Commitments and Actions
FHSD is deeply committed to enhancing social justice, equity, inclusion, and truth & reconciliation through its education, research, and faculty culture. We believe that fostering an environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, access to resources, and a strong sense of belonging is essential. We aim to advance culturally safe and effective care principles as part of our commitment to excellence. We strive to ensure better health and well-being for everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, location, socioeconomic status, or ability.
Our commitments and actions
What the School of Nursing is Doing
The I-GEN Pathway is a collaborative initiative across five British Columbia postsecondary institutions (UBC Vancouver, UBC Okanagan, University of Victoria, Thompson Rivers University, Trinity Western University), and serves to remove barriers to graduate education for Indigenous nurses. Graduates of the I-GEN pathway will continue on to leadership positions in healthcare. This project has received robust funding support from the BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, and the UBC Indigenous Strategic Initiative. The UBC Okanagan School of Nursing welcomed its first cohort of I-GEN Masters of Science in Nursing Pathway students in May 2024. Each IGEN student receives enhanced and culturally safe administrative support to pursue a Masters of Science in Nursing degree that meets their learning needs and professional goals.
What is the School of Health and Exercise Sciences doing
HES Indigenous Health Certificate: The goal of this project is to co-develop an Indigenous Health Certificate with members of Syilx nation and numerous other Indigenous perspectives located in and around the School of Health & Exercises at UBC Okanagan. This certificate will be available to students completing degrees at UBC Okanagan, and eventually open to community members working towards decolonize their professional and personal practices.
Workday Student Accessibility Tips: co-developed by Kathryn Douglas-Campbell (FHSD Manager, Strategic and Academic Initiatives) and the Centre for Workplace Accessibility, this document has been integrated into training materials that support the transition to Workday Student, UBC’s new student records and learner financial management system. This document introduces the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in learning a new software program. It outlines best practices for Transition Leads and people managers to support their teams in an accessible way.
Colleagues are engaging with various learning opportunities related to EDI hosted by the VPRI Office and the Faculty. These opportunities help colleagues better understand how to incorporate EDI-related matters throughout the research process from grant application to dissemination and implementation of results.
A number of colleagues within FHSD are specifically interested in EDI related research, especially related to social justice, Indigenous health, and wider health inequities.
Colleagues are aware of the underrepresentation of specific groups within research (both in terms of research participants and researchers themselves). Individuals, and the Faculty as a whole, are taking steps to address this within specific research projects (e.g. those designed to specifically examine sex-based differences or those that engage specific populations that have been historically, persistently, or systematically marginalized), and where possible, we are actively recruiting colleagues and trainees from under-represented groups.