Contemporary Indigenous Health: A Nursing Practice Reflection Report

This report utilizes Gibbs' reflective cycle to analyze personal attitudes, perceptions, and biases towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people before and after engaging with a dedicated subject. It explores initial stereotypes regarding Indigenous culture, social structure, and capabilities, contrasting them with newfound understandings gained through course materials and Yarning Circle activities. The report details how these changed perceptions will positively impact future nursing practice, emphasizing the importance of cultural competence, respectful communication, and informed decision-making in providing healthcare to Indigenous communities. Frameworks like the ABCD cultural assessment model, REM framework, and UTS Graduate Attributes are integrated to illustrate the shift in perspective and commitment to culturally sensitive nursing care. The report concludes by highlighting the practical application of these insights, aiming to bridge healthcare disparities and foster trust within Indigenous populations.

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Introduction
Gibbs model of reflection is a theoretical model that is often used as a framework for
self evaluation. It was created by Graham Gibbs in 1998 (Hosseinzadeh and Dadich,
2016). It explains that a reflective cycle should have six stages. They include
description stage, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. The
Gibbs reflective cycle helps to challenge assumptions that a person holds and to
explore various different new ideas and approaches towards thinking about
something. It also helps in linking theory with practical activities. This report
discusses my attitudes, biases, and myths towards Aboriginal and Torres Islanders.
The perceptions and attitudes are discussed in depth using Gibbs model before
learning this subject. In addition to this, the report also discusses the impact that this
subject has had on my future nursing practice of Aboriginal and Torres Islander
people. The report discusses in detail how my perception and myths about the
Aboriginals has changed since learning this subject and how it will help me to
practice nursing in this community (Levett-Jones, 2018). The three Yarning Circle
activities that are discussed in this essay include; Thursday Island and Kahoot quiz,
stimulation workshop and chronic disease in indigenous communities. Throughout
this essay, REM framework, UTS Graduate Attributes and ABCD Cultural
assessment models are used. This models help in understanding the culture of the
indigenous community. The national competency standards for registered nurses are
discussed and applied in this essay.
Task 1
Before learning this subject, I had many assumptions and biases concerning the
Aboriginal and Torres Islanders. This perceptions and biases were influenced by the
things I heard from different people concerning the indigenous people. This shaped
my attitude towards the Aboriginals. One of the perception I had about the indigenous
people is that the Aboriginal people are primitive and nomadic (Healey, 2014). When
I was growing up, I heard many stories about the Aboriginal people and how they had
no education nor civilization. I thought that the people lived only in forests and none
of them had access to modern education. I also thought that they had no permanent
homes and hence they kept moving from one place to another in search for food and
water. I also had the perception that the Aboriginals used primitive hunting and

gathering methods and had no modern clothing (Adegbija, Hoy and Wang, 2015). The
bad thing about my experience is that it led me to believing that the indigenous people
are not intellectually capable as compared to other people. After learning this subject,I
came to realize that the aboriginal people are intelligent and are not primitive as I had
believed earlier. The experience helped me to understand that the Aboriginals and
Torres Islanders are civilized and learned (Australian Institute Of Health And
Welfare, 2017). After learning this subject I realized that there are indigenous people
who are professors and doctors in different colleges and universities in Australia. The
thing that I would have done differently is that I would treat the indigenous people
with more respect and interact with them more to understand their culture.
Before learning this subject, I had a perception that the indigenous people had no
complex laws and were not organized socially. I always thought that the people did
not adhere to the Law of Australia and they were governed by unwritten code of
behavior which was not strictly adhered to. I had the stereotype that the Aboriginals
and Torrent Islanders were not organized into social groupings such as clans or any
other social groups. The good thing about the experience of learning this subject is
that I realized the Aboriginal people do not have complex rules and that they are
governed by a simple code of behavior that is passed from generation to
generation(Clark, 2011). I was surprised to realize that the Aboriginals had very
organized social life. They are organized in large families which form clans. The
community is very closely knit. The people have social events such as cultural
festivals which help them in bonding with one another.
I had heard from friends that the Aboriginals are drunks and violent. This made me
fear and develop a bad attitude towards the indigenous people. Whenever I met an
Aboriginal person, I always thought of them as people who are always drunk and they
liked confrontations and fights. I had heard about how the people drink their
traditional brew and that many of the people were addicted to drugs. I was however
shocked to learn that the Aboriginal people are very orderly and peaceful. This was
after I made some friends during the experience. I learned that there are indigenous
people who have never engaged in drinking and that they are very warm and friendly.

The other stereotype I had about the Aboriginals is that they are lazy and depend too
much on welfare. I thought that the people live in rural areas drinking alcohol and
have no time to work and improve their lives (Wangerek, 2012). I developed this
perception because I had heard that the people depend on aid from the government
and other organizations. The government spends a lot of many on the people as an
affirmative action to help improve their lives and hence most of them were lazy and
were not interested in working hard like the rest of the people (Walker, 2007). During
my learning experience, I realized that the aboriginals are hardworking that changed
my perception. I realized that there are many aboriginal people who own businesses
and others who carry out farming activities and are not dependent on aid.
Task 2
This subject has had a great impact on my future nursing practice. Learning the
subject has helped me to respect cultural values, beliefs, life experiences, and health
practices. This will be very important when practicing nursing among the Aboriginals
and Torres Islanders because, the people living in this community are very
conservative. The ABCD cultural assessment model provides a structure for
undertaking cultural assessment. Factors such as attitude, beliefs, context and
decision-making style are crucial in assessing the culture. It will therefore be very
important for me to understand the cultural values of the Aboriginals and respect them
while undertaking my nursing roles. Learning the subject will help me to understand
the culture of the people relating to palliative care and other aspects of health care
(Eckermann, 2010). According to the AHPRA standards for RNs, it is important to
consider cultural values of a patient when making decisions involving their health.For
example in the simulation exercise conducted, I was able to get an introduction from
the patients siblings before starting treating the patient. Through introduction to the
family of Judy, I was able to understand the family values and hence respect them as I
undertake my daily duties. I was able to understand the environment that Judy is
living and hence I gave advice which helped to reduce the risk of the patient acquiring
Learning the subject will help me to improve my communication skills. The
Aboriginals and Torres Islanders speak very different languages and some of them are
not able to communicate in English (Australian Institute of Health And Welfare,

2017). Learning this subject will help me to understand how best to communicate
with the local communities so as to provide high quality health care. For example,
after watching the Thursday Island film. I realized that people living there speak
different indigenous languages and that most of the people cannot communicate in
English. This will therefore help me to be ready with a translator who will help me to
communicate with the people living in the community.
Learning the subject will also help me to understand the attitudes of the local
community in regard to; meaning of life, truth telling when it comes to diagnosis,
communicating about death and traditional healing practices versus Western health
care. This is an important concept of ABCD cultural assessment model. In addition to
this the subject will help me when am a registered nurse since it has helped me to
understand the patients religious and spiritual beliefs. This will be critical in
understanding the patients while providing health care services.
With the experience that I have after learning this subject, I will be able to understand
the decision making style of the Aboriginals and Torres Islanders. When I will be
practicing nursing, I will be aware of who makes health care decisions in the family
and who are the right people to talk to on family health matters (Murphy, Goossen, &
Weber, 2017). For example chronic diseases such as respiratory diseases and
circulatory diseases are more common among the Aboriginals than in other regions
(Queensland Health, 2010). The indigenous people refuse to disclose their illness and
they fail to seek professional treatment and hence many of them end up dying.
Learning this subject will help me to encourage indigenous people on chronic diseases
and the need for seeking treatment.
Conclusion
This report describes the Gibbs Model of reflection and applies the model in
analyzing my attitudes, perceptions and beliefs that I had towards the Aboriginals and
the Torres Islanders. I had the perception that the indigenous people are very primitive
and I thought they are all uneducated. I also had the perception that they have no
social organizations and they are evil and have no religion. After learning this subject,
I was surprised to realize that most of my perceptions were wrong. I learned that there

are many positive attributes about the indigenous people and I interacted with them
more. The report also discusses how the things learned in the subject will assist me
when practicing nursing among the indigenous people.

References
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