Møller Helle
Department of Health Sciences, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada.
Int J Circumpolar Health. 2013 Aug 5;72. doi: 10.3402/ijch.v72i0.21266. eCollection 2013.
The health and educational systems in Greenland and Nunavut are reflections of those in Denmark and Southern Canada, with the language of instruction and practise being Danish and English. This places specific demands on Inuit studying nursing.
This paper discusses the experiences of Inuit who are educated in nursing programmes and practise in healthcare systems located in the Arctic but dominated by EuroCanadian and Danish culture and language.
Research was qualitative and ethnographic. It was conducted through 12 months of fieldwork in 5 Greenlandic and 2 Nunavut communities.
Observation, participant observation, interviews, questionnaires and document review were used. The analytical framework involved Bourdieu's concepts of capital and habitus.
Participants experienced degrees of success and well-being in the educational systems that are afforded to few other Canadian and Greenlandic Inuit. This success appeared to be based on nurses and students possessing, or having acquired, what I call "double culturedness"; this makes them able to communicate in at least 2 languages and cultures, including the ability to understand, negotiate and interact, using at least 2 ways of being in the world and 2 ways of learning and teaching.
There continues to be a critical need for Inuit nurses with their special knowledge and abilities in the healthcare systems of the Arctic. Inuit nurses' experiences will help inform the education and healthcare systems and point to areas in need of support and change in order to increase recruitment and retention of nursing students and practitioners.
格陵兰和努纳武特地区的卫生与教育系统是丹麦和加拿大南部相应系统的反映，教学和实践语言为丹麦语和英语。这对因纽特人学习护理提出了特殊要求。
本文探讨了在护理专业接受教育并在北极地区医疗系统中执业的因纽特人的经历，这些医疗系统以欧洲裔加拿大和丹麦文化及语言为主导。
研究采用定性和人种志方法。通过在格陵兰的5个社区和努纳武特的2个社区进行为期12个月的实地调查开展研究。
运用了观察、参与观察、访谈、问卷调查和文件审查等方法。分析框架涉及布迪厄的资本和惯习概念。
参与者在教育系统中取得了一定程度的成功并感受到幸福，而其他加拿大和格陵兰因纽特人很少能有这样的体验。这种成功似乎基于护士和学生拥有或获得了我所称的“双重文化素养”；这使他们能够用至少两种语言和文化进行交流，包括能够理解、协商和互动，运用至少两种处世方式以及两种学习和教学方式。
北极地区的医疗系统迫切需要具备特殊知识和能力的因纽特护士。因纽特护士的经历将有助于为教育和医疗系统提供参考，并指出需要支持和变革的领域，以增加护理专业学生和从业者的招募与留存。
