Transformation, Inspiration and Guidance: Celebrating 20 Years of Indigenous Excellence in Medicine

Thank you for joining us on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm (PST), for “Transformation, Inspiration and Guidance: Celebrating 20 Years of Indigenous Excellence in Medicine.” In this Indigenous Speaker Series session, we had a conversation with James Andrew, a member of Lil’wat Nation’s Mount Currie Band and the Associate Director of Indigenous Initiatives at the Faculty of Medicine. James Andrew has been a source of inspiration and guidance in helping to create and transform the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Indigenous MD Admissions Pathway – The Pathway. In 2022 the UBC Faculty of Medicine community celebrated 20 years of The Pathway as well as the Indigenous Family Medicine Residency Program, and over this time period more than 120 Indigenous doctors have graduated and are now serving communities across the province as family doctors, surgeons, pediatricians, and more.

Join us virtually on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm (PST), for “Transformation, Inspiration and Guidance: Celebrating 20 Years of Indigenous Excellence in Medicine.This virtual event is presented by the Indigenous Speakers Series

Speaker Bio

James Andrew, member of Lil’wat Nation’s Mount Currie Band, Associate Director of Indigenous Initiatives at the Faculty of Medicine

James Andrew, a member of Lil’wat Nation’s Mount Currie Band, has been with the University of British Columbia for more than 25 years. Twenty-one of those years has been with the Faculty of Medicine as the Indigenous Student Initiatives Manager where his role was to recruit and support the Indigenous medical students thru the Indigenous Pathway. The Indigenous Pathway program and the Indigenous Family Practice Residency recently celebrated their 20-year anniversary in November 2022. To date, UBC Faculty of Medicine’s MD program has graduated more than 130 Indigenous physicians. He is currently the Associate Director of Indigenous Initiatives, Office of the Vice Dean, Education, Faculty of Medicine.

Awards

  • Honorary Medical Alumni Award, UBC Medical Alumni Association, UBC Faculty of Medicine, Alumni Engagement, 2023
  • Indigenous Health Advocacy Award, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2023
  • Dean’s Staff Award, Respectful Environment, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, 2021.
  • 25 Year Club, Twenty-Five Years of Service, University of British Columbia, 2020.
  • Long Term Service Award-20 Years, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, 2016.
  • UBC President’s Staff Award, Advancing Diversity and Inclusion, University of British Columbia, 2013.
  • Visiting Scholar’s Award, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2001.

Moderator

Derek Thompson
Derek K Thompson – Thlaapkiituup, Indigenous Advisor

Description 

James Andrew has been a source of inspiration and guidance in helping to create and transform the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Indigenous MD Admissions Pathway – The Pathway. In 2022 the UBC Faculty of Medicine community celebrated 20 years of The Pathway as well as the Indigenous Family Medicine Residency Program, and over this time period more than 120 Indigenous doctors have graduated and are now serving communities across the province as family doctors, surgeons, pediatricians, and more.

Creating relevant and timely pathways to excellence in medicine for Indigenous – First Nations, Inuit, Métis – peoples leads to meaningful commitments in regards to Reckoning with the Truth and Working Together for a Better Future. As we turn toward the next part of the journey, we are entering a period of new optimism even as we face new challenges. From the tragedies of the past come the heartfelt hopes for the present as well as the future, the resolve to make transformative changes, and the faculty and ingenuity to do so. Let us all commit to making the journey to becoming a doctor, a surgeon, or any of the many and important health professionals safe, appropriate and inspiring in this era of telling the truth and reconciling for the future.

Please join me in this important conversation with James Andrew, and learn how we can make the next 20 years equally transformative and promising for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and communities.


Topic: Transformation, Inspiration and Guidance: Celebrating 20 Years of Indigenous Excellence in Medicine

Date: Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm PST


What Will I Learn?

You will learn about the Indigenous MD Admissions Pathway and the Indigenous Family Medicine Residency Program


Continue Learning

“The time to make things happen is now. The time to seek out our individual and shared power is now.”

Learn more about REDI’s Indigenous Initiatives here

Discover more about REDI’s Indigenous Initiatives Speakers Series here

Find REDI’s Indigenous-Specific Resources here