Featuring:

• Heather Wittick, CCPA

• Tara Clarke, CCPA

Mentioned Resources

• Jordan's Principle

• A short history of Indigenous Health

• Primer on Indigenous Health from Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

• Truth and Reconcillation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action

Recommendations:

• Read and reflect on implicit bias, and how that influences your approach to care.

• Read about the case of Brian Sinclair's Death

About Tara Clarke:

Tara Clarke, ICP, BSc, MPAS, CCPA

Coordinator, Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Rapid Response Teams

Fly-in locum PA and PA Clinical Lead: Ongomiizwin Health Services and Natawiwenak Health

​​While completing an undergraduate degree in biochemistry, I first spent 10 years working as an ICP paramedic serving rural and Indigenous communities in Manitoba. An episode of acute Transverse Myelitis in 2009 sidelined me as a paramedic, being told I would unlikely recover the motor function of my legs. My EMS partner encouraged me to become a PA and so this, in addition to focusing on recovery and running my first 5k, became my new mission. MPAS class graduate of 2013, I delivered my second baby at 32 weeks during my anaesthesia rotation and began working full time in the Selkirk Emergency Department 2 months later. A year after that I transferred to the Seven Oaks Emergency Department and remained there for 8 years, loving the nature of the work and mentorship of lovely physicians.

Major health care transformations in Manitoba resulted in significant changes in work environments and it was a great time to make the shift into something more meaningful where I had more autonomy and could make a larger impact. I began canvassing agencies that delivered physician services into Northern Manitoba; I gained employment casually with Natawiwenak (Nata) as well as Ongomiizwin Health Services (OHS) and started exploring roles for PAs. Large disparities in health, socioeconomic status and gaps in services immediately stood out. I knew PAs could help; so I enlisted a couple of friends to support the creation of a platform for PAs in the north. One week a month I fly to Oxford House with a family MD; I cover acute care needs of the nursing station and chart audits, she does a primary care clinic and we split call; she has since said she would never want to go north without a PA as it has added such help and balance to her practice. I also began working as a member of the MB First Nations COVID-19 Rapid Response Teams, deploying into communities experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, to swab and operate point of care machines. One of the MD coordinators took paternity leave and I found myself sliding into his position. Seeing value in MD-PA models, organizations began offering seats at leadership tables previously closed off to physician extenders. I am now the PA Lead for OHS and Nata, coordinating the recruitment, mentorship, and oversight of new PA hires in the north.

I am enjoying the adventure while still being a busy mom to 5 kids, 2 dogs and 1 cat in West St. Paul, MB. And I still run, mostly to prove to myself that anything is possible with strong will and a little luck.