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Professional Portfolio Assignment - Part D

Brooklynn Wiggers

PRNU 115

Vancouver Island University

March 30 2023

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LA #2 Reflection #1-Reflection-On-Action

Focus Question - How do my beliefs about Indigenous health needs compare to what I previously

believed?

At the beginning of this nursing program I did not have much knowledge about the

Indigenous culture. Throughout our PRNU 105 course last semester and the PRN U 115 this

semester, I have been able to gain knowledge about the Indigenous culture as well as their

experiences in health care. I was unaware of the struggles they face day to day as well as when

they are needing to seek healthcare. Prior, I believed that their health care needs matched with

everyone else’s, but I have since learned that is not correct. The health care of Indigenous people

requires more sensitivity and understanding. As a nurse providing care for an Indigenous person,

we must stop and ask questions, to learn from them. We need to provide cultural sensitive care to

them and respect their view of health care. My on-action reflection is when one of my classmates

shared that their grandparent attended one of the residential schools. One thing I learned from

this reflection was that it affects those directly close to you. Hearing this story from my

classmate made me stop and realize how this is not just one of those random news story you hear

about and then it goes away. This is something that happened that will affect those people and

their love ones for life and throughout generations.

Need To Know/Research

Having the understanding that I myself, did not have a broad understanding of Indigenous

culture and health, my focus from this reflection was to further that understanding in that field.

To further my knowledge in this focus area and provide myself with a better understanding, I

read closely through the “The Residential School System” article on the Indigenous foundations

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UBC website (Hanson, 2009). This website article provided me with a lot of great information

on past history of the Indigenous culture and how their health care is affected. This article also

explained what the leading factors were that led to the implementation of residential schools.

These residential schools left a lifelong impact on all Indigenous people and will affect them for

the rest of their lives as well as their families lives. We need to treat all people with dignity,

compassion, and non-judgmental acceptance. It is our duty to provide our patients from all

cultures and backgrounds with a safe health care environment where we can gain their trust.

LA #5 Reflection #2-Reflection-In-Action

Focus Question - What is my definition of ethics, ethical practice and harm reduction principles?

Throughout our PRNU 105 and PRNU 115 courses we have talked a lot about ethics and

ethical practice. To me, the definition of ethics is the way one treats others and how they think

about others and the world. I believe a person with ‘good’ ethical practice treats all people

respectfully and equal while providing them with a high standard of care. Care for others should

be done in a non-judgemental manner, that is specific to the persons needs and values. We should

not only use ethics and ethical practice while nursing but we should be during day to day life. In

regards to harm reduction principles, this is something I am not overly proficient in and would

like to further educate myself on. From a quick glance over the article “Integrating a Harm

Reduction Approach in Nursing” article on the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta website

the statement “A harm reduction approach aligns with a nurse's responsibility to use critical

inquiry and evidence-informed knowledge to protect and promote an individual's right to

autonomy, respect, privacy, and dignity.” (CRNA, 2018) stood out to me and is a great way to

define harm reduction principles in nursing:

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Need To Know/Research

Having the understanding that I myself, was not proficient in harm reduction principles,

my focus from this reflection was to further my knowledge and understanding in that field. To do

this, I read through the article “Integrating a Harm Reduction Approach in Nursing” from the

College of Registered Nurses of Alberta website in depth a couple times to ensure I had a solid

understanding of harm reduction principles. Now that I have a clear understanding of what these

harm reduction principles are I can personally educate my patients, patient family members,

colleagues, and others in the field of harm reduction. This is a great resource to have that I will

utilize continuously throughout my nursing career. My biggest take away from this reflection

was that we should all approach substance with “pragmatism” which is the act of viewing

substance use as an inevitable part of human existence. Substance use is going to be present

wherever you work as a nurse and we need to treat every person with dignity, compassion, and

non-judgmental acceptance. The prevalence of substance use in the world right now is at an all

time high so there is no better time than to learn about harm reduction principles and put it in

action.

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References

CRNA (2018). Integrating a Harm Reduction Approach in Nursing. https://nurses.ab.ca/media/

w20owzab/integrating-a-harm-reduction-approach-to-nursing-practice-advice-2018.pdf

Hanson, Erin (2009). The Residential School System. Indigenous Foundations. https://

indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/