Aboriginal

Director and Chief Resident

		City of Victoria		Site Presentation
		Activity Program

Site Director Message

Welcome to the Aboriginal Residency Site! This unique site, which has a focus on training family physicians to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal people, families and communities, has been running since 2002.

Our program welcomes both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal residents with a special interest in Aboriginal health. Our residents not only gain the skills to practice as competent family physicians, they also have opportunities to work with and for Aboriginal communities. Our residents gain unique advocacy skills to help address the effects of historical, geographic and political factors that impact the health status of Aboriginal people in Canada.

Healthy relationships are critical to supporting healthy individuals and communities and our program focuses on building strong relationships amongst the residents and with local communities and Aboriginal Elders. We are deeply respectful of Aboriginal ways of knowing and as such, incorporate traditional teachings, ceremony and medicinal plant walks into our various academic activities.

Our residents have opportunities to work in some of the most spectacular Aboriginal territories in BC and abroad. If you are someone who is interested in approaching Family Medicine from a unique perspective, are eager to work for Aboriginal communities and like the appeal of a small program with focus on relationship we look forward to welcoming you to our site!

Dr. Danièle Behn Smith
Aboriginal Site Director

Chief Resident Message

We are a UBC Family Medicine residency program with an Aboriginal Health stream. This site provides a uniquely tailored program unparalleled in caliber, curriculum, and scope across Canada. The program has provided current and past residents with a flexible platform through holistic healthcare, which incorporates a biopsychosocial approach to medicine.

The first year will be hospital-based in Victoria and will provide solid principles and foundations in Family Medicine. Core rotations (including Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, OBGYN, Emergency, ICU among others) provide the springboard for the 2nd Year in which the Resident is able to tailor their learning based on their personal and professional aspirations. Whether you choose to spend Elective time in inner-cities, public health, prisons or in the international arena, the Aboriginal residency program prepares you to be a well-rounded Family Physician who is aware of the impact of the history, culture and health trends of a mosaic of people.

The health status of Aboriginal people in Canada is poor across a spectrum of indicators and, at the same time, the Aboriginal population is growing faster than the general population. This program’s aim is to train physicians with knowledge of Aboriginal health issues, foster the development of cultural competencies to work effectively with Aboriginal patients and communities, and develop a growing number of human resources who can guide others to improve the overall health of our Native people.

The opportunity for grassroots work in culturally rich communities provides a kaleidoscopic perspective to the study and practice of medicine, where the world of culture and spirituality are not divorced from the science and evidence-based advances of medicine. I encourage you to contact us with your questions.

Drs. James Makokis, Latisha Hewton-Backfat & Dan Cutfeet
james.makokis@gmail.com
hewtonba@ualberta.ca
jcutfeet@nosm.ca