It has been 3 months already? My Canadian Field Placement

By Ada Chukwudozie, 1st year MDP student

My placement officially comes to an end soon and it has been quite the journey. While the beginning started off bumpy due to the global pandemic, things really got going once I joined the Kishaadigeh project. Over the course of three months, I have come to learn about community-driven health research, engaging in comprehensive dialogue and most especially, the importance of self-determination. While COVID prevented me from actually interacting with community members on ground or see the research being done in these communities first-hand, I had the opportunity to interview tons of researchers, both academic and community researchers, and get an idea of what self-determination really means to Indigenous people and what it is that is being fought for through the work they are doing, and the work I was fortunate enough to have contributed to during my placement. 

Finding that work-life balance is something that was key in ensuring I had a successful placement year.  I cannot stress enough how much creating personal time for yourself is important for a successful field placement.

I struggled with this in the beginning and to help me gain a sense of inner peace and mental clarity, I finally carved some personal time for me and joined an online yoga class, which helped immensely. I also went on walks and safely hung out with some of my friends to gain a sense of normalcy during this period. The routine and balance I came to achieve helped ensure that I had a successful placement and I can’t believe it’s been three months already!