand the vital and important work of nursing. Titled "Taking Care: The Story of Nursing and Its Power to Change Our World'' DiGregorio - a journalist - delves into the history, challenges and triumphs of the nursing profession. With a journalist’s attention to detail and keen perception, DiGregorio traces the evolution of nursing from its origins (four thousand years ago!) to its current state, highlighting key figures and moments that have shaped the profession. Her writing underscores the critical role nurses have long played in healthcare, begging the question: If nursing is essential to the health and well-being of ALL, why does it continue to be underappreciated and Underfunded? Through a mix of historical analysis, personal narratives, and case studies, DiGregorio richly illustrates how nurses have always been at the forefront of medical advancements, patient advocacy, and community health. She addresses systemic issues like staffing shortages, burnout, and the impact of healthcare policies on the profession. Finally, she emphasizes the resilience, compassion, and ingenuity of nurses, showcasing their ability to effect change and improve healthcare outcomes. Taking Care is a tribute to the dedication and significance of nurses, poignantly advocating for greater recognition and support for these essential healthcare professionals. Read more and find the book here!

Speaker Series

(https://nursingthefuture.ca/speaker-series/)

Nailing the Interview: A Guide for New Grad Nurses (Part 1 and 2)

This month, we are so pleased to share a fantastic resource on “Hot Debriefing” with Jaime Gallaher, a dedicated simulation educator with a strong background in emergency nursing and education. Since 2016, she has been instrumental in introducing clinical event debriefing at various institutions across BC. Currently serving as instructional support for simulation at Thompson Rivers University, Jaime has also held educator roles in multiple health authorities in both simulation, and emergency departments since 2016.

From 2009 to 2014, she taught in both BSN and emergency nursing specialty programs at BCIT and UBC. Her passion for debriefing developed through transformative reflective conversations with peers following clinical events, leading her to advocate for all nurses to embrace debriefing skills for enhanced teamwork, communication, self-reflection and patient safety.

Jaime is currently engaged in writing a publication aimed at clinical nurse educators, focusing on utilizing the “PEARLS debriefing framework” for clinical debriefings across diverse clinical settings.

When she is not working, she is using her skills of emotional debriefing and promoting self-reflection, on her 2 little girls and husband at home in Kamloops, BC. Watch Jamie’s fantastic presentation here!

The Interview: Conversations with Nurses on the Frontline

(https://nursingthefuture.ca/the-interview/)

Street Nursing is a facet of the professional nursing body that has grown significantly over the last decades. Join Dr. Duchscher’s interview of Roxie Danielson, a street nurse working in Toronto as she talks about her nursing career intersecting with being a dedicated homelessness and harm reduction advocate.

Our Voices

(https://nursingthefuture.ca/our-voices/)

Many of us learn through story. Our journeys in nursing are full of experiential wisdom and their derived meaning. Read Emily Reynolds journey from urban to rural workplaces, and her experience and later exploration of what it means to belong as a newly graduated nurse.

Supporter Spotlight

(https://nursingthefuture.ca/awards/)

At NTF, we are passionate about recognizing and celebrating excellence. When we discover a Rising Star among new graduate nurses or their supporters, we are eager to share their successes with our community!

If you know someone who deserves to be celebrated for their achievements, please let us know by emailing us at newgraduates@nursingthefuture.ca OR go directly to https://nursingthefuture.ca/awards/ and submit your nomination! Your nominations help us shine a spotlight on those who are making a difference in the nursing profession.

Let’s Talk Transition!

In the July newsletter, Dr. Duchscher talked about performing and concealing as critical components of the first 4 months of transition (the DOING stage). The final components in this stage are adjusting and accommodating. July’s newsletter will feature the adjustments being made by newly graduated nurses as they enter professional practice.

Adjusting: The challenges of adjusting to the expectations of professional practice become particularly evident when the novice is expected to manage patients who are clinically unstable or if they are required to multitask (i.e., answering phones, speaking with physicians, processing orders, or dealing with multiple patient and family issues while performing difficult tasks such as starting an intravenous, giving medications, or doing a dressing change).

I come in at 7:30 and I check in on everybody and I get my vitals done, get all my meds given and I sit there for a minute and I go ‘Okay, you have a minute to breathe’.  Then I think maybe I should chart and then all of a sudden, BANG, call bells are ringing and doctors are writing orders and blah, blah, blah, and the next thing you know it’s 10:00 and you have to do the next set of meds and ‘Oh, I didn’t get any of that charting done yet’, and ‘Oh, I haven’t listened to so and so’s lungs yet’ and you know…..We got this admission that came in and it was through the pediatric transport team, so it was a kid that came in with meningitis and I was left alone and in charge on the unit and then we got this admission and I mean, he was sick.  Like his oxygen was cranked up and everything you know, not alert—not stable really, and he ended up in PICU later. And so here I was all alone in the unit having to take this admission. I mean, I didn’t even know where to start. I didn’t know what to do or anything and I thought that that wasn’t very right of them to send that other nurse home for those last four hours and then leave me all alone there. I mean I was still a grad nurse and hadn’t been there for very long I felt that I wasn’t very helpful because I didn’t really know what to do or where I should start or anything. I was stressed out then you know? At the end of the shift, I hadn’t finished all my work, we hadn’t counted or anything yet so I was just kind of upset.

It is not uncommon for graduates to have an intense focus on trying to remember or recall all the ‘details’ of the task that is in front of them. This often renders them unaware of what is happening around them. As a result, they worry about “missing something” or inadvertently and unintentionally bringing harm to someone under their care because of their ignorance or inexperience. That is normal for newly graduated nurses.

But that night, both triage and charge saw that person and they’re both very senior nurses. We saw him, the paramedics saw him, and he even said to me, “he doesn’t look good” and I’m like, “I know, he’s all pasty” like you could tell his color was terrible but he…didn’t seem to be having lots of pain…I don’t know what else we could have done. I didn’t even ask for help so I feel bad, I do. When I look back on it, there were signs…I didn’t know what it was but I just had this feeling that something wasn’t right but I didn’t question anything…cause I’d never been in that situation before and I didn’t know any better.

New nurses, like most professionals starting out in practice, have a relatively linear, theoretical ‘keep my head down and get the work done’ approach to practice. As novice practitioners, they tend to ‘default’ to what they learned in school; often this knowledge is based more in ‘theory’ than in experience.

I remember one new nurse suggesting that the early application of her knowledge was like “being in a private little bubble and things are going on all around me and I cannot hear them, I cannot see them.” The limits to their problem solving and clinical judgment are not surprising because they may have no actual experience with many of the scenarios to which they are now being exposed. While straightforward, stable and predictable clinical situations can be navigated with relative ease, the same is not true for complex clinical scenarios. This is generally because much of the new grads energy and ‘mind work’ are consumed with an overwhelming amount of new information coming at them at the same time.

Some things go so fast though I can’t even process them….Like it’s so fast that I can’t even process some stuff and it takes like 5 or 6 times to catch it all. It’s just going so fast.

The key to addressing this issue is to be cognizant of the clinical environment into which they experience their initial transition, and the workload afforded them during the very crucial first 4 months of practice. Those graduates transitioning into a moderate-high acuity practice context (active medical surgical, specialty, observation, emergency or critical care units) need to be cautious about the workload (both level of care required and quantity of patients) they are assigned and should try to ‘gradually’ introduce workload intensity and complexity.

It is suggested that new nurses be started with fewer patients and those who are ready for transfer (more chronic), have been on the unit for a period of time and their issues are known, those who are waiting for placement in a long-term or convalescent unit, or those whose clinical situation is relatively stable. The process of ‘admitting’ patients to these units should be first done with an experienced practitioner and, when comfortable, then alone. New graduates should always have access to a senior nurse with experience on the unit and advanced clinical knowledge of the patient demographic common to that practice area.

This one particular day where I came home and that was it I thought.  I quit.  I hate this.  Um it was just really rough on the ward.  Everything seemed to be happening all at the same time….and so fast. I can’t think like that….Like when I give my meds I’m so cautious and it just seems to take me longer than the other nurses at this point and I either don’t recognize or I’m not 100% on so I’m always checking them.  Always double-checking. Even triple-checking.

Starting one’s professional practice in community or public health, or in long-term care is a great idea. While the challenges related to professional role transition remain, these environments tend to be more forgiving (the practice error outcome risk is not as high) and the roles and responsibilities of this work are easier for new nurses to adjust to.

As a rule, new nurses tend to focus on completing their work (roles, responsibilities, skills) and applying existing institutional protocols within the prescribed time frames required without thinking much about the rationale behind what and why they are doing something. While these protocol-oriented boundaries may feel like they distract the new practitioner from providing quality care (doing baths at certain times in the evening because of staff availability and not because of patient preference; rigidly imposing ‘visiting hour’ protocols), they may find it difficult to face the consequences of not complying with existing workplace routines. The ‘attention’ that can come from ‘standing out’ amongst their colleagues is in fundamental opposition to their developmental desire to fit in to the workplace and is often the cause of dissonance within the new nurse.

Research and Education:

The breadth of nursing knowledge extends to the pursuit of evidence through programs, initiatives, and research. Join us as we highlight and discuss what emerging findings mean for the contemporary field of professional nurse transition, and the profession as a whole.

1) Dr. Nigel Nicholson’s Role Transition Theory: Executive Summary

Nigel Nicholson is an Emeritus Professor of organizational behaviour and has been a Professor at the London Business School since 1990.  He left school at the age of 16 to become a journalist, but after personal and global explorations, discovered his passion for shaping organizations and supporting people to thrive in organizations. Dr. Nicholson completed his B.A (Honours) in Psychology at University College in Cardiff, going on to earn his PhD at the University of Wales in 1975 with a focus on employee absence. His career has developed principally at two institutions, as a Team Leader at the Social & Applied Psychology Research Unit at the University at Sheffield, and a Professor at the London Business School. 

He is widely known for pioneering the introduction of the new science of evolutionary psychology to business through a stream of writings, including an article in Harvard Business Review (July/August 1998), and his book: Managing the Human Animal (Thomson/Texere, 2000). His recent major research interests include the psychology of family firms, leadership, personality & biography, people skills in business, and what we can learn from tribal societies.  In these fields, as well as others such as innovation, organisational change, and executive career development, he has published over 20 books and 200 articles. He led a major research project on risk and decision-making among finance professionals, culminating in the book, Traders: Risks, Decisions and Management in Financial Markets (Oxford University Press, 2005).  His book on family firms, Family Wars, was published in 2008 (Kogan Page).  His most recent book, took a fresh look at leadership through the lens of biography and the self, is The “I” of Leadership: Strategies for seeing, being and doing (Jossey-Bass, 2013).

Aside from directing executive programs at London Business School he has held the positions of Chairman of the Organisational Behaviour department, Research Dean, member of the Governing Body and been a Deputy Dean of the School. He has been a guest professor at German, American, African and Australian universities, and been honoured in the USA with awards from the Academy of Management and the International Association for Applied Psychology for his contribution to the field

Careers and Transitions – Theory and Research Contributions

Career progression necessitates shifts in work roles such that an individual can adapt to the requirements and expectations of a new position. During the transition process, the individual’s affect, identity and behaviour can be altered by the structure of the organization into which they are transitioning.  According to Nicholson’s Work-Role Transition Theory (1984), when individuals change work roles they adjust to meet those new work demands (personal development) while simultaneously adjusting the work demands to suit their work style (role development). The type of adjustment strategy (personal development or role development) employed in the new work role is influenced by the role requirement, the individual’s motivation orientation, their prior occupational socialization and the induction socialization process. In addition, the individual’s approach to the new work role produces four modes of adjustment (replication, absorption, determination and exploration) which Nicholson further classifies as low or high based on how beneficial the approach is for career growth and progression. Nicholson elaborated on the theory by defining the concepts and explaining how the variables shape behaviour, identity and affect in a new work role.

In 1990, Nicholson and West introduced the Transition Cycle Model which has four distinct and interrelated stages describing the role transition course.

Tenets of the Theory

Replication: Classified as a low mode of adjustment, individuals who adopt this strategy effect minimal to no changes in their behaviour or identity in the new work role. They conform to the new work role's existing organizational structure and demands. Positive feelings about the role are developed when valued skills and experiences remain intact while negative feelings result from restrictions and feeling trapped in the role.

Absorption: To adapt to the new work role, newcomers focus their energy on cultivating new skills, amending their behaviour to meet the new role expectations/demands and maintaining the existing organizational status quo. Though a low mode of adjustment is required, assimilating expected requirements and performing in the new role elicit positive feelings while negative feelings stem from losing one’s values.

Determination: This is a high adjustment strategy whereby the newcomer significantly makes changes in their work or within the organization to align with their current skills and behaviour but maintains their identity in the new role. Successfully initiating change in the environment breeds positive feelings. Failed initiatives produce negative affects.

Exploration: Individuals in this category are considered to be on the high end of adjustment. They implement personal and organizational changes concurrently in their new work. Tremendous personal growth leads to excitement but a sense of loss of self may elicit negative feelings.

Role Requirement as a Predictor of Adjustment

The requirements of a role are determined by the discretions and the novelty of the job demands. Discretions refer to the prospects available for initiating change in an organization. When opportunities are numerous, the newcomer is more likely to be innovative in the new role leading to role development. Jobs with limited growth opportunities ultimately result in replication and absorption as adjustment strategies while high discretion results in determination and exploration.

The novelty of job demands describes the extent to which previous knowledge, skills and habits remain relevant to the new role. Leveraging prior insights in new roles can lead to personal development because knowledge and skills continue to be utilized. Modes of adjustment used in the high novelty job are absorption and exploration. Conversely, low novelty leads to replication and determination. Though discretion and novelty are important predictors of adjustment, they depend on individual interpretation which can diminish their significance when predicting adjustment strategies.

Induction-Socialization Processes as Determinants of Adjustment

Incumbents in new work roles are introduced and acclimatized to the new working environment via an induction socialization process. The extent of growth experienced personally or ‘role-wise’ is dependent on the overarching approach to induction. Inculcation of cumulative learning, role models and divestiture into the induction process facilitates the incumbent's personal development while role development is achieved when learning is done randomly without role models and the incumbent’s identity is affirmed. A formalized approach to socialization tends to steer the incumbent towards adaptation instead of taking initiative in the new work role.

Influence of Prior Occupational Socialization

Previous work experiences profoundly determine an individual’s approach to new roles. The predominance of growth opportunities in a prior role influences the entrant’s adjustment strategy. When individuals move from a high discretion role into another role where prior knowledge is relevant but offers fewer opportunities for initiating change, the individual will tend to use the exploration mode of adjustment. Determination will be employed as a strategy when the previous experiences cannot be applied to the new role. Newcomers are more inclined to use replication as a strategy when more initiative is required in new roles yet previous experiences are irrelevant in the role. Finally, absorption is employed as a transition strategy when more initiative is required and prior experiences can be relied on to navigate the new role.

Motivational Orientation and Work Role Transitions

Motivational orientation is expressed in an incumbent’s desire for control (role development) and desire for feedback (personal development). The mode of adjustment displayed is subject to motivational orientation during the transition period. Persons with a low desire for feedback and control will tend to replicate while those with a low desire for control and a high desire for feedback will lean toward absorption as a transition strategy. Determination is used by persons with a high desire for control and a low desire for feedback and finally individuals who desire both control and feedback will move toward exploration.

Inadvertently, evolving dynamics in role requirements, induction socialization process, prior socialization and motivational orientations shift adjustment modes over time either towards personal development or role development.

Transition Cycle Model

The four stages (preparation, encounter, adjustment, and stabilization) describe the process of adaptation.

Preparation: This is the first phase and the fifth phase (reset of the cycle) of the transition process. It is characterized by expectancy and anticipation for the change ahead and denotes the incumbent’s readiness for the role. It encompasses their feelings about the role, current mindset, awareness of role requirements and demands, and grooming received for the role. These determine the general approach to the change.

Encounter: Classically a ‘feeling’ and ‘sensemaking’ phase, individuals situated here in the model aim to reconcile their expectations with the realities of the role. Feelings of stress or elation are induced depending on how well-equipped one is for the role. Although responses and reactions are subjective, coping strategies are crucial to navigating this phase.

Adjustment: The adjustment phase represents the period of modifying oneself to fit into the role or a restructuring the venture to suit oneself. Strategies applied in this phase will be outcomes of the dynamics of the work environment and the individual's disposition.

Stabilization: This stage is a state of harmony and describes the bond formed between the individual and the job as the individual integrates into the role. In this phase, individuals are attuned to the role and its expectations, and advance toward seeking growth opportunities.

Application of Theory

Professor Nicholson purports that as people are required to adapt to changes occurring in the world around them in a new role, they must be supported during the adaptation phase to either modify organizational parameters or build their capacity to function effectively in their new environment. Graduate nurses assume new work roles as they transition into practice (i.e. student to new graduate). As Nicholson’s theory posits, new graduates are likely to select adjustment modes that reflect a balance between who they are and what they experience as mitigating or disruptive organizational factors, shifting the individual toward personal or role development. Secondly, the transition cycle suggests that psychological and physical preparation for a role change can facilitate a smooth transition. Nurse educators and leaders can rely on this theory to integrate authentic and concrete experiences into the nursing curriculum that expose student nurses to real-world nursing contexts. Growth opportunities, mentorship and coaching as supportive systems in the workspace will enhance adaptation and maximize the potential of the graduate nurses.

New Directions & Contributions

Professor Nicholson continues to study transitions via his transformative Biography Course for mid-career executives and professionals on the Sloan Masters in Leadership & Strategy at London Business School.  Here he develops an integrated narrative approach to UI – Unique Individuality – around which he is a developing a new book project.   

References

Career Marcr. (2023). Transition Cycle - N. Nicholson and M. A. West.  https://marcr.net/marcr-for-career-professionals/career-theory/career-theories-and-theorists/transition-cycle-n-nicholson-and-m-a-west/#Practice

De Clercq, M., Roland, N., Brunelle, M., Galand, B., & Frenay, M. (2018). The Delicate Balance to Adjustment: a qualitative approach of student’s transition to the first year at university. Psychologica Belgica, 58(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.409

London Business School. (n.d.). Nigel Nicholson. https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/n/nicholson-n

Musamali, K. (2018). An Examination of Transition Models and Processes: Introduction of an Integrated Approach. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 5(6) 245-260

Nicholson, N. (1984). "A Theory of Work Role Transitions." Administrative Science Quarterly, 29(2), 172-191.

Nicholson, N., & West, M. (1989). Transitions, work histories, and careers. Handbook of career theory, 181, 201.

Psychology Today.  (n.d.). Nigel Nicholson Ph. D. About. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/contributors/nigel-nicholson-phd

Saks, A., & Ashforth, B. (1995). Work-role transitions: A longitudinal examination of the Nicholson model. www.academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/16960003/Work_role_transitions_A_longitudinal_examination_of_the_Nicholson_model

2) Kelly, L., & Daly, K. (2024). Indigenous Nurse and White Settler Nurse Teaching Teams: Learning to Disrupt With Indigenist Nursing Education. Quality Advancement in Nursing Education-Avancées en formation infirmière, 10(2), 5.

Introduction

Systemic racism is pervasive in nursing education, with Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia having faced significant oppression in healthcare. Nursing curricula, influenced by white supremacy, often marginalised Indigenous perspectives. The nursing field is slowly acknowledging its colonial past, but many educators lack the skills to teach anti-racist and Indigenous content.

To support anti-racist goals, nursing programs need comprehensive plans aligned with social justice and inclusion. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action stress the development of anti-racist content and accountability to Indigenous communities. Collaborative innovations between Indigenous and settler educators are essential to decenter whiteness and promote Indigenous worldviews. Due to the high demand for Indigenous educators, sustainable methods to integrate their scholarship with settler collaboration are necessary to address systemic racism and enhance anti-racist education in nursing.

Understanding Indigenous Health and Wellness

The "Understanding Indigenous Health and Wellness" course in the BSN program at the University of Victoria examines the impact of colonialism on Indigenous lives. This course, designed by an Indigenous scholar, uses an experiential approach where Indigenous and white settler educators collaborate to challenge white privilege, settler norms, and colonial structures, aiming to educate nurses as allies in promoting health and wellness.

Pedagogical and Theoretical Foundations

The course uses Indigenous narratives to counter white supremacist ideology and biomedical best practices in nursing academia. Inspired by Linda Tuhiwai Smith's "Decolonizing Methodologies," it emphasizes story-telling and community-based accounts to represent Indigenous perspectives authentically.

Cora Weber-Pillwax argues that decolonization comes through engaging with Indigenous personal narratives, validating Indigenous experiences, and educators use Indigenous pedagogies like narrative, story, circle work, and reflective assignments to facilitate student transformation. Students are encouraged to identify their relationships with Indigenous Peoples, reclaim relationships, decolonize their thinking, and commit to disrupting racism and oppressive practices.

Preparing and Supporting the Teaching Teams

The course coordinator, an Indigenous scholar, developed the course content and formed three teaching teams, each comprising Indigenous community-based nurses and white settler faculty. Six community health advocates with anti-racist and Indigenous knowledge also participated, the term concluded with a ceremony led by local Knowledge Holders.

Before the term, the coordinator hosted an introductory day using Métis/Cree ceremonies, discussing the Indigenist framework and learning outcomes. She paired the teaching teams based on compatibility and supported them throughout the term with monthly meetings for debriefing and updates, ensuring consistency and authenticity.

Roles and Responsibilities of White Settler Educators

White settlers must engage in decolonizing work, confronting their histories and disrupting systemic oppressions. They participated in white settler communities of learning (CoLs) to understand white privilege and racial identity, fostering critical analysis and self-reflection. Although optional, CoLs provided a space for settlers to process emotions and confront their complicity without burdening Indigenous colleagues.

Non-Indigenous educators must be reflexive and open-minded, applying a critical lens to their practices and collaborating respectfully with Indigenous colleagues. This growth mindset promotes respect for Indigenous epistemologies, leading to greater equity and self-determination within the teaching and learning community.

Roles and Responsibilities of Indigenous Educators

The Indigenous course coordinator created course content, found relevant articles, managed logistics, and handled compensation. Indigenous instructors led their sections independently, incorporating their lived experiences and cultural perspectives, along with local community insights and wellness perspectives.

Roles and Responsibilities of Indigenous Community Nurse Co-Facilitators

Community nurse co-facilitators contributed to weekly topics through in-person and online sessions. They shared stories, narratives, practical nursing applications, and strategies for complex situations. They engaged with students through direct interaction, recorded messages, panel discussions, and written submissions, without the obligation to grade assignments or prepare content.

Collaborative Successes

The course began with ceremonies to establish relationships and set intentions, fostering a trauma-informed approach. Indigenous educators shared the burden of presenting anti-oppressive content. Selected Indigenous community nurses, familiar to the coordinator, shared their experiences and community-specific impacts of colonization. Their contributions helped students and white settler faculty understand colonization's effects and learn strategies for disrupting racism. Positive feedback highlighted the invaluable expertise of Indigenous community health in teaching anti-racist practices.

Mutual Mentorship

Indigenous community nurses and students gained insights into the nurse educator role, learning from their white settler counterparts and contemplating future educational opportunities. Indigenous nurse faculty reciprocated by offering leadership roles and fair compensation to community nurses, acknowledging their expertise. Teaching teams supported each other through regular debriefs, discussing resources, and forming relationships that fostered trust, respect, and mentorship.

Collaborative Challenges

White Settler Challenges

White settler educators grappled with their legitimacy in discussing Indigenous issues, balancing the need to speak out against their complicity in oppressive systems while respecting Indigenous voices. They experienced discomfort acknowledging their white emotional labour, which paled compared to the daily systemic oppression faced by Indigenous colleagues. They aimed to lead without overburdening Indigenous educators, requiring ongoing negotiation.

Indigenous Challenges

Indigenous scholars often justify the value of decolonizing work to colleagues and the academy, motivated by obligations to their communities and ancestors. They faced the challenge of involving non-Indigenous allies while ensuring the protection and authenticity of Indigenous content. Trusting non-Indigenous instructors to learn about Indigenist worldviews was crucial, without making ceremonial and cultural knowledge the focus of the course. Indigenous speakers shared examples of their community work, but nurse educators did not hold or disseminate community-specific cultural knowledge.

Conclusion

Collaboration and support of white settler and Indigenous nurse teaching teams is essential for anti-racism education. Relationships within this framework demonstrate a decolonizing approach and collective action. Future research should evaluate changes in faculty confidence and student implementation of anti-racist practices. Additionally, increasing Indigenous representation and advancing Indigenist pedagogical approaches should be further explored. Pedagogical innovations such as this course can build relationships and disrupt systemic racism in nursing schools.

Coming Soon!

Our popular seminar series NTFLive is back with another amazing seminar planned!  Join us in the live session discussing all things urgent in 'When Things Go South: Responding in a Crisis" with critical care experts and frontline nurses. Don’t miss this important and engaging session designed to hone your skills responding to critical events. Watch our Social Media and become an NTF subscriber for updates and your FREE tickets! Be sure to share these events with your new graduate peers, coworkers, and senior students!