Your Generosity Creates New Pathways: The Indigenous Health Summer Student Program at Victoria Hospital

When Courtney reflects on her childhood growing up Métis in Inuvik, she remembers the closeness of community and the importance of tradition. Now a mother of three and a second-year nursing student at the University of Manitoba, she carries those same values on her journey to become a healthcare professional.

“I want my kids to grow up proud of who they are,” she says. “And I want Indigenous patients to feel like they belong in the hospital. That starts with seeing people who look like them, people who understand their culture.”

That vision of a healthcare system that reflects and serves the community it cares for is at the heart of the Indigenous Health Summer Student Program, which ran this summer at Victoria Hospital thanks to your support. The program places Indigenous students in roles across the healthcare system that provide opportunities to learn and celebrate culture.

For Courtney, the placement was transformative. What she thought might be “just an office job” quickly became an opportunity to make a lasting impact. She completed various tasks to strengthen the hospital community, handling everything from design to scheduling. Her work supported efficiency and quality standards, contributed to improved responsiveness, enhanced communication and accessibility of resources, and improved hospital operations.

She also played a pivotal role in projects that uplift Indigenous voices. A highlight she recalls was the opportunity to help lead a signage initiative where Inuit and Métis perspectives were intentionally represented alongside First Nations. It isn’t about symbols on the wall; for Courtney, this was about visibility, respect, and belonging for entire communities.

The program also created space for cultural learning and healing. Through workshops on drumming, medicine harvesting, the Seven Sacred Teachings, and teachings from Elders, Courtney deepened her own connection to her heritage while also helping bring that knowledge into the hospital environment. “There’s no one way to be Indigenous,” she reflects. “And there’s no one path into healthcare. This program makes room for both.”

Perhaps the most meaningful were the human connections. While doing her bed inventory, Courtney took the time to sit with patients, listen to their stories, and offer comfort.

“Sometimes, just being seen helps,” Courtney says. “Even something as small as a symbol on my lanyard lets patients know: you belong here.”

That presence matters deeply. Indigenous people make up more than 18% of Manitoba’s population but represent only 3% of the healthcare workforce in Canada. At the same time, Indigenous patients face a disproportionately high number of health issues and barriers within the healthcare system. For many, hospitals can feel intimidating or unsafe, and representation through students like Courtney helps change that.

Courtney left the program feeling proud and determined to return to Victoria Hospital as a nurse.

Her advice to future students is simple but bold: “Be loud. Be proud. Don’t shrink yourself to fit in. You’re not ‘just’ a student. You’re part of something bigger.”

The Indigenous Health Summer Student Program is reconciliation in action, ensuring Indigenous students have opportunities to thrive, and Indigenous patients see themselves represented in the care they receive – and it is all possible thanks to your ongoing generosity.

“This isn’t just a program,” Courtney says. “It’s change. It’s hope. And it’s proof that reconciliation isn’t just words.”