A local surgeon and doctor is being honoured with a major award from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada.
Dr Nadine Caron is the recipient of the ‘Dr Thomas Dignan Indigenous Health Award’
Caron was the very first aboriginal woman to graduate from the UBC School of Medicine, back in 1997.
Many already have, but Caron is hoping even more will follow in her steps.
“That is something UBC has been working on for years. I remember working on that whole issue as a medical student when I looked around and there was no one else I could turn to say ‘how do you feel about being First Nations or being aboriginal in this career’”
She went on to get her Masters of Public Health from Harvard before settling in Prince George where she is a surgeon and faculty member of the UNBC Northern Medical program. She is also the project lead for the Northern Biobank initiative. (previous story)
She co-created the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health, becoming a role model for both aboriginal peoples and women who want to enter medicine. She does her best to take her message out into the community to inspire aboriginal students.
“This is what I do, I love it and I am not special or different. Anything that I am doing, you can do, expect you probably have more opportunities. Just believe in what I say, and if anyone tells you differently they are not telling you the truth.”
Being Ojibwa herself, Caron says she has always felt a sense of personal responsibility to try to “do her part” to address the long list of inequalities that face indigenous people in Canada. She also looks into the past for inspiration, using the Truth and Reconciliation Commision as a “tool in her back pocket.”
“It hits home, my mom went to residential school. And I just have so much respect for the history and why as Canadians we are responsible to learn it.”
On the award itself, she called it an “absolute honour”, also stating it’s great that the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada present this award and “recognises that indigenous health is this important.”
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
