Dr. Nadine Caron helped create Canada’s first Indigenous-focused graduate certificate in public health at the University of British Columbia.Philomena Hughes/Supplied
Nadine Caron often hears the words of her mother, Mabel, in her head telling her she can overcome anything.
At 86, Mabel Caron has seen her daughter draw on those lessons of resilience to make history. Nadine Caron is the first female Indigenous general surgeon in Canada.
On Tuesday, residential school survivors such as Mabel and thousands of others will be recognized as part of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Commemorations will be held across Canada to acknowledge the cascading harms inflicted when Indigenous children were forced to attend government-funded, church-run institutions − and the generations of trauma that followed.
Dr. Caron, a member of the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, is committed to improving outcomes for future generations of Indigenous patients and medical learners.
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Throughout her life, Dr. Caron has succeeded when working toward a goal, including when she was a star player and captain of the women’s basketball team at Simon Fraser University in the 1990s. On the court, she sharpened skills, including how to work alongside others, that she draws from in operating rooms. Working alongside other medical professionals, Dr. Caron scrubs in and saves lives.
“It’s a big team and everyone is committed to the exact same goal,” Dr. Caron said in an interview. “There’s the honour of being in a situation, to be part of that team and the responsibility.”
Outside of the OR, Dr. Caron is a scholar looking to advance health equity for Indigenous patients. Earlier this year, she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. She co-leads the Silent Genomes Project, designed to address the underrepresentation of Indigenous populations in genomic databases. (Genomics involves the study of the complete set of human genes.)
“The work that I am so honoured to be part of is really to be a tiny cog in a massive system that helps to change the direction of where our country is going in the field of health care,” she said.
A key part of Dr. Caron’s work to try to effect change for future generations takes place at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health, where she serves as co-director.
Established in January, 2014, the centre was created after a consultation process with Indigenous communities, the First Nations Health Authority and other groups. It looks to advance Indigenous people’s health, including through education, research and traditional practice. Dr. Caron said she and her colleagues share in a unified passion: working to improve Canadian health care and policy.
Additionally, Dr. Caron works as an associate professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Surgery, teaching in the Northern Medical Program. In this role, the Prince George resident draws on her own experience in providing surgical oncology care for patients who live in rural areas.
As well, Dr. Caron, who also holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard, helped create Canada’s first Indigenous-focused graduate certificate in public health.
This experience, she said, has been incredible because it applies an Indigenous lens to lessons in public health. The program is open to 25 students and two courses are taught in both February and August. The certificate, she said, draws in individuals passionate about improving health and wellness in their communities. When she was completing her studies, Dr. Caron said, she couldn’t find a program in Canada with a specific focus on Indigenous heath policy, which fuelled her work in this area.
“Sometimes, when there’s something that you’re missing, one of the best things you can do is create it, for the people that are coming behind you,” she said.
Dr. Caron has another job title she takes very seriously – being a mother to her own daughter, Aliah.
Over the years, Dr. Caron says she’s brought Aliah to accompany her at numerous functions, including at board meetings, conferences, workshops and in the classroom. Her daughter is an avid athlete who studies kinesiology at the University of Calgary.
At 19, Aliah is her compass, guiding her understanding of how the younger generation sees the world. Dr. Caron said she draws inspiration from young people because they are both calling for change and are willing to be part of it.
“We have an incredible generation coming up that I don’t think will accept the status quo.”