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Patient Consultant, Expanding Cultural Safety and Humility in Social Work at Providence Health Care

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Open to Fraser – Vancouver Coastal, Patient partners in Lower Mainland & Fraser Valley

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Do you identify as Indigenous, Inuit or Métis and are interested in consulting with the Social Work Department to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action for health care at the Providence Health Care sites? Read on to learn more!

Open to: Patient partners in Lower Mainland & Fraser Valley

Lead Organization or Department

Providence Health Care, Social Work Department

Aim

The aim of this opportunity is to develop an environment that works towards providing culturally safe care. Our intention is to do this by identifying ways to implement the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action for health care as a department, as individual practitioners and as an organisation. The purpose of engaging a patient partner is to ensure we consider Indigenous perspectives and that the actions planned around truth and reconciliation are appropriate and relevant. The patient partner will be asked to meet regularly with representatives of the department to give their perspectives, provide feedback, consultation and ideas to guide actions which demonstrate cultural humility.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

Eligibility

  • Person(s) of Indigenous (First Nations/Inuit/Métis) heritage
  • Preference is for patient partners who have experienced care for themselves or a loved one at a Providence Health Site (e.g. St. Paul’s Hospital) but is not required
  • Comfortable sharing your experience with staff at different levels in the organization, and expressing your perspective
  • Ability to provide constructive feedback and consultation to small group of professionals
If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and volunteer agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact the engagement leader directly.

Logistics

  • Vacancies: 2
  • Monthly meetings will be held at St Paul's Hospital during business hours. One hour meetings will typically be scheduled for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
  • In person participation is preferred, but teleconference lines can be provided if required.
  • We would hope that this process could establish a framework for fostering strong ties between the department and the patient partners.
  • Recognizing that there is the potential for discussions to be triggering or traumatic, during the first meeting the team will discuss with the patient partners what supports they would find appropriate and ensure requested resources are available to them through the process.
  • Expected commitment is for an initial 6 - 12 months, then we will evaluate progress and patient partner interest in continuing on this work

Reimbursement

Expenses related to travel (i.e. transit, parking up to $18/day, approved mileage up to 60 km each way) will be reimbursed by PHC.

Background

In line with Providence Health’s commitment to cultural safety and humility, and recent organizational alignment with First Nations Health Authority the Social Work department proposed working collaboratively to look at how the Calls to Action could be implemented; with full leadership support, they have decided to move forward with this work, considering the history of the role of social work, and the efforts needed to work towards Truth and Reconciliation. Participating in this work will be:
  • Liz Vick, Social Worker Palliative Care Unit
  • Teresa Robitaille, Social Work Site Leader St. Paul’s Hospital
  • Meghan McMenamie, Social Work Site Leader Mt. St. Joseph’s and Holy Family Hospital
  • Harvey Bosma, Professional Practice Leader Social Work Providence Health Care

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Karen Estrin
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Lower Mainland & Sunshine Coast
604.668.8245
kestrin@bcpsqc.ca

 

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