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For many people, a doctor’s appointment is routine. But for some Indigenous women, past experiences and systemic barriers can make seeking health care difficult and intimidating.

A group of medical students at McGill University is working to change that through Her Circle of Care, a community-based initiative designed to provide Indigenous women with access to gynecological care, sexual health information and screening services in a culturally-sensitive environment.

“A doctor’s appointment shouldn’t be scary,” said Allison Engo, a fourth-year medical student at McGill University and president of the Women’s Health Awareness Movement (WHAM). “If they have a health issue, they should come and present because we can help them out.”

The initiative focuses on building trust by offering longer, more flexible appointments than those typically available in the health-care system.

“We take the time to speak with them to build that trusting relationship,” Engo said. “We give them the time that they need instead of sitting in a 15-minute appointment that is standard to health care. We give them 30 minutes or more.”

The idea for the project grew out of the experiences of Florence Millette, now an obstetrics and gynecology resident at Université de Montréal. During a medical school clerkship in Maniwaki, she witnessed firsthand some of the challenges Indigenous women face when trying to access care.

Florence Millette, Dr Annie Leung and Allison Engo at a ‘Her Circle of Care’ clinic in Montreal on Oct. 23, 2026. The initiative helps improve access to health care for Indigenous women. (Johanie Bouffard, CityNews, Montreal)

“We have classes in medical school about Indigenous people and the care that we can provide, but it’s very different seeing it in person,” Millette said.

After returning to Montreal, she was determined to create a clinic built on trust. That vision became Her Circle of Care, launched by WHAM in partnership with Indigenous community organizations and health-care providers from the McGill community.

Organizers work closely with the Native Women’s Shelter, which helps connect them with women who may benefit from the services.

“We actually organize the clinics on an as-needed basis through the [Native] Women’s Shelter,” said Engo. “The Native Women’s Shelter is our point of contact with the women.”

Dr. Annie Leung, a gynecologic oncologist at the McGill University Health Centre and lead physician with WHAM, says the clinic offers patients access to a full range of expertise while also giving future health-care professionals valuable experience.

“Here they can have the benefit of speaking with all different levels of training and also experienced doctors with expertise and get the full spectrum of care,” Leung said.

She added that the one-on-one relationships students develop with Indigenous patients can help shape how they practise medicine in the future.

“For myself, it’s very gratifying to see how the hands-on relationships that trainees build with Indigenous women will inform their practice in the future and ensure we can provide more culturally safe practices within our hospitals,” she said.

Millette says the initiative has also taught participants the importance of learning from Indigenous communities and incorporating their perspectives into care.

“There’s a way to combine traditional medicine with our Western medicine that we learn in school,” she said. “Those are things that you don’t learn in classes.”

Since launching earlier this year, organizers have held three clinics and expanded the program to include women’s health circles and educational workshops for frontline health-care providers.

Engo hopes the model will inspire similar initiatives elsewhere.

“I really hope that other places start doing the same thing because I believe the message is so important to send out there,” she said.

Medical examination equipment is seen inside the Saralikitaaq Community Centre in Montreal. (Johanie Bouffard, CityNews)

Source: https://montreal.citynews.ca/2026/10/23/health-care-indigenous-women/