DocTalks vodcast: Cultural safety, humility, and Truth and Reconciliation in the health care system

In this latest episode of the Doc Talks vodcast, Doctors of BC President, Dr Ramneek Dosanjh, hosts a roundtable discussion with guests Dr Shannon McDonald, Dr Nel Wieman, and Dr Kelsey Louie from the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) to discuss the important issue of cultural safety, humility, and Truth and Reconciliation in the health care system. In this episode they also discussed the journey of Truth and Reconciliation, what doctors should know about this important issue, providing culturally safe care and promoting equity, and their hopes for the future.

Dr Shannon McDonald, Chief Medical Officer at the FNHA in BC, is proudly Métis/Anishinabe with deep roots in the Red River Valley of Manitoba, and a trained physician with post-graduate medical training in Community Medicine and Psychiatry. Dr McDonald has worked for over 25 years in the area of Indigenous health, with broad experience at multiple levels of health care service delivery and health administration in both provincial and federal contexts.

Dr Nel Wieman is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the FNHA in British Columbia. She is Anishinaabe from Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Manitoba and completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University. Canada's first female Indigenous psychiatrist, Dr Wieman has more than 20 years' clinical experience, working with Indigenous people in both rural/reserve and urban settings. Dr Wieman served as the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada from 2016 - 2022.

Dr Kelsey Louie is a member of the Tla'Amin First Nation (pronounced "Claw-ah-men"), a Coast Salish community located along the beautiful Sunshine Coast. He completed UBC's Indigenous Family Medicine program and has remained a visitor in Lekwungen speaking peoples territory where he splits time both clinically and non-clinically with the FNHA as a Senior Medical Officer.

Watch the full episode.