Starting in Community, Learning in Relationship
For the 48 students in the inaugural class of the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine, their first day of orientation took place in community, rather than a lecture hall or classroom.
On August 4, students gathered at the Katzie longhouse in Pitt Meadows to begin orientation. Katzie First Nation hosted the day, working with Jacquie Carpenter from the school’s Indigenous Health Stewardship (IHS) team and Len Pierre Consulting, an Indigenous-led consulting team that supports organizations in advancing Indigenous cultural safety, reconciliation and decolonization, to co-develop the experience. Dean Dr. David Price, Dr. Nel Weinman, Chief Medical Officer with the First Nations Health Authority, along with community partners, Elders , and school faculty and staff, were also there to welcome the students and take part in the day.
The choice was intentional.
“We wanted the students’ first day to happen in community, in relationship and on the land,” said Justin Boehringer, Associate Director, Indigenous Health Stewardship. “Being welcomed into the Katzie longhouse by community members helped set the tone from the very beginning that their medical education is going to extend beyond the walls of the university and that community relationships are an important part of how they will learn.”
The longhouse is a sacred place, where ancestors have stood before them. Students heard directly from Katzie community members, learned about the significance of place and the land, walked through the community and began building relationships with people who will be part of their journey through medical school.
More than anything, the day was an invitation for students to listen, be present and begin to understand the responsibilities that come with entering communities as future physicians. “We want to prepare physicians who understand that good care begins with relationship. Clinical knowledge is essential, but so is the ability to listen, understand the context in which someone lives and recognize that people come into health-care spaces carrying histories, families, communities and experiences,” said Dr. Rebekah Eatmon, Associate Dean, Indigenous Health .
The four student witnesses share reflections on what they saw, heard and experienced during their first day at the Katzie longhouse.
The day also introduced students to Witnessing. Four students were called to serve as witnesses, with the responsibility to listen carefully, notice what was happening and carry forward what they saw, heard and experienced. At the end of the day, they were invited to share their reflections with the group.
For Kohlton Tapp, being called as a witness was an honour. “I really appreciate starting here on the land. These are the communities we’ll be learning and working in, and I’m going to take everything I’ve learned today with me as I move forward.”
Another student witness, Ben Ferguson, reflected on the significance of the day and the responsibility that comes with entering the medical profession:
“Richard Pierre mentioned that we need to be thoughtful about how we step onto the floor of the longhouse, as the ancestors are all around us. We also need to be thoughtful about how we step into our new roles as medical students, and eventually as physicians, because our actions can have direct and long-lasting impacts on individuals and communities.”
For the school, the day was about more than a meaningful first experience. Indigenous learning is not intended to be something that happens in one course or during one week of the program. Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing and being will continue to shape how students think about relationships, health, community, land and their responsibilities as future physicians. As Dr. David Price, Dean, says, “Our hope — working closely with the First Nations Health Authority and with First Nations communities, as well as Indigenous physicians, providers and researchers — is to make a real difference in addressing the inequities that so many First Nations communities experience.”
August 4 marked the beginning of the school’s history alongside its inaugural class — 48 students and members of faculty leadership coming together in community for the first chapter of their medical education. The relationships and teachings introduced that day will continue to shape their experience throughout their time at the school.
For Dr. Keyna Bracken, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, the importance of beginning in this way was clear: “We begin on the land because place matters. We begin with Indigenous voices because perspective matters. We begin in relationship because people matter.”