Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Importance Of Being Uncomfortable And Unfinished, Caroline Foster-Boucher, Jody Nelson, Sydney Bremner, Colleen Maykut

Quality Advancement in Nursing Education - Avancées en formation infirmière

Our initial intention was to outline the structure of an entity, the Bear Healing Lodge, within the Faculty of Nursing at MacEwan. This structure was created out of the Truth and Reconciliation’s Calls to Action. However, as we engaged in critical discussions we realized that who we were becoming as persons, as we unpacked out privilege and power, was invaluable and informative to prepare us for authentic allyship and partnership. We realized that outcomes and endings were not the end goals, but being uncomfortable and unfinished were necessary for the creation of an ethical space for members to engage in …

Incivility In Nursing Education: Sources Of Bullying And Their Impact On Nursing And Psychiatric Nursing Students, Kathryn Chachula, Nora Ahmad, Nadine Smith, Nadine Henriquez

Quality Advancement in Nursing Education - Avancées en formation infirmière

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify who were the key sources of incivility, how frequently uncivil behaviours occurred, and determine the impact of incivility among a sample of Bachelor of Nursing (BN) and Bachelor of Psychiatric Nursing (BPN) students at one university in a western Canadian province.

Methods: A mixed-methods study was conducted that incorporated findings from an anonymous cross-sectional survey of second, third-, and fourth-year students from the BN and BPN programs (n = 68) and narrative findings from a live discussion forum (n = 48) with third-year student participants.

Results: The most frequent sources of …

Developing An Anti-Racist Practice In Occupational Therapy: Guidance For The Occupational Therapist, Justin E. Lerner, Angie Kim

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

A strong anti-racist practice is critical for occupational therapists who represent an overwhelmingly white and female workforce yet serve people from all ethnic and racial backgrounds. These therapists are commonly unprepared to work with a racially diverse clientele because of a lack of reflective and critical practice grounded in anti-racism. This article provides some critical literature about race and racism in occupational science. We present important concepts for therapists to deepen their understanding of anti-racist practice, including intersectionality, agent and target groups, and equity and equality. We then explore some critical theoretical frameworks that can help conceptualize anti-racist practice, such …

Professional Misfits: “You’Re Having To Perform . . . All Week Long”, Brenda L. Beagan, Kaitlin R. Sibbald, Tara M. Pride, Stephanie R. Bizzeth

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Occupational therapy professes commitment to equity and justice, and research is growing concerning the experiences of clients from marginalized groups. To date, almost no research explores the professional experiences of therapists from marginalized groups. This qualitative study explores how exclusion operates in the profession among colleagues.

Method: Grounded in critical phenomenology, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 occupational therapists who self-identified as racialized, disabled, ethnic minority, minority sexual/gender identity (LGBTQ+), and/or from working-class backgrounds. Iterative analysis was conducted using constant comparison and employing ATLAS.ti for team coding.

Results: Across identity groups, four processes of exclusion …

Client-Centered Practice When Professional And Social Power Are Uncoupled: The Experiences Of Therapists From Marginalized Groups, Brenda L. Beagan, Kaitlin R. Sibbald, Tara M. Pride, Stephanie R. Bizzeth

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Client-centeredness is foundational to occupational therapy, yet virtually no research has examined this aspect of practice as experienced by therapists from marginalized groups. The discourse of client-centeredness implicitly assumes a “dominant-group” therapist. Professional power is assumed to be accompanied by social power and privilege. Here, we explore what happens when professional and social power are uncoupled.

Method: In-depth interviews grounded in critical phenomenology were conducted with Canadian therapists (n = 20) who self-identified as disabled, minority sexual/gender identity (LGBTQ+), racialized, ethnic minority, and/or from working-class backgrounds. Iterative thematic analysis employed constant comparison using ATLAS.ti for team coding. …

When Keeping It Real Is Required: Challenging The Pandemic Of Racism In Lactation Land, Tameka Jackson-Dyer

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Human milk is the optimal source of nutrition for infants, but few are able to provide their milk to their babies for the minimum twelve months recommended by health experts. This is especially true for Black women. Due to structural racism embedded in medical care, implicit bias of healthcare providers and generational traumas that began during American chattel slavery, Black women are less likely than every other ethnic group to initiate breastfeeding. Those that do are often sabotaged by unsupportive systems and lack of access to clinically-skilled, culturally respectful lactation consultants. Calling out the racism that exists in Lactation Land …

Exploring Racism In Health Pedagogy, Marian Evans Md, Mph, Jean M. Breny Phd, Mph, Anuli Uzoaru Njoku, Yan Searcy Phd

Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice

Utilizing a classroom incident that prompted formal public and informal private conversations about race across the campus of a New England regional comprehensive university, we suggest that the discussion of race in public health and health promotion is often compartmentalized. The pedagogy of public health and health promotion often examines race in terms of health disparities, access to health care, cultural sensitivity and competence among public health providers. While this examination is applauded, it does not adequately confront racism and the experience of race by students in actual public health classrooms. Race, we argue, appears theoretical and does not acknowledge …

The War On Drugs, Moral Panics, And The Groundhog Day Effect: Confronting The Stereotypes That Perpetuate The Cycle Of Disparity, Tasha Withrow

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

There has been a specter haunting America for over 400 years. That specter is an insidious and destructive beast that has found its way into every crevice and layer of all American institutions. Racism, racial stereotypes, racial stigma, biases, and White supremacy has infiltrated every power structure since the foundation of America and has created a system of social control that has perpetually oppressed, marginalized, and disenfranchised generations of people of color. One of the most catastrophic by-products generated from America’s historic racist ideology has been that of the over-criminalization of people of color for drug crimes justified by discriminatory …

Racially Informed Care: A Treatment Approach And Exploration Of The Implications Of Race Related Barriers In The United States, Charae Mcconnell

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Social factors surrounding race and ethnicity often create barriers to meaningful occupation and keep people of color from achieving a greater quality of life (Pooremamali et al., 2016). These barriers often result in occupational deprivation and feelings of alienation in society. Research has shown that these barriers created by systematic racism exist for individuals across different environments and persist over their lifetime (Pooremamali et al., 2016). Because of these barriers and the prolonged stress responses caused by racism, people of color, especially black and brown, have significantly higher rates of chronic illness than White Americans. People of color, specifically African …