As humans, we are all multi-faceted beings who present ourselves differently depending on the situation we are in and the people we are surrounded by. I have always considered myself to be someone with good values, who cares for others and believes in equity and equality. These values are incredibly present in my social and personal lives; I surround myself with like-minded people who share similar interests. I believe that we are as good as those we surround ourselves with, and I carry that thought every day.
Since I am 22 years old and pursued graduate studies immediately after completing my undergraduate degree, I do not have a very well-developed professional identity yet. I am learning who I would like to become in the professional world, and I am developing my professional values as I continue to gain knowledge about the world of Indigenous health policy. The way that I currently perceive my professional career, I would like my professional identity and values to reflect my personal values. I believe that the profession one devotes their life to certainly impacts their mindset, and effectively, their mindset impacts their profession. My career will pertain to Indigenous rights, which is a topic that I deeply care about on a personal level. Not only will the decisions I make affect my family and myself, but they will be fueled in part by my personal convictions. I believe that everyone deserves access to health care in an equitable manner, and I am very passionate about this. I will do everything in my power to achieve this goal. I deeply value advocacy; I believe that those who can speak up should absolutely do so for those who do not have a voice. One very effective way of doing so in this day and age is through social media.
My social media posts revolve around my life. I believe as though this is a direct product of my generation, being born in 2001. I grew up online and have never really known a world without the internet. Recently, I noticed that my online presence does not pertain to my professional life in any manner. I will be making it a goal for myself over the course of my graduate degree to develop that aspect of my social media presence as I do believe that it can be a great tool in the networking world. I have often shared posts pertaining to Indigenous rights, links to resources and news stories, and any causes or recent events that relate to Indigenous health. This topic is certainly present on my personal social media, which is why I feel as though it could be beneficial to curate a professional social media presence that relates to the topic of Indigenous health as well. It could help reach more people who work in health care, presenting them with certain issues that they may have not heard of before, and would not hear of otherwise.
While I do not see myself having a well-developed professional identity in the sense that I haven’t necessarily started my career yet, I do sit on two boards that are incredibly pertinent to the world of Indigenous health policy. The Patient and Family Advisory Board and the Indigenous Health Advisory Board are two committees at Health Sciences North, a hospital in Sudbury, Ontario. On these boards, I advocate in particular for the voices of Indigenous peoples and the younger generation. I believe that my position is incredibly valuable as it is not common for younger people to have a voice in these settings.
With this notion, I can yet again affirm that the use of social media to develop my professional identity would be very useful. I believe that this is where I fit within the system as of now. Creating this presence could bridge the gap between the younger generation and the current issues faced by Indigenous peoples in regard to health care.
References
Inspiring. (2021). Professional Identity [Image]. Shutterstock. https://www.shutterstock.com
Wix. (2023). Desk Job [Image]. https://www.wix.com
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