Tina Marie Lynn Nash, aged 54, has always aspired to be a doctor, a dream she has had since childhood. About 25 or 30 years ago, she submitted an application but withdrew it when her mother required heart surgery, and subsequently, life moved on. She has raised 11 children and has seven grandchildren; her eldest daughter is 33, and her youngest is 13.
Recently, the opportunity to pursue her dream resurfaced. So she approached the University of Calgary to revise its admissions policy.
Nash wrote a letter to the university’s head expressing that the current system discriminated against parents and individuals who had to work to support themselves and could not afford to attend university from September to April without employment. Consequently, the admission criteria were altered, which allowed her to apply and be admitted.
Nash is Indigenous, and her passion lies in working in Northern Indigenous communities. For the past 22 years, she has been part of the Indigenous Mental Health Team at Alberta Health Services. What started with pilot program funding eventually secured permanent status. She says they have a dedicated team of about 14 members delivering mental health services. Since the inception of this program, Nash has been involved and has cherished her time with the team. Over the years, she has served as an educator, a health promotion facilitator, and most recently, a family counsellor, with her professional background as a psychologist.
Nash spent eight months of clerk training during her final year of medical school in Yellowknife through the University of Calgary’s Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship. It was the most northern site, and she eagerly requested it because it has the largest Indigenous population and is the most remote and rural of all the sites, offering the best experience to confirm her career aspirations. Her journey took her to Inuvik, Chesterfield Inlet, and other communities, where she could participate in fly-in community work in places like Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e.
Nash applied for and received a placement in the rural and remote family medicine training stream within the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta in Yellowknife. The stream has two spots and attracts around 200 applicants nationwide.
She envisions setting up an Indigenous family medicine clinic in Yellowknife with Indigenous staff members—nurses, lab technicians, and doctors—serving the population. This service delivery would differ from the Western system as it would integrate elders, ceremonies, spirituality, and a holistic approach to support physical, mental, and spiritual health. Similar to some of the Indigenous healing lodges in Alberta, she also envisions a detox treatment and transition program in the North, situated on the land, eliminating the need for individuals to travel to Calgary for addiction treatment. Additionally, she envisages a hub for an Indigenous residency program for aspiring family medicine physicians, providing experience to other Indigenous individuals who wish to practice medicine in rural and remote communities. This would include mentorship opportunities for youth interested in medical and healthcare careers, guiding them towards these paths.
Nash will start practicing medicine here in Yellowknife this summer. Her vision for the future of healthcare in the North addresses the current gaps in addiction treatment and medical training and paves the way for a more inclusive healthcare system.
