Advancing medical education in rural and remote settings with First Nations populations

Advancing medical education in rural and remote settings requires a transformational shift in academic medicine.123456 Although greater investment in the establishment and maintenance of rural medical schools is both logical and well argued,1456 attention must also be paid to the strategies they adopt in serving rural and remote communities, particularly First Nations populations.Rural medical schools should deliver quality curriculums tailored for rural and remote residents, including First Nations people of rural and remote communities, many of whom are the sovereign custodians of ancestral lands. This can be achieved through four essential evidence based strategies: explicitly tackling health inequities; reconciling sovereignty between First Nations and non-Indigenous peoples to advance First Nations health and wellbeing outcomes; prioritising place based approaches to medical education and training; and building on community strengths.These strategies are also important for medical education in urban contexts. However, the strengths of learning through the focus on person, family, and…