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Anti-Racism Resources for Health Professionals
In June 2020, College CEO & Registrar, Bob Nakagawa, pledged the College’s commitment to developing a plan to guide our organization in raising awareness of, and combatting the racism faced by Black People in BC. In order to achieve this, the College established an internal working group to help lead the change and identify ways to address racism within our health system.
Since then, the College’s Black Lives Matter Working Group has been working to develop an organizational framework to guide the College as we move toward a more equitable future for Black Canadians. As part of these efforts, the College is working to provide anti-racism training and education for all its staff. We recognize that as an organization and a health profession regulator, learning about systemic oppression, social justice, privilege, identity and allyship is fundamental to our work moving forward. While this is only a first step, and there is still a long way to go, we remain committed to ensuring that all British Columbians receive safe and ethical pharmacy care, and that they are treated with dignity and respect.
Self-education for health professionals is also especially important in addressing the unconscious or implicit biases that are all too present within our health system. These biases are the root cause of frequent stereotyping and discrimination toward many non-white British Columbians and need to be acknowledged and understood by all those working within our health system.
As one of the most accessible health care professions, BC’s pharmacy professionals have an opportunity to improve the care provided to all British Columbians by learning about history and culture of white supremacy, understanding how unconscious or implicit biases could affect their practice and the quality of pharmacy care British Columbians receive.
The College encourages registrants to take the time to learn about anti-racism and equity and how to better incorporate them into their individual practices.
The College’s Black Lives Matter Working Group has reviewed a number of anti-racism training options, tools and resources which can help support health professionals begin their journey toward addressing racism and discrimination within the health care system.
Challenging Racist British Columbia: 150 Years and Counting
150 Years and Counting (150YC) is a new open-access, multi-media resource that documents how this recent cycle of anti-racist activism is part of a broader history of Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities challenging white supremacy for over 150 years – particularly since 1871 when BC joined Canada. Co-authored by activists and scholars from diverse communities, this resource will assist anti-racist educators, teachers, scholars, and policymakers in piercing the silences that too often have let racism fester in communities, corporations, and governments. 150YC is co-produced by the UVIC History project Asian Canadians on Vancouver Island: Race, Indigeneity and the Transpacific and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – BC Office.
The Government of Canada – Anti-Racism Learning Series
The Anti-Racism Learning Series was designed to provide information on issues around racism and systemic barriers that exist for marginalized and racialized groups in Canada.
It provides access to tools, job aids, courses, workshops and events on topics such as anti-Black racism, unconscious bias, disaggregated data, mental health and the challenges faced by visible minorities in the public service.
Canadian Race Relations Foundation – Webinar Series
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation regularly hosts webinars on a variety of topics related to racism, race relations, and multiculturalism in Canada. Past webinar information, including video recordings, can be found below.
University of British Columbia – Anti-Racism Strategies for the Workplace
This 3-week course, offered by UBC, will help registrants expand your understanding of anti-racist work, and the historic and current realities of racism in Canada. You’ll learn from the perspectives and experiences of racialized professionals to consider the commitment, courage and creativity required to dismantle racism within organizations both on micro and macro levels.
Tidal Equality’s Equity Sequence
Tidal Equality's Equity Sequence is an evidence-based practice designed to help you immediately contribute to making more equitable decisions, wherever you work, learn and play.
It uses a practical and data-driven framework that equips you to weave equity and inclusion into everyday life and work.
The course includes a compelling primer on bias and inequality, an introduction to the Equity Sequence questions, and then you practice the questions on real-world, relevant case studies, before you have the opportunity to apply the Equity Sequence to something you’re working on already.
We recognize that there are many other valuable anti-racism training and resources available and we encourage you to explore beyond the list provided above.
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- BC’s Health Regulators Welcome Report from Investigation into Indigenous-Specific Racism
- In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care
- Registrar’s Message: Doing Our Part
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