Cultural safety presented by Nicole Hewlett, Project manager, PhD Candidate
Providing a culturally safe practice engages people who have avoided connecting with health care services. Within a culturally safe space people feel good and the care aligns with their needs.
A sign of cultural safety learning is getting uncomfortable, for non-indigenous viewers Nicole’s presentation is both eye-opening and challenging.
Take a minute to listen to a sound bite from Nicole's introduction
The presentation covers:
- The difference between cultural awareness and cultural safety
- The initial steps of ‘knowing’ and ‘being’ to delivering culturally responsive services.
‘Knowing’ incorporates the legacies of colonisation including the history of the Australia wars, broken trust and fear of the dominant system and the role of intergenerational trauma and shame.
‘Knowing’ also involves looking at the world from an Aboriginal perspective. The importance of family and kinship and being part of a collectivist community.
‘Being’ relates to unlearning many of our biases and stereotypes, addressing our fear of making mistakes and shifting our focus to the quality of the relationship.
Nicole Hewlett is a proud Palawa woman (south-east Lutruwita) and currently works with Aboriginal Medical Services on a number of culture-centred and healing-based projects at The University of Queensland (UQ). Previously, Nicole was the National Indigenous Manager for Indigenous Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (IPEPA) building the capacity of non-Indigenous and First Nations workforce to deliver culturally responsive, healing-informed and trauma aware palliative care to First Nations peoples.
To register for the presentation and associated documents including the assessment quiz click here