Indigenous Cultural Safety (ICS) Learning Opportunities

Cultural safety and cultural humility are foundational in the provision of fair and equitable health care. Because family doctors are the first point of contact for many individuals seeking health care, it is crucial that our members understand how their values, assumptions, beliefs, and privileges may affect the therapeutic relationship with patients. As outlined in the BC government’s In Plain Sight Report (2020), Indigenous patients are specifically impacted by widespread systemic racism, stereotyping, and discrimination under colonialism, including residential schools, Indian hospitals, the Indian Act and its policies, and the Sixties Scoop and Millennial Scoop.

The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) defines cultural safety “as an outcome based on respectful engagement that recognizes and strives to address power imbalances inherent in the health care system. It results in an environment free of racism and discrimination, where people feel safe when receiving health care.” Cultural safety supports respectful communication and patient-provider interactions, and positively improves health and clinical outcomes.

This outcome begins with self-refl­ective practice, which is known as cultural hum​ility: “a process of self-reflectio​n to understand personal and systemic biases and to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust. Cultural humility involves humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner when it comes to understanding another’s experience.”

To support your ICS learning, we have compiled a list of courses and professional development opportunities. – updated August 2025