December 17, 2024

When Christian Allera joined Can-SOLVE CKD Network as the BC Kidney Check lead nurse in August 2024, one of the ways he prepared for his new role was by doing cultural competency training from the Learning Pathway, an eight-step training pathway focused on supporting respectful engagement with Indigenous peoples.  

For researchers and health care providers working closely with Indigenous people, which includes Can-SOLVE CKD’s Kidney Check program, this type of training is especially important. 

We recently connected with Allera to hear his initial reflections on his cultural competency training and how he hopes to apply it to his work in First Nations communities with Kidney Check. 

Indigenous-led training leads to more respectful care 

After graduating from the nursing program at McMaster University in Ontario in 2020, Allera spent a couple of years working as a nurse in rural areas in northern Ontario. Through this position, he gained some experience working with Indigenous peoples, but he notes that the cultural competency training he has taken since starting with the Kidney Check program has taken this knowledge and desire for respectful care to new levels.

“It provided me with a framework to help guide how I talk with Indigenous people,” he explains. “So, starting off by just actively listening to patients’ perspectives about their health, and not necessarily imposing our Western beliefs onto them.” 

For Allera, San’yas training—an Indigenous-led and developed initiative of PHSA Indigenous Health that is part of the Learning Pathway—illustrated the deep-rooted, systemic barriers put on Indigenous peoples that continue to this day. He believes the historical context he learned through the training will help him better empathize with Indigenous community members and understand their needs.  

Conversations with community members create genuine connections 

Kidney Check is a first-of-its-kind kidney health screening program originally developed and implemented in Manitoba First Nations that engages rural and remote First Nations communities across much of Turtle Island. The program allows each Nation to implement the program in a way that suits the unique values, needs, and cultures of its people.  

While some communities may have a local nurse complete the screening if one is present, often this is not the case. As the program’s main nurse, Allera will go into Indigenous communities to conduct screening, upon invitation.  

So far, Allera has travelled with other members of the Kidney Check team to three different Nuu-chah-nuth communities (Hupacasath, Ucluelet, and Ahousaht) and screened Haida members in Skidegate, where he’s had the opportunity to listen to stories from community members.  He says it was an incredible chance to connect with both the land and people.  

“If they want to share their stories, then we’re there to listen,” Allera says, adding that part of providing care is making sure people feel heard, and acknowledging their concerns and experiences. “Each person we interact with is so different and has their own stories. I feel so grateful to just be in that presence and have a chance to listen to their lives.” 

He adds that it has also been great to hear feedback on the Kidney Check program from community members, who have expressed gratitude for the opportunity to receive testing within their own community, rather than having to travel far to receive care.   

Since the program’s inception, more than 500 individuals from rural and remote Indigenous communities in BC have been screened, and Allera will continue to engage with new communities to increase kidney health screening access moving forward. While his cultural competency training has laid important foundations for his work within the project, he says it’s important for all health care professionals to take cultural competency training and apply it across all health care settings. 

To learn more about the Learning Pathway and access the different modules within it, visit our Learning Pathway page.  

L-R: Jessiquita Madrid (Home & Community Care Program, Team Lead XaaydaGa Dlaang Society Skidegate Health Centre), Christian Allera (BC Kidney Check nurse) and Catherine Turner (BC Kidney Check coordinator)