Make a difference in your own leadership practice.
Do you understand the impact of your current actions on others’ experience of cultural safety in MAiD? Can you share some examples of biases you hold as a person of privilege, and explain how these biases impact your work? When you envision culturally safe care in MAiD, is that vision one that was presented to you by an Indigenous person or people?
If you answered “No”, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure” to any of those questions, you might benefit from the TEOH Reflective Action Module. Adapted from Royal Roads University’s First Person Action Research journal, this module will set you up to critically evaluate your actions, reactions, judgements, and experiences as a leader supporting MAiD. You will be encouraged to focus on how you listen to those around around (relational practice) and how you uphold the recommendations from In Plain Sight and TRC.
You will need:
15 - 30 minutes of time blocked out per day, every day, for six weeks.
a journal (hard copy or a digital file, however you prefer to write)
a “knowledge partner”: a person who knows you and is comfortable offering feedback and engaging with you on this topic. It is ideal for your knowledge partner to understand MAiD, Indigenous culture, or both.
one or more books or courses about Indigenous experiences of healthcare to read during this project.
this template, with instructions: [download here]
How to start:
before you begin, have a conversation with your knowledge partner about why you want to do this reflective practice, and what you are hoping to achieve.
if you plan on using this practice to identify possible program or policy improvements you could champion, it might be a good idea to discuss your plans with your own leadership.
think about how you would like to journal. You could write narratives, draw, take voice records, lean into a free flowing style of writing or something more structured. You will need to do this for six weeks, so it should be sustainable, and you will need to analyze your writing, so you should feel what you are doing is intuitive and understandable.
What will the next six weeks look like?:
every day, you will write about interactions, decisions, and judgements you have made throughout the day. At the end of each week, you will think critically about what you’ve journaled, identify themes, and explain what you think you could have done differently.
after two weeks of the above, you will meet your knowledge partner (in person or over a video platform) to discuss some of the themes you’ve identified and what they might mean for your current leadership practice. With your knowledge partner, you will agree to “homework” or actions you will incorporate into your practice for the next two weeks.
for weeks three and four, you will repeat your reflective journaling cycle, this time paying extra attention to the barriers you encounter as a leader.
in your second knowledge partner meeting, you will review your progress on your homework, share any new or continuing themes, and talk about barriers in your leadership. You will find new homework, this time aimed at learning how to overcome the barriers you identified.
during weeks five and six, your journaling cycle will focus on ideal future practice. Think about the previous four weeks and what you would need to accomplish your vision. Discuss this with your knowledge partner, and work with them to identify some long-term leadership goals. Is there anything more you could do to uphold the recommendations? How about your listening practice?
What do I do when I am “done”?:
practice your long-term leadership goals.
share your findings and goals with others.
consider acting as a knowledge partner for someone else who would like to use the module.
continue to develop relationships that will help you support cultural safety in MAiD.
continue to hold yourself accountable for your knowledge and actions.