Jobs abundant for Bow Valley's nursing grads

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The Aboriginal Licensed Practical Nurse Program at Bow Valley College in Calgary is about to graduate its first group of students, and the future looks promising for the 11 women.

Dr. Rena Shimoni, dean of Health and Community Care, said she's received positive feedback from the nursing professionals in the organizations that provided recent work placement positions.

"The students worked in hospitals, community health care centres, and long-term facilities in numerous locations in the province, from Stony Plain to Strathmore. Supervisors and nurses who I spoke to stated that the students were knowledgeable and competent and all agreed they won't have any trouble getting permanent positions within the health care system," she said.

Shimoni gives much of the credit for the success of the students to their instructor-Heather Crowshoe-Hirsch.

"She has such a great background, both personally and professionally, for developing and delivering a program such as this," Shimoni said.

Crowshoe-Hirsch grew up on the Peigan reserve, about 200 kilometres south of Calgary, and comes from a rich, traditional Blackfoot background. She understands intimately the rich cultural and spiritual history of a close-knit community that is found on reserves.

A registered nurse, Crowshoe-Hirsh has worked in her home community in palliative care and home care, as well as for several area hospitals, such as Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, and Foothills Emergency, to name just a few.

"All in all, she is the perfect person for our program. She is the key to innovative and challenging subjects and we can attribute its uniqueness to her input."

Crowshoe-Hirsch teaches a comparison of the theories and practices between Western and traditional medicine. As well, under her guidance, the students rediscover their own roots, spirituality, and culture.

"Some of the students have not been deeply grounded in their Aboriginal background and they need and want to add it to their identities."

"This first-ever class of Metis and First Nation students come from a great diversity of backgrounds and age ranges," explained Crowshoe-Hirsch.

Shimoni said more than a year was spent in the planning stages of the program and included extensive consultation with Aboriginal advisors and Elders to determine how the program should be set up. Students were carefully screened as well.

"What we were looking for were learners who also wanted to become healers, but they also had to meet the current admission academic prerequisites. No exceptions were allowed," said Shimoni.

The students began their 13 months of training in the spring of 2002. They spent 19 weeks in the classroom, as well as time in the lab and on work placements.

The graduates have been prepared to work in both rural and urban settings. "Not all Aboriginal people live in Alberta's larger communities, and those from rural localities find spending time in treatment at city facilities quite distressing," said Shimoni. The students spent time learning to teach patients how to access and use the health care system.

"For example, most Aboriginal people come from an oral culture while the world today assumes everyone is from a written culture," said Crowshoe-Hirsch. People from an oral culture may not feel comfortable asking the doctor for the reasons why medical procedure is being done or why medication is being prescribed.

"They assume the doctor has their best interests in mind and don't question their treatment," she explained.

In a written culture, consumers believe they have the right to ask the doctor for more information. They aren't afraid that it will appear as if they are questioning the doctor's authority, but that they are simply asking for further clarification, which is quite acceptable, she added. Aboriginal patients need to learn how to speak to doctors or nurses and that it's OK to do so.

Training for the second group of students will run from May 1 to June 30, 2004. BowValley College has campuses in Calgary and other southern Alberta locations and serves more than 10,000 students annually.