Exploring Psychological and Cultural Safety: IBPOC Midwifery Students’ Experiences in Ontario

Abstract

Introduction: This study explores how Indigenous, Black and Persons of Colour (IBPOC) midwifery students experience psychological and cultural safety in Ontario’s Midwifery Education Program (OMEP). Using Critical Race Theory and Critical Theory, the research examines how institutional structures shape students’ experiences with safety, belonging, and learning.

Methods: Qualitative study using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Trauma- informed and decolonial approaches were incorporated to ensure care, respect, and psychological safety throughout the research process. Data was analyzed using the Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Critical Race Theory and Critical Theory provided the frameworks for analyzing both the individual experiences and the structural mechanisms that produce and reproduce inequities.

Participants: Fourteen participants between three focus groups and five semi-structured interviews who self-identified as Indigenous, Black, or a Person of Colour (IBPOC)

Results: The Thematic Analysis revealed four overarching themes: 1- Surviving Institutionalized Spaces, 2 – Systems of Power and Surveillance, 3 – Becoming While Surviving Clinical Learning, 4 – The Duality of Institutions – A Site of Both Support and Harm, 5 – Community and Collectivist Action.

Conclusion: This study contributes to ongoing conversations and research about equity and accountability in clinical education. By centring the lived experiences of IBPOC students, this research calls attention to how safety, learning, and belongi