Two 成人VR视频 medical students, Madeline Yaaka and Craig Sky, have been jointly recognized with the Elaine Kilabuk Award. This award honours the legacy of Elaine Kilabuk, MDCM, a Nunavut Inuk graduate of 成人VR视频鈥檚 medical school, who has dedicated her career to advancing Northern and Indigenous health. The award is intended to support the training of Inuit or Indigenous medical students and to inspire future generations of physicians to serve their communities and beyond. Yaaka is the first Inuk recipient of the award, which was inaugurated in 2019.
For both recipients, the award 鈥� conferred during the last academic year 鈥� is not only a recognition of academic dedication, but also a symbol of representation and possibility. Health e-News caught up with both recipients just before they headed back after summer holidays, to find out what winning this award means to them and their plans for the future.
First Inuk recipient
Third-year medical student Madeline Yaaka is an Inuk from Kangiqsujuaq, Nunavik, in northern Quebec. 鈥淚 heard I am the first Inuk to receive the award, but I hope there will be more in the future,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ust knowing that there鈥檚 another [Inuk] physician out there, Dr. Elaine, who is practising in Nunavut, is such an inspiration. This award makes me really proud of where I come from I鈥檓 just really happy to have received it.鈥�
When she graduates, Yaaka will be the first Inuk medical doctor from Nunavik. She began to imagine medicine as a career when she was 14, after attending Eagle Spirit Science Futures, a 成人VR视频 summer camp for Indigenous students. 鈥淭hey flew me down from my community to visit the campus and attend workshops with some physicians and medical students,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淭hat really showed me I could do it, that this is something that was achievable.鈥�
Her studies are shaped by the gaps she sees in access and continuity of care in the North. 鈥淪ometimes people get lost in the system,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ealth literacy is something I think is really needed as well. I feel like it鈥檚 very empowering to teach people.鈥� To help address that need, Madeline is taking part in a local radio show to share health information with her community. 鈥淢ost people here have radios in their homes,鈥� she explains. 鈥淭hey listen to it to hear the news or to learn about different topics.鈥�
Yaaka hopes medical education continues to grow in its attention to Indigenous perspectives. 鈥淚 feel like 成人VR视频 could invest more in teaching their medical students about who Indigenous people are, where they are in Canada, their language, their culture,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of value in hearing directly from people who are part of those communities.鈥�
Midway through her degree, Yaaka is still exploring specialties. 鈥淚 definitely know that I want to keep close to my community,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it will be geographically or just in terms of work, I鈥檓 still not sure yet.鈥�
Recognition and responsibility
For fourth-year medical student Craig Sky, who hails from Kahnaw脿:ke, near Montreal, the Elaine Kilabuk Award feels like both recognition and responsibility.
鈥淩ecognition from this award is an acknowledgement for persevering in an academic study which is white predominant, and especially where there鈥檚 a lack of diverse cultures and understanding of cultural patients, especially Indigenous patients,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of an acknowledgement to my role as a role model for not only the other Indigenous medical students at 成人VR视频, but also just Indigenous students across Canada.鈥�
Dr. Kilabuk鈥檚 example gives Sky motivation to keep going. 鈥淪he鈥檚 setting the way and paving the way to make it easier for other students,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly what I want to do with my career. Not only is she a trailblazer, she is also an inspiration.鈥�
His journey to medicine was guided by a deep sense of empathy that emerged early in life. 鈥淕rowing up in a small community, not seeing Inuit working in health care professions in your region, it鈥檚 really hard to imagine a future and to have these goals in mind鈥�
In Kahnaw脿:ke, issues like diabetes and substance use remain pressing, and Sky believes solutions need to go deeper than generalized interventions. 鈥淚 think developing approaches cater not only through community, but to the individual, is something that lacks in my community,鈥� he shares. 鈥淚 want to figure out what impedes not just a community, but an individual, from getting the care they need.鈥�
Now midway through medical school, Sky is drawn to three specialities: family medicine, anesthesiology, and plastic surgery. Each, in its own way, would allow him to make a difference for Indigenous patients.
Whatever the speciality, Sky intends to stay connected. 鈥淢y main goal would be to go back and work in my community, or within any other Indigenous community. Even if it鈥檚 not always possible to do it full-time, I鈥檇 love to stay connected through clinics, advocacy, or education.鈥�
鈥淣o dream is too big鈥�
To other Indigenous students who may hesitate to pursue a health professions career, Sky and Yaaka have some advice grounded in their own experiences.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to apply. The first step is applying,鈥� Sky recommends. 鈥淎nd lean on others 鈥� You don鈥檛 always realize the support you have until you start to use it.鈥�
Yaaka agrees, encouraging younger Indigenous students to give a healthcare career a shot, even if it seems like a very abstract concept right now. 鈥淕rowing up in a small community, being far from places where you see people working in health care from your region, it鈥檚 really hard to see the future and to have these goals in mind. But just know that it鈥檚 possible. No dream is too big. It鈥檚 not easy, but it鈥檚 possible.鈥�