This article is part of How I Spent My Summer, a series of articles showcasing opportunities Dal students pursued over the past few months — from work-intergrated learning to research positions and more. Scroll to the bottom for more articles.
Road trips are often a staple of the summer months, so when Madison Dunbar opted to stay in Halifax rather than return home to Ontario this year, it’s only natural that some of her time was spent in the car exploring new places in Atlantic Canada.
Madison’s time on the road wasn’t all for leisure, though — as one of five students selected for the Faculty of Science’s John Dingle Science Communication internship program, she spent a summer placement with the Inclusive Pathways to Medical Professions (IPMP) cohort initiative, where her activities included attending gatherings hosted by Mi’kmaw communities across the region as part of outreach and recruitment efforts.
“Raising awareness for IPMP and representing Dal was a fun and rewarding experience,” says Madison, a fourth-year medical sciences student. “Interacting with the community was the highlight of my summer.”
First established in fall 2022, IPMP welcomes cohorts of 10 Indigenous and 10 African Nova Scotian students into the Medical Sciences BSc program each year on top of its regular enrollment, with the goal of increasing the number of students from underrepresented communities into other related health-care programs such as medicine and dentistry.
The program complements a range of other Dal initiatives aimed at increasing Indigenous representation in medicine and health-care fields, including the Faculty of Medicine’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies program that offers an Indigenous Admissions Pathway. The Faculty also removed the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) as a mandatory requirement for Mi’kmaw, Wolastoqiyik, and Peskotomuhkati applicants to Dal Medical School.
A warm welcome
Throughout the year, IPMP’s two cohort advisors, Kimberly Lickers (Indigenous) and Vanessa Jackson (African Nova Scotian) travel to spread the word about the initiative and strengthen ties between Dal and the two cohort communities.
This summer, Madison accompanied Lickers and representatives from other Dal programs in visiting Sitansisk (St. Mary’s First Nation), N.B., and Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton, N.S.
Pictured on right: Madison at Potlotek Frist Nation.
As a Medical Sciences student herself, Madison was a natural fit to engage with attendees of all ages at large gatherings known as Mawio’mis. While she admits to feeling nervous ahead of her first visit, she found the communities to be immediately welcoming, which put her at ease.
She even heard from Lickers that community members had commended her interactions with children at the Potlotek gathering, “which was a really nice compliment to receive.”
Those children even encouraged Madison to get up from her booth and join in a dance.
Looking ahead
When not on the road during the rest of the internship, Madison represented IPMP at the Dal-hosted Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada annual general meeting and a leadership conference for Indigenous youth from across Canada, helped order IPMP swag and print materials for future outreach events, and interviewed instructors for a series of social media posts.
“I saw the internship as the perfect opportunity to get more involved and increase my knowledge translation, communication, and writing skills,” she says.
Having just started her fourth year, Madison has medical school applications on her mind as she looks to a career as a physician. “The internship opened my eyes to some of the challenges faced by marginalized communities,” she says. “It has really shaped my goals and mission to better serve and support members of those communities.”