Who We Are
VISION
The Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) is the collective national voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives.
PURPOSE
To lead the nursing and midwifery workforce to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
COMMITMENTS
- To honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing;
- Working to eliminate systemic organisational and individual racism; and
- To commit to collective leadership and reciprocal relationships.
Our Principles
Our principles are:
- We are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People before we are Nurses and Midwives
- We are the First Nation’s People and intend to maintain our cultural heritage
- We recognise that we are on a lifelong journey with cultural obligations and commitments to our communities
- We challenge the western health model in which nurses and midwives live and work because it promotes separation, hierarchy and power struggles, and denies the emotional, social, spiritual and political aspects of health in our holistic way
- The philosophy that promotes all people as equal, or treated the same, denies the difference and cultural identity
- Justice and recognition of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander history is a requirement of reconciliation
- We are the experts in our own health and believe our experience and worldview challenges the established models of health. Non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People can learn and benefit from our experiences