Abstract

From Aotearoa New Zealand emerged the concept of cultural safety which drew from the profound connection of Māori nurses to their culture linking it to both nurse education and practice. Since then, cultural safety has been drawn from those roots and transplanted to several countries including indigenous communities in North America and to the United Kingdom within both medicine and midwifery. However, the connection which cultural safety has to health educational and professional frameworks outside of Aotearoa New Zealand to health education can be varied. Often there is more of a connection to Cultural Competence which itself can be an excellent basis to build upon and create culturally safe spaces for learning, teaching and assessment. Using approaches such as trauma informed approaches and pedagogies can have the potential to develop these foundations. Using trauma informed approaches does not mean to not talk about topics instead it means being considerate of those who are accessing the session and being cognisant of their actual or potential prior experiences. Creating this universal and safe space for education then has the potential to empower students and staff to be safe in themselves and to be who they are whether this is directly connected to their cultural background or not.