Aboriginal nursing student success: A phenomenological exploration of elements of success within post secondary nursing education

National organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations, the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, and the Native and Inuit Nurses Association agree that Aboriginal health care providers best serve the health care needs of Aboriginal people. Nonetheless, the number of Aboriginal Registered Nurses remains small relative to the Aboriginal population, which is currently experiencing significant growth and will be an important source of Canada’s workforce by 2017. The implication is that the need for Aboriginal health care professionals will also continue to grow as the population increases. This dissertation explores the lived experience for five Aboriginal registered nurses who attended three different universities, in a western Canadian province over different periods of time, as they recount the stories of their educational experiences in an undergraduate nursing programme. The impact of the social and historical events of Aboriginal people in Canada is unavoidably part of this exploration and provides context for their experiences. Using a human science model of phenomenology, informed by Husserl and described by Clark Moustakas, the stories are reduced to the essences of the experience, which illuminate the elements of success, and point out the deficiencies in a post secondary system intended to support them. All participants experienced racism, isolation, and ignorance in varying degrees during their educational programmes. These experiences transcended age, nation affiliation, geography and educational institution and tied these women uniquely together. Family support, mentorship, recognition of the Aboriginal self and maintenance of Aboriginal culture emerged as the tools contributing to their success. In the final analysis, the study highlights a perceived lack of responsibility by educational institutions to alter colonial attitudes and western teaching methods and notes a failure to put into action the fundamental changes required to transform a marginalizing experience to a meaningful one for Aboriginal nursing students.