ACN Recognises National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week, taking place between 27 May – 3 June, commemorates two significant dates that start to address matters of healing, including the anniversaries of the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision on Native Title.
The Bringing them Home report, released in May 1997, recognised the forced removal of Indigenous Australians and addressed the need to come together and move towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities.
“ACN recognises National Reconciliation Week and we encourage all nurses and midwives to have appropriate cultural awareness skills training to ensure they can provide the best care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients,” said Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward, CEO of ACN. Unfortunately, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have poorer health outcomes and lower life expectancy than non-Indigenous Australians. For example, two-thirds of the gap in death rates between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people is contributed by chronic disease.1
ACN encourages collaboration between governments, professional bodies, organisations and corporations in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to develop and implement health policies and programs to address health inequities and improve health outcomes.
There is a need for nurse leadership to work to strategically build the cultural capability and cultural safety education and competence of the nursing profession, to the benefit of us all.
ACN supports Fellows, Members, and nurses in general, working in diverse areas around Australia to continue to show leadership and strive for innovative ways to improve the health outcomes of our nation’s first people.
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