There’s no hospital where Laney Beaulieu grew up, in the remote community of Deninu K’ue in the Northwest Territories (NWT). One nurse took care of the 500 residents.
That nurse was Laney’s grandmother — her main caregiver and inspiration.
Laney, who is Dene and Métis, spent hours a day at the nursing station watching her grandmother care for her people and learned early on about the lack of access to health care in the North.
“For anything requiring a doctor, [we] need to phone a hotline and have a plane come in and fly us out to Yellowknife,” she says. “If anything requires a tertiary centre, we're then shipped from there to Edmonton.”
These experiences galvanized Laney’s decision to pursue a career in medicine. Now 24, she’s a third-year student at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in London, Ont.
But the transition to a large urban centre was a difficult one. In addition to the stresses of medical school, she missed her small, close-knit community and her family. And there were few Indigenous students in her cohort.
“It's kind of hard to form your own community within the class of friends when you feel so different from everybody else.”
Supporting Indigenous mentorships
Mentorships are an essential resource for medical learners and residents, providing training, advice, networking and growth opportunities.
But, according to a Resident Doctors of Canada scorecard, “a significant proportion of residents do not have a mentor and would desire one.”
For Indigenous learners looking for Indigenous mentors, the challenge is even greater. The 2016 census shows that fewer than 1% of physicians in Canada identify as Indigenous – compared to 4.5% of the population.
In 2021, the CMA Foundation granted $1 million to the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC) for the development of a national mentorship program. By supporting Indigenous medical learners, the organization hopes to expand the network of Indigenous physicians across Canada. Having a mentor with shared experience to provide advice and help with achieving one’s career goals can be a life-changing experience.
The funding is part of the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA’s) larger commitment to reconciliation in health care and its work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples to improve the health of Indigenous Peoples.
Learn more about the CMA’s work on Indigenous health
After consulting with its membership, IPAC developed a Mentorship Circle — an online platform that allows mentors and mentees to set up profiles, find matches based on their current needs and availability, and connect and “share in the spirit of medical education.” While technology fatigue may be a barrier to some, the virtual platform is accessible and allows busy students to connect with mentors when needed.
Programs that develop and support Indigenous physicians not only contribute to the cultural safety of patients but also to the cultural safety of our health care system. This benefits us all.
Connecting with an Indigenous mentor
_0.jpeg)
Laney Beaulieu joined the Mentorship Circle in her first year of medical school and was paired with Dr. Alexa Lesperance, an Anishinaabe from Northern Ontario and first-year resident at the University of British Columbia’s Indigenous Family Medicine program. The two met frequently online and talked about their shared experiences and frustrations, from missing their community, to adjusting to big city life and the challenges of being Indigenous in medical school.
“It's kind of a cliché, but I guess you feel less alone,” says Laney.
“The fact that Alexa is Indigenous was completely indispensable. I've come to know lots of non-Indigenous doctors who are great mentors in advancing my career or helping me in different specialties. Emotionally and culturally, they wouldn't be able to provide that same type of mentorship.”
While Laney sought out emotional support, the Mentorship Circle is also a great resource for mentees looking for career advice and networking through its registry of Indigenous physicians.
Her mentorship inspired Laney to get involved with IPAC, which led to a successful run as their student board representative for 2022–23. She and Alexa have also connected at IPAC’s in-person mentorship events, held across 14 medical schools in Canada – an opportunity for medical students and physicians to network and build relationships. IPAC says attendance at the on-campus events continues to grow year-over-year.
After graduating medical school, Laney intends to return to her community in the NWT, to help fill the gap in physician care and continue her grandmother’s legacy.
Based on her experience, she’d encourage any Indigenous medical student or resident seeking guidance and support to tap into IPAC’s mentorship program.
“Even if you're thinking maybe I don't need as much of the emotional health, if you just have questions about certain career paths as an Indigenous doctor, there's a pretty wide variety of careers on that mentorship list.”