MD student striving to improve Indigenous representation and cultural safety in Medicine
By Cam Buchan
Taylore Dupuis Shalovsky recalls the experience that helped determine her future.
Sitting in an undergraduate classroom at another university, she remembers a professor talk about Indigenous healing as an archaic example compared to how far “modern medicine” had come.
“As an Anishinaabe student, hearing this blatantly false information being taught to my classmates didn’t sit right with me,” said Shalovsky, also a fourth-year medical student at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “So, I went back to night-school to take my high-school courses in science and math so I could apply to medical school.”
Now through research, the opportunities to speak at conferences, and her work on Schulich Medicine’s Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee, Shalovsky is helping improve the opportunities for Indigenous medical students.
“Taylore is deeply passionate about creating equitable pathways for Indigenous students,” said George Kim, associate dean of Medical Admissions. “Her warm presence, thoughtful engagement and dedicated advocacy have contributed significantly to our Admissions team’s efforts to open doors for future Indigenous medical students at Schulich Medicine. We are immensely proud of her work and confident she has a bright future ahead.”
In a recent conversation, ahead of The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Shalovsky outlined her vision for becoming a culturally safe health-care provider and teaching others to be the same.
Truth and Reconciliation means a lot to my family. It means voicing the truth of our history for my Great Gran, who did not live long enough to hear an apology for what was done to her as a child. It means protecting our youth, so that the cycles of generational trauma do not continue to cause harm. And it means taking active steps to learn and to change the way Indigenous peoples are treated across Turtle Island – to heal the broken relationships and move forward together.
- Taylore Dupuis Shalovsky
Would you tell us what the experience of Truth and Reconciliation means to you and your family?
Truth and Reconciliation has historically been treated as simply words – labels to indicate that an institution is attempting to make a difference. But to Indigenous peoples, it means a lot more. And to institutions, it should mean tangible action to repair relationships.
My Great Gran, Eva, was a Residential School Survivor. She passed away shortly after I was born, but we keep her alive in our stories. My Great Gran lived in a cabin in the woods near our community, Sagamok Anishinawbek. She gave birth to her nine children at home to avoid them being taken by the Indian Residential School System, like she was. Her sacrifices are the reason why my family is so intact today, and we honor her by raising the newest generation within our Anishinaabe culture.
Truth and Reconciliation means a lot to my family. It means voicing the truth of our history for my Great Gran, who did not live long enough to hear an apology for what was done to her as a child. It means protecting our youth, so that the cycles of generational trauma do not continue to cause harm. And it means taking active steps to learn and to change the way Indigenous peoples are treated across Turtle Island – to heal the broken relationships and move forward together.
What are your goals as you look forward to a career in medicine?
My goal has always been to increase Indigenous representation in medicine. I have also been inspired to serve Indigenous patients. As an Indigenous woman, I have seen family members suffer from health-care related racism, and it is important to me that these injustices no longer occur in the health-care system. My goal is to become a culturally safe provider, and to also teach others how to be the same.
In January you received the 2024 Rising Star - certificate of excellence award from the Canadian Association for Medical Education. Tell me about that award and what it means to you.
I was honored to receive the CAME rising star award for my work in Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s Admissions Office. Over the past four years, I have sat on the Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee helping to select incoming applicants through the Indigenous Pathway. My roles have been in file review, student interviewer and researcher.
My main research focus was discussing how we can change admissions criteria for incoming Indigenous applicants, so it reflects Indigenous values. Moreover, to review the incoming students’ statistics and their overall success in completion of the MD program. My research showed that stats such as Grade Point Average (GPA) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) don’t actually correlate with success in the MD program – which left a question of what values do. It’s largely an upstream approach to increasing the number of Indigenous doctors on Turtle Island – starting by increasing the number of Indigenous medical learners.
What are some of the ways the number of Indigenous medical learners can be increased?
I can’t pretend to know all the answers, as I am only one Indigenous person, but I can give you my perspective. There are so many systemic barriers towards pursuing a medical education as an Indigenous person. For example, a lot of Indigenous people who grow up in community have to leave in order to pursue a high school education, let alone obtain a post-secondary education. The barriers to accessing education from a young age – such as proximity, lack of funding and inadequate housing – make it more difficult for Indigenous peoples to become physicians. Increasing the number of Indigenous doctors starts with making education accessible from a young age.
My work has largely been in decreasing barriers to entering medical school and ensuring we retain our Indigenous students. Ensuring we are not turning away smart, capable and community-driven Indigenous applicants will increase the number of Indigenous people in medicine.
There are plenty of other barriers to medicine for Indigenous peoples – such as past traumas, current discriminatory environments and lack of safe medical training. However, these are complex issues that require more than one solution. I hope that by increasing the number of Indigenous peoples in medicine, we will create safer spaces, both educational and clinical.
Describe what it means to deliver clinical care in a Good Way? Why is this an important goal?
To me, delivering care in a Good Way is in keeping with the Anishinaabe teachings of mino-bimaadiziwin which translates to “living life in a good way.” It encompasses a call to return to the teachings to deliver good patient care. To me, delivering good care involves care that incorporates the seven teachings of mino-bimaadiziwin, which encompasses reclaiming language, strengthening inter-relationality, inspiring intelligence of the mind by the intelligence of the heart, connecting to stories and spirituality and relating to the land. For me, I will try to practise care that is culturally grounded, patient centered, involves Indigenous values, strengthens self-capacity and comes from a place of compassion.
You mention combining traditional healing with contemporary medicine. Would you describe what that will look like in your career?
I used to think that in applying to medical school, I would be able to “prove” that Indigenous Healing is just as valuable as clinical medicine. But, as the years have gone on, I have realized that it is not something I need to prove to anyone – because our people know the value of Traditional Healing and that is all that matters. Now, my hopes of combining the two largely involve increasing my knowledge of Traditional Medicines and pharmaceuticals so that I can offer both in clinical practice. As a provider, I would like to attend medicine camps in order to learn more about Traditional Healing to be able to offer culture as cure. However, I can also incorporate Traditional Healing through dispersal of community resources. Having a deeper connection to resources can provide Indigenous patients with access to ceremony, circle and community. All of which create more opportunities for patients to seek care that is culturally grounded. I hope to continue to be an advocate for physicians to learn about their accessible Indigenous resources, and to encourage them to provide these to their Indigenous patients.
Your research and educational abilities were highlighted again this June at the CAEP. Tell me about that experience.
I was given the opportunity to speak about Delivering Care in a Good Way at the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), which was an empowering experience. I was surrounded by providers who had a strong willingness to learn and to better serve Indigenous patients.
As a medical student, it was incredibly daunting to talk about personal experiences and advise physicians on how to better care for Indigenous peoples. However, it provided me with connections across the country with likeminded individuals and allies.
In thinking about your research and conferences where you’ve presented, what does success look like in these endeavors?
Success for me has largely been about connecting with colleagues on national and international levels. By bringing forth issues, we can collaborate with colleagues and build communities to enact change. Individual discussions and finding common ground are the building blocks for my research in medical education.
Taking away a learning point from each of these conferences and projects led me to make new changes down the road. For example, when I discussed Schulich Indigenous Admissions statistics at the International Congress of Academic Medicine (ICAM), I was connected with numerous Indigenous physicians and medical students across Turtle Island. These connections both inspired and supported the development of the School’s first ever Indigenous Medical and Dental Student Association (IMDSA), which I co-founded this year to ensure that once we recruit Indigenous learners we are prepared to support them and provide them with community. The IMDSA is built upon the frameworks of numerous Indigenous student associations in medical schools across Turtle Island.
